Monday 11 October 2004

BIG FOOT :: GRIZZLY TRACKS ::

We encounter many bear tracks on our fossil forays from both brown and black bears. No track fails to bring excitement to the observer. Nothing, however, brings the level of excitement mixed with a healthy dose of fear as the massive, flat-foot print of one of British Columbia's massive Grizzlies.

Friday 8 October 2004

Thursday 23 September 2004

STORM COMING DOWN

Like most mountainous areas, Bowron makes its own weather system and it appears you get everything in a 24-hour period. In fact, whatever weather you are enjoying seems to change 40 minutes later; good for rain, bad for sun. Wisps of cloud that seemed light and airy only hours early have become dark. Careful to hug the shore, we are ready for a quick escape from lightening as thundershowers break.

Friday 10 September 2004

SLOTHS AND BLUE GREEN

Ever wonder why the slow moving sloth has a slightly greenish hue? Ever consider the sloth at all? Well, perhaps not. Location, location, location, is the mantra for many of us in our macro world, but it is also true for the small world of algae.

Blue green algae is a term used to describe any of a large, heterogeneous group of prokaryotic, principally photosynthetic organisms. These little oxygenic (oxygen-producing) fellows appeared about 2,000,000,000 to 3,000,000,000 years ago and are given credit for greatly increasing the oxygen content of the atmosphere, making possible the development of aerobic (oxygen-using) organisms.

But all this heavy breathing aside, we go back to sloths and the wonder of making do where you are. The sloth's body and shaggy coat, or pelage, provides a comfy habitat to two types of wee blue-green algae along with various other invertebrates. The hairs that make up the sloth's coat have grooves that help foster algal growth.

And, while Kermit the Frog says, "it's not easy being green," it couldn't be further from the truth for this slow-moving tree dweller. The blue-green algae gives the sloth a natural greenish camouflage, an arrangement that is certainly win-win.

Thursday 2 September 2004

Saturday 28 August 2004

Saturday 3 July 2004

Saturday 15 May 2004

Saturday 24 April 2004

Wednesday 21 April 2004

Saturday 13 March 2004

Tuesday 3 February 2004

Sunday 4 January 2004

Monday 20 October 2003

Monday 13 October 2003

Thursday 2 October 2003

Tuesday 23 September 2003

Tuesday 9 September 2003

OH, SHE'S A BEAUTY :: CASTLE PEAK NORTH OF GOLDBRIDGE


Castle Peak, the glorious landmark and loadstone of basalt that marks the spot on our Jurassic/Triassic paleo adventures...

Thursday 4 September 2003

Friday 4 July 2003

Thursday 15 May 2003

Friday 9 May 2003

Friday 2 May 2003