Chalchiuhtlicue: Prime Hook Pt. 3 (7/20)

Oh my word I am exhausted.

One of many River Surveyor
measurements made!

Fred and I went back up to Prime Hook this past week! I left early Monday morning, after a typical night of not getting enough sleep. I always get a little antsy when I travel, so I didn't start with a full tank. Anyway, we ended up getting there in the early afternoon and taking measurements.

We ran into some of the guys from St. Jones Reserve, an estuary research center that works for the state of Delaware and frequently visits the Prime Hook NWR. The reserve is also where we've been staying on our trips. They saw us when we arrived and greeted us cheerfully, saying that we "Picked the hottest week to come up to collect data."

I know that when people say stuff like this, they mean it in good-humor, but I always feel like they're signing my death certificate when they talk mention things of that nature.

Upstream of the Prime Hook Creek WCS

Except it ended up being not that bad. It was actually pretty nice in comparison to the swamp- the humidity was low, and the breeze kept the bugs away. Plus we were consistently knee-deep in the bay, so that always helps the heat.

We walked the breach a million times, collecting velocities at different points. One run takes about two hours, and we did at least one or two a day while we were up there. My arms got really tan while we were there- permanent tanlines, permanent sleeves, even the people back at the bunkhouse complemented me on how tan my arms were. And then someone said something about the comparison between my arms and my legs, and let's just say I'll have to spend hours evening up this weekend.

Downstream of the PHC structure

My arms are also a little leathery. I'm mildly concerned about the amount of sun I got.

Besides the breach- we went and made countless measurements at the structures in the refuge. We smelled pretty bad when we came back from the refuge each day. A couple of times Fred was chest-deep in water filled with this nasty-smelling hydrogen sulfide- the bacteria in the water produce it as a biproduct. It is foul.

Mmm, marshy

But the trip was fine! It was nice to get away from the swamp for a couple of days, I went back earlier in the day to drop off some equipment and enter some data and I feel pretty refreshed. We were working some seriously long days, though, and being out in the sun all day is seriously draining-- by Thursday morning my skin recoiled at the slighted hint of sunlight and all I wanted to do was sleep. I was absolutely beat, but this wasn't an unpleasant exhaustion.

So today I slept in and got a whopping 11 hours of sleep- I have to catch up on all the nights I spent tossing and turning on the plastic Reserve beds.

And so closes my 7th week at the Refuges, can you believe it? (To make up for a lack of depth, photos!)