On this frigid Wednesday afternoon bundled up in a hoodie among angry looking taxidermied (if you want to know which poorly taxidermied animal you would be, Buzzfeed has the quiz for you!) primates I am both wishing I was back in Africa, and mildly uplifted by the fact that it is Hump Day, and the weekend is inching ever so close.

It can be easy to forget what series of events led me here: sitting at a desk, watching a red laser dance over the surface of a capuchin ulna, cold, tired, and hungry. Until I remember Africa. Most of the pictures that will be covered in this “View from the Office” series, the backstory to the pictures that alternate along the top margin of the page, are from my summers in Kenya. (Part 1 here).

The picture below (and perhaps above if the universe lines up correctly) was taken on day two of the drive from Mugie Ranch to Koobi Fora Base Camp. The night before we reached the tip of Lake Turkana: behind us the lush green highlands, seas of orange sand ahead. Along the middle of the lake the road turns east, away from the coast. Driving up we pass small “settlements” of the local Gabra nomadic pastoralists who keep camels.

The desert is an amazing place: beautiful, peaceful, and complex. Though, frame to frame, mile to mile, hour after hour the Lion King-esq acacia tree in the distance becomes monotonous. Land rovers were filled with music and word games and gossip to pass the time. Then, a few hours into the drive we were engulfed by camels, diverting our attentions back to the world on the other side of the dirty rover windows. Hundreds, no, thousands of camels were being herded along the dusty dirt road in the opposite direction of our seven car caravan. Camels merged left and right out of the central corridor as our cars sliced through the herd, leaving chaotic rapids in the otherwise coordinated flowing river on either side. Ironically, we passed so many camels for so long, by the last meandering groups the exciting entertainment outside became the doldrums yet again.

While the herds prolonged our already lengthy drive, it was a really cool experience and a fond memory. Most of research, in the field or the collections, can be monotonous. That is often confused with boredom and lack of inspiration. But I do it for the camels, the unexpected results, and sense of discovery.

Happy Hump Day everyone!