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| KWHR Meter team wiring up meter #1 |
On Friday, prior to our game park departure, the KWHR team narrowed our floating offset problem down to temperature fluctuations and successfully installed a meter in Brenden’s house. YAY!!! And Charlie and Jean taught Etienne, turns out he’s 10, how to drive his electric tricycle.
We left for “Park W” game park in typical African fashion (2 hours behind schedule) with 6 people in the interior of a Toyota pickup with an additional 4 on a wooden bench laid across the bed of the pickup. Randy, was given the place of honor (the front seat) due to his superior status as professor. Our guide was very amiable and despite the language barriers, bruised buttocks, and cramped legs, we made it to the park in good spirits. Before we ventured in, our guide showed us a map and pointed out the bore holes which were drilled to help retain water during the dry season. Randy, with the utmost elegance afforded to the French language then asked, “Est-ce que l’eau etait ici avant du fromage?” The dumbfounded looks on our guides’ faces made him realize he had just asked, “Was the water there before the cheese?” instead of “Was the water there before the bore holes?” After the laughter settled, the real adventure began…
Look! An antelope! Rumble rumble rumble… look a herd of water buffalo! Rumble rumble rumble… MONKEYS! And so our journey continued cruising at 35km/hr and slamming on the breaks every 10 minutes or so when someone would spot (or think they spotted…. Oops) an animal amidst the brush. We saw warthogs, water buffalo, monkeys, baboons, eagles, mongoose, colorful birds, mini-antelope, antelope, and giant antelope (no really, like as big as a horse). As the evening wore on and darkness blocked our vision, we sped up to reach “Point Triple” (called that because it is close to the triple point where Benin, Niger, and Burkina Faso meet), where we were to spend the night. Randy made a joke that now that we have sped up a water buffalo is going to jump out in front of our truck, and no sooner had the words left his mouth than a huge water buffalo steps right out in front of our headlights! Fortunately, we had an alert driver who braked with some room to spare. Crisis averted.
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| Making an illegal border crossing at "Triple Point" |
We made it to our destination and spend the night playing cards, eating a late dinner, and star gazing with zero light pollution… WOW! After breakfast the following morning we hiked a bit and came to the triple point and became illegal aliens as we walked into Niger and Benin. Then we piled back into the pickup for another mobile expedition. We journeyed to places where the park installed the bore holes and pumps to scout and advise on potential solar implementation. Along the way we saw more animals and stopped a few times to walk around and investigate the lion and elephant poop. On one such stop I noticed some holes in the ground and decided to lie down and peer in with my flashlight. Our guide quickly came over and informed us that those holes are homes for the crocodiles during the rainy season, but house warthogs now. Close call.
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| Face to face with a warthog... just kidding, it was empty. |
With sore rumps we returned to the SIM compound and were greeted by Angela and Doug! Thoroughly satisfied with our experience, we were content to spend the rest of the night relaxing with cards, books, and blogging.
Mahadaga out,
Kevin and the team
3 comments:
Wow, all that offest from temperature? Does that mean you need to have a thermally compensated algorithm for current sensor?
(Kevin's Mom)
To Jean from Lauren and Cora: "Sisterhood of the traveling purple skirt"
HI JEAN!!!!!! NICE SKIRT!!!!!!!!!!
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