Recap and Prep: Talking Circles and Caves
Back at the rental house outside Eugene today. Spent the morning reviewing notes and sample data from yesterday’s crop circle trip. A few of us gathered in the kitchen. Mathew ran a pot of coffee strong enough to register on Robin’s EMF meter. Professor sat at the table scribbling figures on a napkin, unbothered by the debate happening around him about the flattened stalks. Jennifer and Vernon went back and forth for a while on plant memory and stalk hydration—something about phototropism that I won’t pretend to understand.
Egiel, who’s been relatively quiet, said he thought the clean pattern suggested intent—not necessarily alien, just not random. That got Donna talking about the psychology of perception and symbolism in patterns. I threw in a sarcastic theory about interdimensional pranksters. That got a laugh. We needed that.
At one point, Professor looked up and asked whether we’d packed spare batteries for the equipment. Everyone answered at once, most of them “no.” He just nodded and said, “Bring more.” Then went back to his napkin math.
Robin cleaned the soil sample containers and logged their labels more methodically than anyone expected. She says she wants to double-check mineral content, see if there’s any difference between soil in the circle and outside it. Vernon offered to help, which shocked everyone.
Caleb mentioned that he’d heard about the next destination—some cave system east of Roseburg—with supposed Neolithic-era markings. He didn’t know the specifics, but Josh lit up and started listing known cave systems with historic art in southern Oregon. Eventually narrowed it down to a lesser-known site near the Umpqua National Forest, partly mapped in the 1980s but not heavily trafficked.
Jennifer, who has a focus in Native American Studies, warned us not to jump to conclusions about the markings. She’s concerned we might mistake something symbolic or ritualistic for “evidence.” Professor agreed, but added that some of the early reports referenced pictographs of animals “with things in the sky.” That’s what pulled this site into our itinerary.
We also sorted car assignments today—sort of. As of now:
• Vehicle 1: Caleb driving, with Jennifer, Josh, and Robin
• Vehicle 2: Donna driving, with me, and Vernon
• Vehicle 3: Professor (still refuses to let anyone else drive it), with Egiel and Mathew
That will likely change. Robin’s already eyeing Vernon’s seat and muttering about personal space. I claimed Donna drives like she’s “fleeing the law,” but agreed to stick it out for now.
We leave tomorrow morning. It’s about 130 miles to the site entrance. No lodging near the cave system, so we’re packing for possible overnight sleep in the vehicles. If it’s too cold, we’ll make the call to head back and return another day. Forecast says mid-30s at night. Josh is already dreading it.
Final check on gear is tonight after dinner. If I can get everyone to agree on which batteries we did pack.
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Miles Driven Today: 0 (Rest and planning day)
