Day 3 August 7, 2009

Today we left LaQuinta Inn and Tucson. Dave Wagner and his son, Ryan, joined us last night at the hotel. He drove a minivan, all our luggage, and 2 team members and his son to Cave Creek. So the rest of us traveled with Lee in the 12 passenger van. We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest area and ate left over cold pizzas and breadsticks, and made sandwiches with turkey and cheese from food he purchased at Whole Foods.

We stopped off of I80 at a pass to make a collection of caterpillars. It was very barren and after about an hour or so, Lee said we would just go to Cave Creek, get settled in our cabins, and then collect in that area. He had never stayed at Cave Creek and once we arrived and saw the beauty of the area, we were very pleasantly surprised. 4 of the team are staying in the Stone House which is made of stone. Junko, Suoko, Aimee, and I are in the Ranch House and it is huge! There are 3 bedrooms upstairs with one full bath and a bedroom downstairs. The living area is very large and has a fireplace with stone walls from floor to ceiling. The kitchen is quite large for a cabin. Lee wished he had known because we might have bought more food and cooked here on occassions.

After we chose our cabins and bedrooms, we split up into different groups. Junko, Suoco, and myself starting collecting caterpillars. Another group of 4 collected also in the area of Cave Creek. Lee drove 3 up to the research station to begin setup in the lab. Later we found out that Kathy and Aimee stayed with Dave and his son to collect at the campsite Lee was staying in and they hit the jackpot with many great finds!

Lee picked us up about 5:30 and drove us to the research station for dinner. They literally ring the dinner bell outside announcing that dinner is served. It wasn't fancy, but it sure hit the spot! Beef, mushrooms, and gravy over spiral pasta, carrots and peas, mixed salad, apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream. It was very filling and the homemade cobbler was a nice ending.

Lee showed us where we will work in the lab and set us up for our assignments for the morning. I will start out with Jared and Suoco collecting caterpillars from the junipers. So we will "beat the bushes" until lunchtime. Everyone will switch jobs after lunchtime. I am excited about working in the lab. Thoses tasks will include taking pictures of caterpillars, counting, measuring, and placing them where they will mature. I'm not sure exactly where or how Lee plans on doing that, but this info should be included in my next blog.

I forgot to mention that we drove into New Mexico on the way here and moved in and out of a time zone without even knowing it! I didn't bring a watch with me because I didn't want to "live by the minute" on this expedition. I rely on others with their watch when time factors are important such as "meeting Lee and the van for dinner".......4 in our group were not able to be found when we needed to leave for dinner this evening and they were left behind. Dave stayed behind in his minivan and found them within 10 minutes in Jared and John's cabin. Apparently Kathy didn't check their cabin and only the stone house. This became a "constant jab" back and forth all night in a lighthearted way.........with jokes back and forth about "watch out what you find in your cabin or bed at night", etc......haven't seen any scorpions yet. BUT, the late dinner group did see a 4 foot rattlesnake along side the road on the way to dinner. They took great pictures..........so this is a very good reminder to all of us: WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!
I don't want to encounter one without being on the lookout.

It's late and I need to close. Everyone was told that internet was not available at Cave Creek but I signed on just to try and I found a Lincsys somewhere and I've not had any problems. Guess someone forgot to update the owner/manager that there is internet here! I'm greatful!

Until tomorrow.........I hope to upload some pictures on my next blog.