from hja

did not bring my camera (crap!) but i just saw the avalanche maker go off!  it was actually being a dam failure experiment this time, but WOW! i am really amazed at how the thing worked-- they built a small "landscape" at the bottom of the avalanche maker and set off the water.  In the water were various types of confetti with different colors and weights (masses? weights? i am not sure if i know which is the right word here) then when it went off it washed out the fake landscape at the bottom. now they are sorting through it and finding the confetti to see how the water went down the "flume" and how it destroys landscapes.

they are doing it again in august! i think with mud-- that would be amazing to see.

list of things to try to figure out how to work into my research:
1. go to the antarctic lter
2. go to the arctic lter
3. use the avalanche machine
4. take the snowmobiles up into the mountains-- the three sisters are the back of our basin and are still snow covered, even today, when it is 100 degrees in the cascades.  but they are about 8000-10000 feet high-- sounds like heaven!
5. go to the canopy crane, and go "canopy camping"-- you put your hammock up-- 500 ft. above the ground.  holy crap, it would be terrifying.. and awesome!!