| Day 1. We left
Adrian in the morning and drove to Morgantown, WV. |
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Our first stop was the Cheat River
Gorge in Chestnut Ridge State Park. The Cheat River carved out this
gorge we are standing on the rim of. Structurally, we are looking at
Chestnut Ridge, the first fold in the Appalachian Plateau. |
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We then continued driving
for another couple of hours to the Monangehela National Forest. We followed
the Cheat River for part of the drive. It was a bit rainy and the fog
was settling in over the river. |
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It took us a while to get to our
camp at Bear Heaven Campground. We missed the sign, got lost on a bad
dirt road in the fog, managed to get the van briefly stuck in a ditch...
We finally got to sleep about 11:00. Then some local fraternity (?)
at the picnic area near us decided to regale us with chants until well
after 1 in the morning. At least Sarah was kind enough to let us sleep
in a little the next morning. |
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| Day 2. We made
a number of stops along US 33 in the morning. Our first stop was to
look at gash fractures in the Chambersburg Limestone in Germany Valley. |
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Our second stop was at the Germany
Valley overlook. |
Here the students drew cross sections
and deciphered the geologic structure. |
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We made a number of
stops in the Catkill Delta looking at Silurian and Devonian formations.
When we reached the top of the wedge (and the hill), had lunch and discussed
the orogenic processes that formed the wedge. |
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Our next series of stops
was in Shenandoah National Park. Here we discussed the eastern orogenies
that formed the Appalachian Mountains and looked at formations in the
Blue Ridge Province. |
| Unfortunately Big Meadows
campground was full (probably because Sarah let everyone sleep in so
we got there later than usual). So we had to skip the hike to Dark Hollow
Falls and press on. |
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Fortunately, there was room at Matthews
Arm campground. Shawn was really hoping to see a bear... |
We had burgers and dogs for dinner,
cooked by Jeremy M and TJ. |
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| Day 3. We continued our tour
along the Skyline Drive. |
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Shawn is standing on a series of
lava flows. It was here that the students had to determine how many
of the Catoctin lava flows were exposed. |
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We discussed the Appalachian Provinces
and examined the Pedlar formation at this overlook. This photo shows
a great view of the Valley and Ridge province taken from the Blue Ridge
province. |
| We then headed up to
Harpers Ferry National Historic Park |
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We looked at the type section of
the Harpers Phyllite in the northern tip of the Blue Ridge Province. |
And saw the confluence of the Potamic
and Shenandoah Rivers. |
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| The plan now (Plan E
or F, at least) was to drive up to Gettysburg, PA, talk a little about
the little known field of "Military Geology." The geology
in Gettysburg had strong influences on the battles and battle plans
during the Civil War. Afterward we would return back the way we came
and camp in MD at Catoctin Mountain NP. |
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But the van did not want
to go. At least not without a little help... |
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So we spent the aftermoon at Merchant's
Tire and Auto in Fredrick, MD entertaining ourselves with conversation,
laughter, push-up competitions (for some) and a penny roll competition
in the parking lot. |
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| The van was finally fixed at 7:00
pm, just as the repair shop was closing. After a trip to K-Mart to buy
propane (which they did not have so we bought a battery powered lantern
instead) we headed to the campground at Catcotin Mountain NP - but it
was late so it was full. So was the Cunninghan Falls SP campground.
So we drove up to Gettysburg to look for a campground - the first had
no sites for "non-members (?)". Finally, Round Top Campground
became home for the night. We had a fine repast of spaghetti and salad
- at 10:30 that evening. |
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| Day 4. We got up with the Sun, thanks
to some noisy squirrels, broke camp and visited Gettysburg NHP. |
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We stopped at Little Round Top
Hill and Devils Den where we looked at a diabase dike that played an
important role in determining where the Confererate and Unions troops
were placed during the battle. |
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Our last stop was the world famous
syncline at Sideling Hill. |
| We then headed home,
the whole time whole time on pins and needles waiting for something
else to go wrong. Amazingly, it didn't! Even with all the problems,
a GREAT time was had by all! |
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