CASTLE PEAK

WILD WEST COAST: COLLISHAW POINT

VOLOUBILIS: MOSAICS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

IN THE FIELD

WIND AND WAVE: KAYAK SAILING

HOWE SOUND CORRIDOR

A short 90-minute drive north of the city of Vancouver, the nation's gateway to the Pacific, is a recreational Shangri-La that attracts four season adventurers from around the globe to ski, board, hike, mountain bike, kayak and climb the local peaks.

This treasure trove wilderness playground stretches along the breathtaking Sea-to-Sky Highway affording breathtaking views of the Pacific as it follows Highway 99 north out of the sparkling gem of Vancouver from Lions Bay, through Squamish and Garibaldi and into the picturesque Whistler Valley.

As you drive out of the city, look at the mountains to the north. Grouse, Cypress and Seymour mountains provide easy access skiing for the happy winter adventurer and a beautiful backdrop to the young city of Vancouver, Canada's third-largest metropolis, year-round.

While the city sits on relatively young sandstone and mudstone, the North Shore Mountains are made from granite that formed deep within the Earth more than 100 million years ago.

Following Highway 99, you’ll hug the coastline of Howe Sound, a glacially carved fiord which extends from Horseshoe Bay (20 km northwest of Vancouver) to the hamlet of Squamish. The road is perched high above the water, blasted into the rock of the steep glacial-valley slope and has been the chosen path for First Nation hunters, early explorers, the miners of the Gold Rush and now the rush of tourism.

Carved from the granitic mountainside high above Howe Sound, this scenic pathway has been a rich recreation corridor and traditional First Nation hunting ground for many years.

Steeped in a First Nations history, bountiful wildlife and gorgeous vistas, the Whistler corridor is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful spots on the globe with something for everyone.

WORLD THROUGH A LENS

SEARCHING FOR SCIENTIFIC TREASURE

PADDLING: VANCOUVER ISLAND

BASE CAMP AT THE TOP OF WORLD

Pterodactyl-Inspired Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Multimodal Locomotion

IT SEEMS WE ALL LOVE BIG BIRD... THOUGH IN THIS CASE IT IS A PTERODACTYL INSPIRING THE SCIENTISTS INSTEAD OF A LARGE YELLOW FELLOW INSPIRING THE MASSES...

View abstract, session no. 260, paper no. 12: Pterodactyl-Inspired Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Multimodal Locomotion at:
http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2008am/webprogram/Paper47647.html

PROVENCE

Neanderthals.. not the coolest of the cool kids

Scientists have determined that Neandertals had big mouths that they were able to open unusually wide. No great surprise given their large craniums and strong facial musculature, but what is more interesting is that we have now sequenced their DNA and determined that they did not interbreed with modern homeo sapien sapiens. They may have over lapped in time, but not in genes...

Do you suppose Neanderthals died out because of some lack of evolutionary skill or perhaps their small, inbred population with a sea of genetic mutations and mouths gaped widely meant the cooler kids, the homo sapien hipsters, just wouldn't play nice, hang out and interbreed?

BABY KANE

MID-AFTERNOON CALM

MCABEE FOSSIL BEDS

BEAUTIFUL EARTH SERIES: SNICK SNACK

JOHN LEAHY AND DAVE LANGEVIN

LIGHT AND SCHöNER ZERFALL

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Unveiling the Dinosaur Discovery Gallery in Tumbler Ridge

The Dinosaur Discovery Gallery opened in June 2007...

MAJESTIC PEREGRINE

PLAYING MORNING

AMMONITE OF THE PHAROHS

KAYAKING PARADISE

by Heidi Henderson

Mid-way through a paddling trip in the beautiful Bowron lake Circuit, we reach the end of Babcock Lake and prepare for our next portage. Philip and I are photo bugs and I get my camera out to take advantage of the angle of the sun and the eroded rounded hilltops of the Quesnel Highlands that stand as backdrop. Looking around for material to shoot, Leanne pipes up and says she can see a moose a little ways off and that it appeared to be heading our way. Yes, heading our way quickly with a baby moose in tow. I lift my lens to immortalize the moment.... We three realized the moose are heading our way in double time because they are being chased by a grizzly at top speed.

"Grizzly!" The three of us gather together to prepare for what is racing towards us.

A full-grown moose can run up to fifty-six kilometres per hour, slightly faster than a Grizzly. They are also strong swimmers. Had she been alone, Mamma moose would likely have tried to out swim the bear. Currently, however, this is not the case. From where we stand we can see the water turned to white foam at their feet as they fly towards us.

We freeze, bear spray in hand. In seconds the three were upon us. Mamma moose, using home field advantage, runs straight for us and just reaching our boats, turned 90 degrees, bolting for the woods, baby moose fast on her heels. The Grizzly, caught up in the froth of running and thrill of the kill, doesn’t notice the deke, hits the brakes at the boats and stands up, confused.

Her eyes give her away. This was not what she had planned and the whole moose-suddenly-transformed-into-human thing is giving her pause. Her head tilts back as she gets a good smell of us. Suddenly, a crack in the woods catches her attention. Her head snaps round and she drops back on all fours, beginning her chase anew. Somewhere there is a terrified mother moose and calf hoping the distance gained is enough to keep them from being lunch. I choose to believe both moose got away with the unwitting distraction we provided, but I’m certainly grateful we did.

The Lakes are at an elevation of over 900 m (3000 ft) and both grizzly and black bear sightings are common. Both bear families descend from a common ancestor, Ursavus, a bear-dog the size of a raccoon who lived more than 20 million years ago. Seems an implausible lineage having just met one of the larger descendents.While we’d grumbled only hours earlier about how tired we were feeling, we now feel quite motivated and do the next two portages and lakes in good time.

Aside from the gripping fear that another bear encounter is imminent, we enjoy the park-like setting, careful to scan the stands of birch trees for dark shapes now posing as stumps.

Fortunately, the only wildlife we see are a few wily chipmunks, various reticent warblers and some equally shy spruce grouse.

VARGAS ISLAND

CHAMPS DES PAVOTS ET DU BLÉ

Un après-midi j'ai cessé d'apprécier un pique-nique et un beau peu de sommeil dans un domaine de pavot dans les sud de la France.

FOSSIL FOLIAGE

TASKEKO LAKE FOSSIL FIELD TRIP

MAMMALS

DISCOVERY: TOP OF THE ROCKIES