[meteorite-list] Mojave and Sahara Teams are Both Back

From: Adam Hupe <adamhupe_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:18:03 2004
Message-ID: <02d801c3c9d2$9e56a720$d2dbe60c_at_attbi.com>

Dear List Members,

The Mojave and Sahara teams are both back safely and in time for the
holidays. We want to thank everybody for their patience in regards to us
answering our emails. We also want to thank those who bid on our auctions
while we were away. We are now caught up with shipping for those who have
been waiting patiently.

A lot of firsts happened on both expeditions.

The Mojave trip was the first time we had a chance to seriously check out
the dried out lake beds, what a thrill for all of us. You members who live
down there are in a beautiful part of this country. We wish we lived closer
and could only imagine the fun. We actually enjoyed some success with the
finding of what we believe to be a new cold find with three like meteorites.
We are submitting samples next week. It looks like an un-metamorphosed W1
chondrite with a very fresh fusion crust and interior. It was an excellent
adventure for Steve Drummond who found his very first meteorite ever,
congratulations again, Steve!

The Sahara expedition produced the most fantastic material we have seen come
out of one place. This is the first time a scientist went in the field to
Northwest Africa with a group of collectors for the purpose of acquiring
rare meteorites. Dr. Irving, a former NASA scientist and current research
scientist with the University of Washington decided it was time to check out
this region that produces such excellent research material. He was not
disappointed and having a scientist along goes a long way in adding
credibility to the NWA situation. List member, Jason Phillips joined the
expedition and demonstrated great value with his meticulous observations and
note taking, something that should be done on every expedition,
congratulations on a job well-done Jason.

Everybody is happy about making it back in one piece and with, what we are
all calling, the mother load. We are already dreaming of Tucson and the
spring time expeditions. The second part of the treasure hunt has just
begun as we are preparing this material for study. We can not even try to
describe one of the meteorites because it is so bizarre, smells like another
contest! If somebody were to tell us all of the features contained in this
one meteorite, we would have taken them for crazy. I guess we will have to
show it in Tucson after it is studied to find other believers that such a
thing really can exist.

Wishing Everybody Happy Holidays and the Very Best,

Adam and Greg Hupe
The Hupe Collection,
IMCA 2185
Received on Tue 23 Dec 2003 11:01:32 PM PST