In the course of my research, either on fieldwork or presenting results at scientific meetings, I have travelled through Russia, Central America, South and East Africa, and have recently returned from the wonders of China. In nearly all of these areas I have seen some of the world's wild areas, sights that few have seen. Everywhere a geologist goes, there is wonderful wildlife. Camping in remote areas often has rewards that remain for a lifetime. Even the more modest creatures from chipmunks to snakes never cease to fascinate.
Geologists spend many happy hours talking about bugs.
On hot sultry days in a northern Ontario alder swamp, deer flies by the score buzz and bite and bother. But despite all the harassment by bugs, one is always encountering the unexpected in the insect world. One morning at our campsite somewhere in the Lake of the Woods south of Kenora, ugly nymphs were crawling out of the rocks only to split before our eyes and become transformed to dragonflies. Travel in wild places has a particular fascination because often one's transportation is primitive, unreliable, unscheduled, and erratic. A few years ago a lawyer friend introduced me to some of his clients who were interested in exploring for dia monds in the uncharted jungles of central Borneo and wanted to hire me as a geologist.