The Llano Estacado

We finally finished our 50 mile survey from the Lake Alan Henry Dam to Lubbock. It was a lot of fun off the caprock - with brush, cacti, cattle and an occasional horse, even if my comrade was struck in the calf by some cholla. Once we got onto the high plains, also know as the Llano Estacado (stake plains), it was not so easy. I really thought we would have it easy up on the flat lands because all of the land we would walk across was under cultivation. But that is what made it hard. The width and depth of the furrows were wide and deep resepctively, and our survey line was never in alignment with the rows, so we had to either make really large steps, or step on the high part then the low part (like a stair stepping machine), or take a big step then a tiny step then a big step . . . .it is hard to explain how difficult it was but for the first time since we started this project, over a month ago, I was out of breath within 200 meters of the truck. It was just sad! So, not very easy. We did find a few sites, scattered debris from making chipped stone tools, along side of three playas (small indentions in the plains that hold water and were semi-reliable water sources) but nothing too exciting.

I am now waiting to see what my next field project will be . . .