We are trying to do refraction survey of the Socorro Magma body with a line of Texans approx. 125km long.  The seismic source of our survey will be explosions set of by EMRTC (and energetic materials research company--cool huh, we don't get to see the explosions, but its still cool.)  Well after scouting powerline roads for two days and obtaining permits from BLM, and the two wildlife refuges that the powerlines cross we decided that these afore said roads would be ideal: they were straight and quiet.  Well, as it turns out the powerline roads were barely maintained and VERY slow, a not-so-minor flaw that we failed to recognize.  So when we went to deploy our Texans every 2km, a job that should have taken less than 6 hours took more like 12 hours.  In addition, I, being responsible for creating a travel log, was unsuccessful.  So, during the day we made wrong turns, had to stop a couple of times, and got lost.  A dangerous situation. 

 Lesson Learned:   Clear communication with your advisor is very important.  We should have more clearly explained the road conditions and found an alternative route.  Also, always check with your advisor to check that your work (ie travel log) meets the specs that it should with your advisor.  

 Now because EMRTC has been unable to shoot over the past week due to weather, we are going to pick up all of our painstakingly placed texans and redeploy over a safer route this weekend--batteries are going to wear out.  We are now into monsoon season and the sky has been rainy and overcast over the past several days.  It has been so sunny and hot since we've been down here its strange to walk out and see rain.  It looks like next week we are going to travel to El Paso to help with a survey using the vibroseis.  That should be very interesting.  I'm also working on writing my geologic history, and learning a seismic program named MacRay.  I have also developed some super cool unix skills.  I can't wait to go back to Montana and show off (just kidding, kind of.)  For the next three days, it looks like most of my time is going to be spent picking up Texans, replacing their batteries, and redeploying.  

Stay tuned: Still to come, my amazing GMT map; adventures in El Paso; and Trial and Error in Processing Data to name a few.  Hopefully all with pictures.