Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
passing satellite. There was no Big Dipper with its North Star because
they are not visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Instead, the
picturesque Southern Cross kept watch over us.
Many of the crew born in the Northern Hemisphere had never seen
the southern constellations before and were looking forward to the
opportunity. One had brought a star chart to help identify them, but
after a few seconds of examination, Lowell realized that it was a
chart for the Northern Hemisphere, which was useless here. Lowell
concluded that he and his colleagues from the United States didn't
actually live in the Northern Hemisphere, but rather in the "moron-
osphere." Fortunately, the native Argentines were still willing to serve
as our mentors for stargazing.
Most of these starlit nights were cool but not cold—good sleeping
weather. Although it doesn't rain very often during the time of the year
we were in Patagonia, the wind blows almost constantly. Fifty-mile-an-
hour gusts, capable of collapsing a tent or sending it careering across
the rocky ridges and ravines, are not uncommon. Occasionally, local
inhabitants, such as tarantulas, would pass through if you didn't
keep your tent zipped up, not to mention the geese, chickens, baby
goats, and dogs that literally owned our backyard camp.
The
puesto
had no running water, so there were no toilets or show-
ers. The bathroom was behind some distant bush or rocky outcrop,
and we washed up in the small stream that flowed in the riverbed
below the
puesto.
Although the stream was only a couple of inches
deep, we dug a hole big enough for washing the dust off at the end of
the day, but we did not drink the water from it. A recent flood had
destroyed Dona Dora's well, and the livestock had contaminated the
stream's water. So every few days, a couple of crew members drove
back into Neuquen to buy groceries and fill our water containers.
Cities like Neuquen, which with its suburbs has a population of sev-
eral hundred thousand people, have all the conveniences of a modern
city, including gas stations, Laundromats, and a supermarket that cov-
ers an entire city block. We took advantage of all these facilities—espe-
cially the shower room at one of the local hotels—and although we did
not have all these comforts of home at Auca Mahuida, we were quite
content and ready to begin our work.
After a good night's sleep, we awoke with great anticipation. At long
last, we could begin prospecting for fossils in the ancient layers of rock
