2023 People of the Big River Field Class

 07-14-23 Day 7 Today we got a bit of time to relax and not so busy schedule we got up and had a great breakfast that included bacon! Afterward we got started with our water experiment by going to the upper Deschutes River and taking different readings for example the canopy test seeing how much of our spot is covered by a canopy and how much solar radiation hits the water we also look at how clear the water is, the pH level, water temp and many, many more. One cool thing after was getting together with the classmates and sharing data so that we are all on the same page with our notes. After our sharing we were able to see the gram stain we prepared yesterday, and my bacteria was gram negative which is one step closer to identifying what was in the water very interesting stuff. My favorite part of the day came after all this we loaded up and headed to Newberry Caldara which held the big obsidian flow, and it was amazing the view was great and the amount of obsidian was mind blowing...

 07-13-23 Day 6 Today has been a very long day we woke around 6 for breakfast and getting ready. We set up the breakfast/lunch line packed up everything we’re taking and put up every that a bear might want away. We met Alex at the Sister's ranger station I was able to get a eagles and chinook salmon pin for my backpack which is awesome. There we learned a bit about Alex and Lorene, Alex is the partnership program manager at Deschutes National Forest he has 20 years of fire management in his background and been at Deschutes for 12 years. Lorene on the other hand is environmental coordinator at Deschutes National Forest. She does a ton of work with NEPA review before project start, she also responsible for organizing field team. She has a master in forestry and been at the Sisters for 2.5 years they took us out to Indian ford creek. Where we met John a wildlife biologist, he took us to see Glaze meadow which used to be wetlands before the beaver population disappear from unknown reas...

 07-12-23 Day 5 Today we woke up and realized that 6:20 isn't enough time for us to grab breakfast, make lunches, and load everything up and be on the road in time for us to meet people at 9:30. But it all worked out we met up with Marlo Fisher at Bend fort rock district or as Marlo called it sand springs. Where we did a pumice moon wart survey (Botrichium pumicola) it grows from pumice and is part of the fern family. There is a limited distribution around Central Oregon, Crater Lake and one part Mount Shasta. We were told that they usually germinate early to mid- June and senesce around mid-July.  It was interesting we lined up 10 ft apart and searched approximately 4 acres of land and found 14 pumice moon warts. Which is a good thing since we weren't sure we'd find any so late in the cycle and personally I found one of those hidden pretty well in the sage. It was Corbin who found the most of our group he found 3. Afterward we went down to a campground for a quick shower...

07-11-23 Day 4  Today we had a bit of a late start once we were up and ready, we had our final breakfast with OSU. After our farewells we started up bacteria analysis from water sample we collected from Keys Creek and Strawberry Lake. They had incubated for 36 hours I had a sample of Keys Creek which had light colony estimated 10^3 on the NUT-TTC side. The colony count was 45 with colony size being 1mm-6mm the basic description was circular, maroon, and glossy. But it wasn’t the only one found there it had a green spread also glossy. So based on those basic descriptions that bring me to the list of possible identification we have Escherichia, basillus spp, pseudomomas flurescent, pseudomomas aerugimosa. What we did after was a specific isolation of the bacteria. Then we went to Key Creek and tested the canopy cover and how much solar radiation reached the water. We also tested things like pH levels, water temp and depth of water. We then spent 1-2 hours trying to fill the camper wi...

 07-10-2023 Day 3 Today we woke up at 5:30 which in my opinion is way too early, but when in Rome do as the roman do. After another great breakfast and some packing Brennen Van Alderwerelf took us to Myers Canyon to the narrows. Once we got there, we were able to question Brennen about his academic history. We found out that he graduated with his first degree at the University of California in Physics. Although he ended up working for California department of water which sparked his interest in the environment. So, he went to the University of Iowa for a doctorate in geology and started research/fieldwork in 2012. While speaking to Brennen we learned many interesting things about the area we were in fun fact like it's been called the "cradle of dog kind" meaning many fossils have been found there. At the first area I was able to find calcite vein with slicken lines which are evidence of fault motion. After that we found lava flows rock which were easily identified by the ...

 07-09-2023 Day 2 We started our day having a wonderful breakfast with OSU geology students. After breakfast we loaded up and headed to Strawberry Lake hiking trail. On the way on one of our pits stops we had walked over to a river in which Zach was startled by a large frog which is always a good laugh. Once we got back on the road the car was full of laughter and bonding through storytelling and jokes. Finally, after two hours we reached the start of the hiking trail. It has been a long time since I did anything remotely close to hiking, but the weather was great. The trail a bit challenging to someone as inactive as me but I adjusted well and was able to get a couple miles in with some great scenery. Once we reached Strawberry Lake, we were able to relax and enjoy the weather with our sack lunch. Which brought over our chipmunk friend who was very comfortable around us and our food. Toward the end of the day after getting back to camp. Corbin and Zach were able to collect samples...

07-08-2023 Day 1 So far, we have done dishes and made a blog a great start. The drive to Mitchel was long about 4 hours with a couple stops in between, the student that joined all took turn napping and then a huge discussion broke out about horror movies which got a bit intense. Once we arrived, we met Frank, and he helped us get set up. Then food because we were so famished from a long day of sitting and doing nothing. At 7:30 the OSU students and faculty had their regular meeting which we attended where we met the OSU student and faculty and then we were briefed on tomorrow plans. Which was a bit of fun in the sun as we hiked to a lake but that's tomorrow. Although right before bed a couple students and I watched a movie we`re getting along great, till tomorrow.