By the 1 990s our field
trips became more
involved, but we were
beer equipped with
boats, vehicles, and a
mobile lab truck.
By the 1990s our field trips became more involved, but we were better equipped with boats,
vehicles, and a mobile lab truck
31.1.5 Epilogue
As the 1980s gave way to the 1990s and beyond, our interest in BSL waned as our
attention shifted to the much larger and formidable Mono Lake. I had also initiated
research on arsenic, which displaced to a large degree that of selenium. In 2006, I
received an inquiry from Jolyon Jenkins, a journalist with the BBC who ran a radio
show entitled “Name Your Poison” and he wanted to come out to California to
interview me and see our field site, hopefully at Mono Lake, so he could do a
program devoted to arsenic. It was April, however, and access to the Mono Basin
was constrained because route 120 over Yosemite and through Tioga Pass was
closed due to the still abundant snow depth covering the road. Yet we offered an
alternative, a visit to BSL (also rich in arsenic) and an interview both lakeside and in
the hotel room as well. Yet we were unable to get in touch with either Al or Julia at
the Lariat, so we made alternative arrangements at an Econo Lodge or some such
chain. When the three of us arrived (Jolyon, Larry, and myself) in town the first thing
we did was to venture out to the site where the Lariat once stood and alas, there was
nothing to see. Driving around the property, we could only make out the base of the
former brick fence that ran its perimeter. There was nothing there, the Lariat had
disappeared, certainly no sign of either Al or Julia, or even a listing for them in the
local phonebook. Presumably they had both passed on. They were in their 70s when
we first met them, a couple who did all the work at the Lariat, everything from
making the beds, laundry, and restocking the rooms. They had only one son, living
in San Francisco, who had no interest in taking on such a difficult business by
himself, so we assumed the motel was razed to allow for easier sale of the property.
Yet, although inevitable, Larry and I were deeply saddened. After all, Al and Julia
had once invited the three of us (including Chuck) to come into their living area and
662
R. S. Oremland
trips became more
involved, but we were
beer equipped with
boats, vehicles, and a
mobile lab truck.
By the 1990s our field trips became more involved, but we were better equipped with boats,
vehicles, and a mobile lab truck
31.1.5 Epilogue
As the 1980s gave way to the 1990s and beyond, our interest in BSL waned as our
attention shifted to the much larger and formidable Mono Lake. I had also initiated
research on arsenic, which displaced to a large degree that of selenium. In 2006, I
received an inquiry from Jolyon Jenkins, a journalist with the BBC who ran a radio
show entitled “Name Your Poison” and he wanted to come out to California to
interview me and see our field site, hopefully at Mono Lake, so he could do a
program devoted to arsenic. It was April, however, and access to the Mono Basin
was constrained because route 120 over Yosemite and through Tioga Pass was
closed due to the still abundant snow depth covering the road. Yet we offered an
alternative, a visit to BSL (also rich in arsenic) and an interview both lakeside and in
the hotel room as well. Yet we were unable to get in touch with either Al or Julia at
the Lariat, so we made alternative arrangements at an Econo Lodge or some such
chain. When the three of us arrived (Jolyon, Larry, and myself) in town the first thing
we did was to venture out to the site where the Lariat once stood and alas, there was
nothing to see. Driving around the property, we could only make out the base of the
former brick fence that ran its perimeter. There was nothing there, the Lariat had
disappeared, certainly no sign of either Al or Julia, or even a listing for them in the
local phonebook. Presumably they had both passed on. They were in their 70s when
we first met them, a couple who did all the work at the Lariat, everything from
making the beds, laundry, and restocking the rooms. They had only one son, living
in San Francisco, who had no interest in taking on such a difficult business by
himself, so we assumed the motel was razed to allow for easier sale of the property.
Yet, although inevitable, Larry and I were deeply saddened. After all, Al and Julia
had once invited the three of us (including Chuck) to come into their living area and
662
R. S. Oremland