Hello from Marsden, Saskatchewan. I'm delighted to report that I was on hand
today as the media horde descended on a farm just south of Lone Rock (!), SK,
where several meteorite fragments were found frozen in a slough. It was quite
the scene, with some 35 media people meeting at a fast food restaurant in
Lloydminster, with some 20 vehicles joining a convoy for a 20-minute drive to
the site. Plus a helicopter!

These meteorites, recovered by Ellen Milley and Alan Hildebrand of the
University of Calgary, have been tentatively identified as ordinary chondrites
of Type 5 or 6. Dr. Hildebrand estimates that some thousands of meteorites may
have fallen in a strewn field some 3 by 8 km in extent.

Later as Frank and I roamed the area hoping to find a meteorite or two that may
have fallen on crown land, we encountered another fellow with an astronomy
interest who suggested we go to the Marsden Hotel pub about 20 km to the south.
Here we saw an extraordinary site -- a 13 kilogram meteorite which had been
recovered by an enterprising rock hound. It was a monster, somewhat larger than
a human head. My fellow adventurer Frank Florian quickly confirmed it was
indeed a meteorite, and somehow Alan Hildebrand caught wind of it and arrived a
couple hours later for a look-see. He too immediately confirmed its
extraterrestrial origin. Where it was found and who actually owns the thing
remains an open question at this point.

Needless to say, though, it was a huge hit at the pub where the locals were
passing it around and examining it carefully. Given it had already been handled
rather excessively, there was no point in passing up the opportunity to pick up
and hold this object which is simultaneously one of the newest and one of the
oldest rocks on Earth. What a tremendous thrill to say the least.

The combined observation of seeing the fireball, observing some of its
meteorites _in situ_, and now having touched a large member of the family ranks
very high on my Life List.

More adventuring tomorrow; I'll write a more detailed report once we return to
Edmonton.

Bruce
*****

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