Trip- Day 5 Thursday July 19, 2012

Day 5- Thursday July, 19, 2012

1-Gaudineer Knob Guadineer Knob

Our group went to the second virgin forest in West Virginia called Gaudineer Knob. This forest was nothing like the first virgin forest we saw on Sunday, Cathedral State Park. There were lots of diverse trees and shrubs here unlike Cathedral. Where Cathedral only had hemlock and a few birch trees; Guadineer had everything from oak, ash, maple, and lots of others. The most spectacular feature of Guadineer was the red spruce portion. Not the whole forest has these but certain areas do. I will have pictures posted below. Make sure you look at the differences between the two different places we visited in Guadineer.

·         You will need to compare and contrast the differences between the forests. We will be looking at  different places on campus of HHS and doing comparisons.

·         We will also be identifying the different species of trees at HHS. I would like to take a 30 x 30 area and see what different species we find.

2-Water testing at Durbin of the Greenbrier River

We tested the same river but just at a different location today. We tested for dissolved oxygen, temperature, total dissolved solids, turbidity, and pH. The results showed that 44.43 was the stream water quality, this leaves it at a fair condition.

·         Don’t forget that we will be doing water testing. We will be testing the pond and other water streams in the tri-state area.

3-Durbin Rocket (train) Durbin Rocket

   Our group rode another train today called the Durbin Rocket. This is another locomotive that runs on coal/steam. However, the differences are that the gears are different. The Cass Scenic Railroad locomotive was like a bike that does not have any gears. It goes up very slow and it is very hard for it to make it up the mountain. However, the Durbin Rocket is called a Climax engine. This means that it has gears that will help it move quicker or easier up mountains. This is like a 10 speed bike. It has gears that will help it move easier and more efficient up a hill.

·         We will be doing some lessons on the different locomotives. Try to think of differences that you see in the pictures.

·         I also want you to remember that these were the trains that use to bring the logs down from the mountain. Very important part of our history here in West Virginia.

1- Guardineer Knob

A tree growing on top of a rock

Red Spruce virgin forest

Branches of a red spruce

3- Durbin Rocket

Durbin Rocket Engine - Climax No. 3

Climax Engine Gear