Clik here to view.
The Hawai'i That Was: Lapakahi, the Kind of Place Where the Rest of Them Lived
The stories are always of the chiefs, the generals, and the kings. General Washington won the Revolutionary War. General Grant won the Civil War. Caesar ruled the world. We rarely hear the stories of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hawai'i That Was: Have We Got Some Real Estate for You! Exploring...
A'a flow at Kaloko Honokohau National Historical ParkIf this was a place where someone was trying to sell real estate, the owners would have to make sure that no pictures crept into the brochures. This...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hawai'i That Was: Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, the Place of Sanctuary That Might...
Kealakekua BayI mentioned earlier in this series that cliffs aren't that common on the Big Island, with the exception of the Pololu and Waipi'o coastline. There is another cliff, though, and its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What's Burning Up Tonight: The Blue Cut Fire in Southern California
Source: http://www.fire.ca.gov/general/firemapsCalifornia is burning. Sometimes, the fires are burning in unfamiliar places, places we've never visited. Logically, we know they are tragedies, that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
You've Read About Them: How About Seeing Them in Person? California's...
Mt. Shasta, the second tallest and most voluminous volcano in the CascadesI write so much about my travels around the American West and elsewhere, and some might wonder where I find the time. Well...I...
View ArticleRiver Otters Swimming in the Tuolumne River
I've had a real treat of a day. I took my usual morning stroll along the Tuolumne River, catching some decent shots of a Black-chinned Hummingbird, and the back end of a Raccoon (that's not a great...
View ArticleClik here to view.
River Otters Swimming in the Tuolumne River, Part II
Here's the second video I captured of the River Otters in the Tuolumne River this evening (the first was in the previous post). There seems to be a momma and two pups. Meanwhile, Mrs. Geotripper was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Importance of a Geology Education: Reflections on a Horrible Disaster in...
Hey, everyone! Raise your hands if you think a geology course should be REQUIRED of all students! [crickets]. Yeah, I thought so.Geology classes occupy a somewhat uncomfortable zone within the standard...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hawai'i That Was: Watching the Destruction of the Islands in Real Time
The Big Island volcanoes of Mauna Kea (left) and Mauna Loa (right), as seen from the summit of Haleakala on MauiGeologists have at their fingertips the closest thing to a working time machine that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hawai'i That Was: We Arrive on Kaua'i and Find the Beauty of Age
We've been working through (off and on) a series on the Hawai'i That Was, an exploration of islands as they were before human colonization, as they changed with the arrival of the Polynesian people,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Watching Foxes Along the Tuolumne River
Yes, Geotripper has been missing in action for a week or so. It's the end of summer and the start of a new semester in the academic trenches, so blogging took a back seat to other things. I should soon...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Star Trek at Fifty Years, and the First Week of a New Semester
Source: Copyright Paramount Pictures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:STIn_Beauty.jpgI spent part of my evening watching some Smithsonian Channel shows regarding the 50th anniversary of the initial...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Second Week of Class, Wherein I Get Distracted by a Picture of the Earth
Earthrise from the Lunar Reconnaissance OrbiterI can't help it. I get to the end of another lecture, one I've done dozens of times over the years, and it dawns on me what an extraordinary time we live...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hawai'i That Was: History and Beauty at Ke'e Beach and the Na Pali Coast.
It's taken me awhile to get back to my Hawai'i series, but I'm intent on finishing the project. The main reason to finish is that apart from actual flowing lava (on the Big Island), Kaua'i is my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hawai'i That Was: An Idyllic Paradise on the North Shore of Kaua'i. Sort of.
Photo by Mrs. GeotripperIf you have been there and think that Hanalei Bay is the most beautiful place on the planet, don't worry, I'm not going to diss it. It is indeed one of the most beautiful places...
View ArticleClik here to view.
About to Hit the Road Again! There are Volcanoes in my Future
And it's been way too long locked away in an office and laboratory and lecture hall. I'll be hitting the open road with my students on an exploration of California's Cascade volcanoes for the next five...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Lake at the End of the World: Tule Lake in Northern California
Tule Lake is situated at the end of the world. It's not that it's so big that the world seems to end beyond its margins, but something more like how it is the place that worlds ended. The lake is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The California That Was: A Day in the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge
I've spent a good part of the last few months blogging about the "Hawai'i That Was", in which I have been exploring the bits and pieces of the original islands that existed before European/American...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Spectacular Folds in Kings Canyon
It's just a short stop on a three day exploration of the geology of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the California's Sierra Nevada that we just completed. But what a sight! The Sierra Nevada...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bug Art at Beetle Rock
There is always something new to see when you are on the road. We were exploring the geology of Sequoia National Park for a field class this last weekend, and we saw many marvelous and beautiful...
View Article