Field Camp for Earth Science Studies

It has been my great privilege to provide a basecamp for education and research for the international earth science community for:

• Geology field camps – over a 20-year tradition at Cynthia’s.
• Fieldwork for advanced academic degrees.
• Earth science research, in particular for global warming and planetary science.

Some of the institutions we currently serve and have served in the past:

• Columbia University
• Royal Halloway University of London
• Dartmouth College
• New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
• Brooklyn College
• Texas A&M
• NASA
• Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England
• University of Oregon
• University of Hawaii
• The California Institute of Technology(Caltech)

Some areas of geological interest within 5 miles from Cynthia’s:

• China Ranch with its 12-million-year lakebeds that erode into spectacular badlands and surrounding alluvial fan deposits.
• Emigrant Pass— lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks— I hear they make a good mapping project.
• Tecopa lake beds from Tecopa to Shoshone.

Within 15 miles from Cynthia’s:

•  Resting Spring Pass with its exposure of a 10-million-year ash flow tuff, normal faults, and a slide block.
•  The southern Ibex Hills of Death Valley National Park with Saratoga Spring, rocks of the Pahrump Group, and sand dunes.
• Southern entrance to Death Valley National Park
• Amargosa Canyon near Dumont Dunes, which hosts Proterozoic glacial  deposits from “Snowball Earth”.

THE BOOKING PROCESS

Rates are quoted individually for each school. They vary with the number of days booked and number of people attending, and selection of additional options that we offer.  

• Submit an Enquiry, email or call Cynthia to request a quote. 
• Cynthia will discuss how we can best accommodate your field camp or field work. 
• Cynthia will submit an itemized rate quote to the professor for approval. 
• Once approved, an invoice will be submitted to the professor and copied to accounts payable.
• Cynthia’s must be set up as a “preferred vendor” at your institution.
• Payment in full is required to secure your booking.

Cynthia’s has scholarships available.

LODGING

Cynthia’s Basecamp can accommodate up to 30 people. It has a total of three mobile homes that have been converted into flexible guest rooms, which can be configured to stand alone or to connect in a variety of ways. It houses a total of 19 beds in 9 rooms: 1 king, 4 queens, 6 single beds, 4 double bunk beds. There are 6 bathrooms. 

Our Private Apartment is a separate mobile home for professors only. It is a new space that includes a bedroom with a queen bed, full bathroom, kitchenette and living room with a couch that can be made into a bed.

Cynthia’s Bunkhouse is a 450 sq ft building that is essentially empty, which can be configured:

• As a “sleeping bag cabin”.
• As a lecture hall.
• A study area.
• Audio-visual equipment is available.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE OPTIONS

Standard Food and Beverage Option. Cynthia caters dinner and breakfast. All menus are prefix and prepared in house. Meals are designed to meet dietary requirements, such as vegan, allergies, and medical conditions. An indoor food prep area for your cold food field lunches is included along with food storage and refrigerator.

Option for setting up your own field camp kitchen. Rates vary according amount of people in your field camp booking. Cynthia provides potable water at no charge. 

We no longer offer a self-catering kitchen or food prep appliances. We do offer a refrigerator and storage for your cold food snacks in our dining room. Some field camps use this area to prepare their own cold breakfasts and  field lunches.

Things to know

• WIFI is provided with your booking, but please note our area does not have high speed internet. 
• There is no reliable mobile phone coverage for 40 miles in any direction.
• There are local restaurants, and a gas station with a convenience store.
• Pahrump, NV is a 40-minute drive. It has major groceries stores, a Walmart, and Desert View Hospital.

We accept credit and debit cards. Payment in full is required to secure your booking. We have a 21-day cancellation policy. For additional information, please visit our Terms of Service page.