This morning we went to Yellow Creek which was our first opportunity to collect water samples. This area is one of the earliest coal mines. The mining was complete and the mine abandoned by 1906. The gray rocks in the area are sandstone. All the water is acidic, but it is not because of pyrite. We walked out to a unique environment that was like a self-contained little world. There were little sundew surrounding the bog water. The ground was covered with sphagnum moss which made it very soft, and the ground would pull in your shoes. The area was full of cotton grass, ferns, and low bush blueberries. I even picked my own blueberries! I am really acclimating to the environment because a huge spider climbed up my foot, and I just knocked it off without incident!
We left the Board of Education at 1:00 and began the journey in the Milton van. We are van 3. We drove for about 3 1/2 hours and then arrived in Parsons, West Virginia. It was so nice to see the renewable, clean energy being created in the mountains. We did a lab in which we worked with a partner to find the rpms and speed of the windmills. We discovered the speed was about 130 mph. I had the pleasure of working with my own middle school science teacher, Wendy. In Thomas we learned about Davis and Elkins and yellow boy. We also saw Mine 3. It was a productive day.
I am getting ready for the big trip by practicing my blogging skills on this Tablet. I am posting a picture of the flowers in my fireplace as a reminder that Steve will point out lots of plants on this trip - he and Pat seem to know every plant. It really is amazing!
