Hello all,

Been on the road for nearly a month now. Was hiking the Norris Geyser basin
in Yellowstone when I heard about the attack. Thought the guy who told me was
making a sick joke, I didn't believe him. We cried and, like everybody else,
called family and friends to make sure they were okay. Then, even though we
didn't paste a flag on our bug-splattered car, we did peel the BUSH IS A PUNK
ASS CHUMP sticker off the rear bumper.

Lost track of the states we've been through on our trip. Utah is an
eye-popper, what with Arches and Grand Staircase - Escalante
(oooooooooooh!!!) and Bryce and what all else. I should be into rocks, I kept
thinking, instead of shells. But I'm not, so I hiked instead. Haven't seen
the Grand canyon yet, on account of the smoke from three not-so-controlled
burns. Time enough to do that later.

Now we are in Flagstaff for a bit, staying with Carol's family. I love the
west, but I wish it had an ocean. I miss my shells. I brought a few little
ones with me, but they're stuffed in a box somewhere in a car so full that we
call it the Pinata instead of the Xterra.

I wanted to put my Pterotyphis pinnatus in a locket so I could enjoy it and
think of the Bahamas. I talked to a jewelry maker and he measured the shell
and is going to talk to a glassblower about making a tiny vial for it. He'd
then make a silver cap that would work as a pendant. The cap would be sealed
on with a neoprene o ring. But he suggests suspending the shell in a liquid,
perhaps mineral oil, to protect it from impact. Will this hurt the shell?
Will it make its way into all the interior spaces in the shell, or will the
shell float? Any ideas, thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

Ellen