We just got back from a 3 hour EVA up along the Hab Ridge within the Dakota sandstone, heading south for a kilometre or so. Earlier in the day, we had all been outside, filling in a 65 meter ditch, but this was my first chance to explore the surroundings.

If I started out in awe of the vistas, I soon discovered that the spectacular is equally in the details. Thanks to the geologists in the crew, I soon learned what I was looking at. That what appeared to be little red rocks, were enormous concretions; that a little bulge on a rock face becomes a comet tail.

Later, heading back, I notice the cloud patterns. If a meteorologist were with us, I'd have learned what they meant, what kind of weather they predicted would be coming in. How, I wonder, do we all choose what to see and to learn?

I decide to find out, and discover that for the crew here it often was a result of some quirky childhood incident. Stacy, at age 4, went with her parents to Florida to watch the Apllo 11 launch. She still remembers the noise, the light; and something about that stuck. Amber grew up in a national park with parents who were both scientists. Rock climbing, going on hikes, being outside was what they did. No wonder she became the geologist. Who knows what sticks, but it's in the exploration that we have a chance to find out.

I feel lucky to be a part of an all woman crew. There is a kindness to everyone's approach, whether we are shoveling dirt or changing oil. No question is unworthy of asking and those with the information seem to take pleasure in finding explanations that are understandable. Perhaps it is the same among an all male crew, perhaps they too become familial, but I wonder.

While everyone sits at their computers, Tikvah makes dinner again. Last night her chili was delicious. Tonight it's vegetarian spaghetti, the perfect meal for our in sim dinner discussion.