“Local Geo” News

 You can discover our Fantastic Landscapes tour destinations at the end of this letter. DON’T DIE before you SEE THESE PLACES (in 2018): Hawaii (next Jan. -- 3 spaces left), Iceland (6 spaces left), Yosemite National Park and much more. Also note that our very popular 2012 National Parks A – Z trip of several years ago will likely run again in 2019.

AND THERE IS EVEN A NAKED GEOLOGIST JOKE (using that term loosely) AT THE END OF THIS EMAIL. Boy, how often to you experience that? But first……..

WHAT TO DO THIS WINTER???

1. If you are in the Amherst area, check out this important and interesting series at the Jones Library and the Hitchcock Center (at their new building)!

Community Read

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
by Elizabeth Kolbert

Programs:

  • Tuesday, January 31 at 7 pm: Dr. Richard Palmer from UMass-Amherst will speak on global warming and the Connecticut River, at Jones Library.
  • Tuesday, February 7 at 7 pm: Dr. Ray Bradley will present a program entitled "The Human Footprint on the Earth's Environment," at Jones Library.
  • Thursday, February 16 at 7 pm: Book discussion at the Hitchcock Center, led by a Jones Library librarian and an environmental educator from the Hitchcock Center
  • Saturday, February 25th at 2:30 pm: Book discussion at the Jones Library, led by a Jones Library librarian and an environmental educator from the Hitchcock Center

Culminating Event:

Evening with the Elizabeth Kolbert: Tuesday, February 28 at 7pm at the Amherst Regional Middle School Auditorium, general admission seating

2. 7:30 pm Feb. 21 at the Lathrop Communities, 100 Bassett Brook Drive, Northampton MA (off Florence Rd, near Rte. 10 and Easthampton town line) Mt. Tom Meeting Room.

At 7:00 is the Annual Meeting of Easthampton’s Pascommuck Conservation Trust and about 7:30 the Speaker Program will feature Richard Little talking about the Holyoke Range in this talk titled: “Holey Basalt!” The amazing geology stories in Mt Tom and the Holyoke Range. Join the trust and/or find some great natural places:

3. March 25 – 26. Mark your calendar….it’s time for the annual Western Mass Jewelry and Fossil Show, Hadley Farms Meeting House, 41 Russell St (Rte. 9), Hadley MA Just in case you don’t know this area, it is easy to find -- just off Rte. 91 as if you were heading to Amherst. Sponsored by the Conn. Valley Mineral Club. If you want excellent geology collecting adventures, you should join this club.

4. COMING “Geo Interest” EVENTS FROM THE G.C.C. Pioneer Valley Institute: Cabot Station, Turners Falls’ hydropower station that was the biggest in New England (Apr. 21, 7 pm); Cave Hill, Leverette: Paleozoic Plate Tectonics Preserved and diverse ecosystems, too. Apr. 29, 10 – 2. Barton Cove’s History, Spring Flowers, and Geology, May 21, 10 – 2 pm. Spring into the Berkshires – a day van (or private car) trip from Greenfield to Mt Greylock. Geology, history, ecology topics. June 11, 8:45.

FOR PVI ACTIVITIES you must register! Visit to see the whole schedule and register online. The Berkshire Day in June cannot be enrolled until late April.

 And Now: Fantastic Landscapes Tours with Richard & Suzanne Little. He’s the “rock guy” and she’s the flower lady. As a reader of this email, you are the first to know about our complete listing for 2018. Our web site is to be updated shortly, but if one of these tours is definitely for you, you need to contact me ASAP as space in these small group adventures is definitely limited. We stay IN the National Parks, so that you are always close to the fantastic landscapes that are your reasons for being there. I WILL EMAIL YOU THE BROCHURE(S). They will also be on the web site by mid January. (All our 2017 trips are full.)

