Crater Lake yesterday.

Start of day 2 of our Pacific Northwest field studies. Exploring Lava Beds National Monument, including an unexpected thunderstorm.

First day of our geology anthropology field studies class in the Pacific Northwest. A look at Mt. Shasta

Where are Kid Rock & Lee Greenwood when you really need them?

www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05... Marvelous news. His name is a stain on our nation's history, and needs to be removed.

Three volcanoes from our trip north: Adams, Rainier, and St. Helens. The weather was perfect!

geotripper.blogspot.com/2026/05/geot... Who is your favorite geologist character in the movies? Does your list match well with mine? Can you guess my favorite geologist? We are showing my favorite at the State Theatre in Modesto as a fundraiser for our students on May 20 at 7pm.

MacFarlane: People in Virginia voted by the millions. Their voices were heard and now have been silenced. And you want to talk about what starts a political wave in a year like this: a mass of people who think their voices have been silenced. That doesn't stop a wave that fuels one.

Favorite moments of our first day on the road: Mount Shasta and the Castle Crags in Northern California

geotripper.blogspot.com/2026/05/geor... George Lucas got something wrong in one of his movies (and it wasn't the prequels!). It was a day of intense pride yesterday at my college. #graduation

Some people special to me donated their lifelong collection of rock and fossils to the department. One item stood out... I've never held one and rarely seen one for sale. Can any of my geology friends identify it, and explain why it's important in our science?

Walz: The president said it's a bunch of radicals. You're damn right we've been radicalized. Radicalized by compassion, radicalized by decency, radicalized by due process, radicalized by democracy.

🤣🤣

The House can do what they want tomorrow, but they ain’t getting Cancun Cruz back in the Senate anytime soon.

Modesto proud! No kings!

With all the disturbing things going on, I want to think of something more positive. Here are some (locally) rare birds I've seen this week; a Hudsonian Whimbrel, and a Hooded Oriole. Both arrived in the region a bit early.

geotripper.blogspot.com/2026/03/one-... We were out at the Red Hills last weekend, and the flowers were putting on a show, although conditions are drying out quickly. I wrote about the strange geology of the area a few years ago and reposted today, for anyone who wants to see this unique area.

“When the very rich so controlled the means of communication that it would be almost impossible for ordinary people to make informed decisions and so democracy would then be broken…” - attributed to Albert Einstein We have been here before, and we know what to do. RESIST!

Let’s put an unhinged malignant narcissist sundowning into dementia in control of the most powerful military force in the history of mankind because what could go wrong.

Out looking at southern Motherlode rocks with @geotripper.bsky.social.

geotripper.blogspot.com/2026/03/expl... Want to get away from it all? How about some of the most spectacular geology on the planet? Join us this summer in the Pacific Northwest, along with Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks! Our first informational meeting is on Monday March 23rd.

For those who have forgotten the past 40 years: Tax cuts for the rich ...don’t trickle down Boosting military spending ...doesn’t bring peace Slashing regulations ...doesn’t create jobs Folks, we’ve seen this all before.

Some nice spring colors breaking out on the CSU Stanislaus campus today.

geotripper.blogspot.com/2026/03/i-go... I got up at 3am so you wouldn't have to! Check out my shots of the last Lunar eclipse before 2029. More shots at the link! #lunareclipse

Even though I and everyone else knew it was probably going to happen, waking up to find out that this country’s leaders have started another needless war is making me so angry and sad

The Tuolumne River is flowing deep and cold right now. They are making room for flooding and snowmelt in Don Pedro Reservoir.

A sparkling clear day in the Central Valley! Half Dome in Yosemite was visible from my Keyes Road viewpoint. #halfdome

No Republican in the history of the United States has personally attacked more of his fellow Republicans than Trump. No Republican has done it more often or as long. No Republican has ever actively campaigned against other Republicans as often as Trump.

Mind-boggling that the same day South Korea's former leader is sentenced to life in prison for leading an insurrection —and the same day British police arrest a prominent royal over allegations of sick Epstein predation —our own insurrectionist-leading predator is thus mocking the rule of law:

@xenolith.bsky.social captured this AMAZING video of a scorpion snagging and stinging a moth near our Stovepipe Wells camp. The alluvial fan around the camp was experiencing a superbloom supporting a big hatch of moths which this scorpion took full advantage of! youtube.com/shorts/FtYHz...

Ternary diagram of geoscientists. Where do you fall?

The view of Death Valley from Dante's view is spectacular. Lake Manly is clearly drying up but it may get a little push from the storms coming through this week. #deathvalley

Hundreds of pupfish at Salt Creek in Death Valley! The flood damaged boardwalk has been replaced and is a nice walk. The fish have survived here since the ice ages in water that at times is three times as salty as the sea and sometimes as much as 100° (1/2)

The superbloom is just getting started. I'm seeing flowers sprouting in places I've never seen or noticed before in Death Valley in my 35 years of travels here. And Lake Manly still persists! #deathvalley

Yes, we’re doing our best to help @geotripper.bsky.social on this trip, but seeing all these flowers with @xenolith.bsky.social and Z is a lovely way to celebrate Valentines Day. We both love Desert Five Spots and we found quite a few!

There are absolutely no wildflowers in Death Valley. Especially not any near Jubilee Pass. Only awesome diamictites and dolostones. Definitely stay away if you don’t like rocks. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Flowers in the California desert. Looking forward to a journey through Death Valley tomorrow!

@ivan-ehlers.bsky.social Worth taking time to read this one

Talked to a Somali man today who said his mosque last night was surrounded by neighbors ready to protect them against ICE if needed. Made me feel proud to live in this city.

No. We don’t need to “modify ICE training.” We need to close DHS. Dismantle it. It’s an outdated expensive bureaucracy that’s been usurped by violent white supremacists. Shut it down.

Our favorite sighting of the day on a foggy afternoon at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge. We were on the Waterfowl route and came across the first Short-eared Owl we've ever seen in CA #birdwatching

I tend to really hate the Tule Fogs in our Central Valley, but sometimes walking along the Tuolumne River trail there's a certain moody ambiance.

Community members in Minneapolis surround ICE agents as they conduct a "citizenship test" on a brown-skinned man pumping gas at a gas station, ultimately forcing the agents back into their cars.

The message from the White House this morning is that, once again, it falls on ordinary American citizens to remain calm and professional when dealing with the heavily armed agents of the government because they are very emotional and might fly off into a murderous rage at the slightest insult.

Still waiting for those Epstein files to be released

Are Americans really going to except a federal police state where masked men kill people in broad daylight with impunity? Really? The answer must be no.

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich