So it took me *hours* to get to sleep last night. Spent too many hours stressed and upset :( And woke up several times during the night as well. *yay*
Breakfast was much the same as yesterday.
Our first stop this morning was Riversleigh. I'd first heard about the place in 1992 - first year biology lectures with Mike Archer. So it was great to finally see the place. Well. A tiny fraction that the tourists are allowed to see. Actually I'm sure I came super close to many of the fossils taken from Riversleigh when I was working at uni - the basement had compactus after compactus of bags of dirt and rock, probably from here. Anyway, had a short walk around the tourist loop then headed off.
Rocky ranges north of Riversleigh
Australian Fossil Mammal Site
Rocks at Riversleigh
Australian Fossil Mammal Site
Fossil of a turtle at Riversleigh
Cross section of a crocodile limb bone
Limestone and conglomerate rock strata
Rock face full of fossils
Geoff from Adels Grove explaining the fossils
Fossils in the rock
Geoff from Adels Grove explaining the fossils
View from Riversleigh fossil site
Australian Fossil Mammal Site - Cambrian pancakes
I think this might have been a stromatolite at Riversleigh
I think this might have been a stromatolite at Riversleigh
Geoff with a stromatolite
Photo by Mum
Leg bone from an ancient flightless bird
Leg bone from an ancient flightless bird
Had morning tea at the Gregory River crossing.
Riversleigh Road crossing the Gregory River
Red dragonfly at the Gregory River
Riversleigh Road crossing the Gregory River
Our truck, sorry, coach crossing the Gregory River
Then onto lunch on the Barkly Highway.
Crossing the Oshannassy River
Termite mounds off the Barkly Highway
WW2 Airfield Rest Area
Road train passing WW2 Airfield Rest Area
Road train passing WW2 Airfield Rest Area
And finally into Mt Isa mid afternoon.
Air traffic control tower at Mt Isa Airport
Royal Flying Doctor Service Memorial
Our room here is quite nice. The lighting is a bit dim, and we have a view of a wall one metre opposite, but it has a desk! First desk I've had available to use in days. Although there's not actually a power point anywhere near the desk, so I don't know where you're meant to plug in the kettle. The floor over by the wall? Bedside table? Bathroom? hrmm.
Mum and I headed out for a bit of a walk. It was pretty hot, and the flies were super annoying. And the GPS on Stu's phone was playing up, so I was having difficulty hacking portals. And checked the intel map and there was lots of blue goo west of Cairns, so I couldn't link from here across to there. Oh well. I put some link amps on the eastern-end portals, in case someone else can use them.
Clock tower in Mt Isa
Mulla mulla flowers aka pussy cat tail
Hard Times Mine
The Contemporary Miner sculpture outside Outback at Isa
Steam locomotive in Outback at Isa
Walked up to the lookout to have a look down on the town and the mines.
Mount Isa Race Club
Mt Isa from the lookout
Mines of Mt Isa from the lookout
Mines of Mt Isa from the lookout
City direction and distance signpost
Our hotel in Mt Isa from the lookout
Had a nice shower before heading down to dinner. I had slow-cooked pork cheek which was super tender and tasty, a huge steak that was a tad overdone on the edges but not too bad in the middle, and a lovely poached pear. All very nice, and I am *very* full now!
Oh, we heard the 8pm mine blasts go off too, at 8:10pm.
Also, static electricity is back with all the carpets and the super dry air here.
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