(meteorobs) Search for a screamer (part two)

[Bruce McCurdy]

    As mentioned in my previous post, I did indeed join fellow Edmonton 
RASCal Mark Zalcik on Friday in a further meteorite search near Lily Lake 
north of Edmonton.  It was another hot but pleasant day in a bucolic 
setting, a herd of plains bison in the nearest field ruminating on our 
intentions. I said to Mark they may well have witnessed the fireball, but no 
way were they going to tell us about it.

    By the time I joined him Mark had interviewed nine farmers in the area. 
Upon Mark's request to conduct a search, one farmer matter-of-factly said 
"If anybody's going to find something on my farm, it'll be me." No 
disrespect intended, just a simple fact; those fields are LARGE! The 
proverbial needle in a haystack seems a reasonable search by comparison. 
Maybe weeks or months from now one of those farmers or somebody they know 
will spot an unusual rock from their tractor, and now they'll know what to 
do ...

    Besides the obligatory binocular scan of nearby fields, we conducted a 
search on foot in some county land near a large gravel pile. Taking opposite 
sides of the township road, both of us meandered along the wide roadside 
ditches like a pair of drunken minesweepers. Wouldn't you know but within 
five minutes a hot yellow sports car containing two good-looking ladies 
stopped to talk to Mark. Meanwhile I'm thinking to myself "Hmmm ... this 
meteorite searching must be a real chick magnet!" Turns out they were asking 
him how they should go about getting a truck load of gravel, but it was a 
fun fantasy while it lasted.

    The story doesn't get much more interesting from there; in a couple of 
hours searching, we found a number of interesting but decidedly terrestrial 
rocks, and absolutely nothing that hinted of a more exotic origin. But we 
felt compelled to try, and were glad that we had, even with nothing to show 
for our efforts.

    Bruce
    *****