First view of the majestic Tetons! On our way to Yellowstone.

Texas

The Sombrero Brothers measure folds at Ernst Tinaja in Big Bend National Park.


The group in front of El Capitan in the Guadalupe Mountains.


New Mexico

"Hello? Anybody home?" John checks out a cave in the Castile gypsum.


Taking the big leap at White Sands National Monument.


Dr. Bill Roberts points out tension cracks in the surface of a gypsum sand dune. We were fortunate to have our former department chairman help us at field camp this summer.


The sand castle crew...


... Later became a chorus line. It was an unusual year with rain in the desert basin.


Plenty of good rocks in the Burro Mountains near Silver City, NM.


The AAPG convention in Colorado and Wyoming

Dr. Nielson points out .... something... in this famous roadcut just outside of Denver heading into the mountains.


The students were paying close attention to the geology discussion.


Spectacular geology at Red Rocks amphitheater in the Denver area.


"OMG! It's cross-bedding!"


Captain Nielson pilots a boat on Alcova Lake on part of the AAPG student field trip to central Wyoming.


While on the lake we saw this unconformity in which flat-lying Paleozoic rocks (dark reddish-brown) overlie lighter Archean gneiss. In the erosional boundary between the two units, half of Earth's history is missing!


Students from all over the world attended the field trip to see classic geology in the rugged Wyoming mountains.


It was wet, slippery and cold at this stop on the AAPG field trip -- but the rocks were great: Archean mylonitic gneiss.


Thanks to Peter Hennings and his wife, Juli -- and their company, ConocoPhillips --for leading a great student field trip. Here they show us new interpretations of the complex geology in Wyoming.


Enroute to Yellowstone, crossing the vast, empty plains of Wyoming.


Closer to Yellowstone, a dramatic mountain rain.


We were following the trail of early Mormon pioneers and stopped to look at a slot canyon and the type of wagons they pulled by hand through this treacherous pass.


Almost to Yellowstone.


Old Faithful geyser erupts right on time. Yellowstone park sits atop a large magma body -- so see it soon!


Scalding hot water, minerals and thriving colonies of hearty bacteria create an otherworldly landscape.


We all enjoyed this view of the "Grand Canyon" of the Yellowstone River.


Kodak moment with the Yellowstone River in the background.


Dr. Roberts at Mammoth Springs.


The new "Dr. Goggle".


Some Yellowstone residents.


Up close and personal! Nielson loves buffalo -- just ask him about his pickup.


The ol' cowpoke, riding the range on his jackalope.


Utah

A group shot at beautiful Park Avenue in Arches National Park.


Amanda dives in at an ice cream party.


The famous Double Arches. Maybe that's "Indy" silhouetted against the sky.


As the sun sets, a last look at Delicate Arch and the La Sal mountains in the distance.


Hey, Alumni -- have more pictures of your SFA field camp? Let us know!

Photos by C. A. Barker unless otherwise noted.
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