TA Tom Wiles prepared a Hill Country brew for the waking geologists.
TAs do the cooking, but not the cleaning.
The location is now state property but was once in private hands—the past owners built the dam to create a recreational area.
Fieldwork starts at sunrise.
Senior Lecturer and trip leader Mark Helper shows students an example of their assignment for the Geo440 field trip, a stratigraphic profile of the Mason Mountains (using the term mountain in Texas Hill Country fashion).
Will King would like people to believe that's a real rock he's holding.
Meet Crossy of Arabia, taking shelter from the Hill Country sun.
Students map the geology of the Mason Mountains.
TA Gareth "Crossy" Cross cooks up a storm.
The campsite was a scene for quiet reflection.
Mark Helper explains some features of the Hill Country formations.
Back on terra firma, two students work out their location using GPS.
Onlookers were amused if not exactly impressed.
Students show some Longhorn pride.
Grad students throw farther.
Towards the end the day, students engaged in feats of strength during the geology games.
Tom Wiles shows students some more granite domes.
Mark Helper risks life and limb to scale the summit of the Mason Mountains—his sherpa stands outside the frame.
Successful geologists bring an array of skills to the field.
Tools of the trade: compass-clinometer, topographic maps, aerial photographs, and protractor.
Students collect firewood for a cold night in the mountains.
Here is a granite exfoliation dome.
This "lake" (again, using the Hill Country lexicon) is on the property and showcases the granite domes of the region.
The group poses on a granite formation.
Most students, shown here descending from the summit, were able to make the climb without oxygen masks.
Student Alicia Hewlett inks in her map.