Hawaii. January Jan. 10 – 26, 2018 Three Islands including remote Hana on Maui, Big Island Volcano House Hotel on the rim of Kilauea. Red hot lava guaranteed, plus world-class reefs, beaches, rainforest. You will not believe the incredible walks, hikes, and tropical plants on this trip! Best-in-the-world Lava trails, top of volcanoes, bamboo rainforest, whales, and the USS Arizona Memorial. Don’t delay: very limited space available including a SINGLE FEMALE room-share for another excellent female traveler.

2018 - MARCH into the DESERT! In Mid March it is our fantastic Southern Californiacoastal loop from San Diego to Long Beach where we stay on the historic Queen Mary. We take the ferry & explore Catalina Island and then head inland to Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, the Salton Sea and Anza Borrego Desert State Park (the size of Rhode Island – and you may never have heard of it). This trip has some of the most diverse, impressive landscapes of any place on Earth. See the itinerary and come with us! We know the best places. The snow capped desert mountains and spring flowers plus California coastal walks will leave a lasting impression.

ICELAND ! We have been running tours to Iceland almost every year for the past decade in early summer. It is a place you have to see! Talk about fantastic landscapes! Puffins, geysers, volcanoes, glaciers, cliffs, waterfalls, spectacular coastlines, iceberg beaches, wonderful people, and your only chance in the world to investigate a plate tectonic spreading center. On, wow… Iceland is all it’s cracked up to be! ....see my brochure. June 25 – July 7th.

And finally for 2018 ----- Northern California’sFantastic Landscapes: Coast, Volcanoes, Great Faults, Basin & Range Mojave Desert, and YOSEMITE National Park! Aug. 11 to 25, 2018. Arrive San Francisco and head across the Golden Gate to the beautiful N. Cal. Coast with Redwoods. Then: Lake Tahoe, High Sierras and adjacent desert (Mono Lake), Obsidian – Pumice Volcanoes you can climb, Bristlecone Pines, Devils Postpile Nat. Mon. and finally, Yosemite National Park. We will have coveted reservations in Yosemite National Park. AND….. We have scheduled the Full Moon to rise for your pleasure over Half Dome. Oh, my! You’ve got to see this! What a trip.

Our FANTASTIC LANDSCAPE TOURS are an absolutely wonderful way to experience the wonders of our Earth. Be amazed, smell the flowers, have time to relax, enjoy the beauty and solitude. We always plan 2 to 4 days at each lodging, so you can minimize packing & really enjoy being there. Please see the brochures for more information about the trip(s) of your choice. Prices: due to our lodgings in uniquely scenic places these trips are not cheap. Each two week journey runs about $3 – 4,000 per person, air fare not included. However, if you check out other tour companies, most of the time you pay less for our trips and you definitely get more. There is absolutely no other tour company that gives you excellent lodgings, relaxed pacing, professional geo-tour leader, and an edited, spectacular* video of your trip. [*”Spectacular” is my rating…..based on consumer reviews and a humble and modest evaluation by me, the creator…..and that’s not capital C “Creator”]

Do you need advice? Have an interesting “unknown” rock? Traveling to a destination where we also go? Want to know more about Conn. Valley geology including the intriguing armored mud balls? You can email me with your questions and comments. If you have a travel question, I’ll tell you where to go.

AND FINALLY THE PROMISED JOKE……………………..

A field trip of bird-hating, NUDEST GEOLOGISTS went to the beach.

They left no stone unturned…….

AND

They left no tern unstoned……..

AND

They left no stern untoned……

AND

They left.

On a cold, snowy weekend in Massachusetts, even reading this email does not seem like badly wasted time. Or does it?

Happy Trails and Best Wishes, Richard Little, Geo. Prof. Emeritus, Greenfield Community College, proprietor: Earth View LLC, discoverer of Conn. Valley Armored Mud Balls and presenter of Fantastic Landscapes Tours plus books, DVDs, and talks about local geology. Need a program for your group? See my web site for topics.

(413) 527-8536

I am master of my new domain! EarthView.rocks
-----It's way more than rocks.....visit and see-----

6 Grandview Ln, Easthampton MA 01027
413 527-8536