Iditarod Ski

This is probably the first nice day we've had since we got back. It warmed up quite a bit when we got home from the lower 48 and started to rain and ice up. Snowed yesterday about 6 inches. Temps were right below freezing and the sun was out full force so we went for a ski on the Iditarod Trail down the street.

happy dog!

I convinced Dave to ski to Bear Lake which is 4.1 miles one way.
Only took us a total of 2.5 hours round trip. Conditions were excellent.

we passed this enormous Sitka spruce and Dave really wanted to get a photo of it.
but to be able to get a perspective on its size, I had to hug it.
I guess you can call me a tree hugger now.

Fish ID workshop

We attended the Marine Science in Alaska Symposium in Anchorage last week. Yumi ran a fish ID workshop one evening.

After a power point, we had a chance to do some hands on review.

yum! sand lance!

And then the frozen murres came out...

Dan Roby simulated a murre coming in to feed its chick a fish and we had to make an ID

What color was it? did it have a green lateral line?

definitely firm and not flaccid.

great workshop. the talks were less interesting to me than talks in previous years but it was fun to hang out with old friends and colleagues and meet a few new people.
I am extremely glad to be home now and hopefully we'll stay put for a little while.

meeting Coal

On our way home yesterday we stopped by Heather & Paul's to meet their newest addition: Coal

Heather decked him out in my hand made gear for him. What a cute little raspberry he makes!

He woke up while we were there. I'm not sure what he makes of his Auntie Shi.

Or his Uncle Dave

Proud papa showing him off!
Mom & Dad look great!!!

Congrats you guys!

SFO

On our last day in CA we headed out to San Francisco with Kevin. We wanted to check out the Polar exhibit at the Exploratorium. Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. The live web cam from Antarctica had ended a few days before. And the place was designed for little kids.

Watching ice form:

Dave horsing around in the 'distorted' room

watching motion patterns using light

A link to a video Kevin posted on YouTube. Dave and I were testing our communication skills. One person had to make a picture from the shapes given and give directions to the other person to duplicate the picture...They should make all couples take this test before getting married...

We found some lunch at Fisherman's wharf and walked around there and Pier 39. It brought back a lot of memories from my first field season out on the Farallon Islands - which is a hop, skip and a really long jump from the city.

Cormorant waiting for food

sourdough turtles

California sea lions hanging out at pier 39

Heerman's gulls are so beautiful (Alcatraz in the background)

Western gulls. *shiver* ready to poke my eyes out and eat me for dinner!

Thanks Kevin! We had a great time visiting with you & Aneldy & Mike.
We also spent some time with Dawn, Jordan & the kids and Uncle Bob & Lauren.
Aunt Elaine we missed seeing you!

Mitchell Canyon hike

We went back to Mt. Diablo State Park and went for an afternoon hike in Mitchell Canyon. It felt like Fall all over again.

manzanita

view from Twin Peaks

giant pine cones! don't want to get hit in the head with one of these.

we encountered 4 flocks of wild turkeys, including this flock of toms

Dave, contemplating on how to catch one for dinner

fabulous day, nice to soak up some sun before heading back to AK

said HI to this fella while waiting for Bonnie to pick us up. he tried to eat my fingers...

we also ran into this coyote! I think we spoiled his plans for a turkey dinner.

exercising with Coco

Bonnie's dog Coco tried to help me with my stretching, sit-ups and push-ups the other morning after my run. As soon as I got on the floor, she got on top of me and wouldn't move.

I needed a 6lb weight for this one anyways!
do I always have my eyes half-closed when I'm doing sit-ups?

I got ready to do my girlie push-ups and Coco walked right on to my back. I thought for sure she'd jump off after I started moving. but no:

California Academy of Sciences

This incredible facility was rebuilt and has a four-story rain forest, an aquarium, a planetarium, and a natural history museum. Here's Tessa doing her best Vanna White - a butterfly landed on her jacket while we were in the rain forest exhibit.

the rain forest exhibit

The aquarium view from above

and below

Tuula & Ann R: they have a Labitat!!!! where you can watch employees working. AND there's a camera that zooms in on the specimens and tells you what they are doing. Instead of 'Barbara is numbering bones for the slide' and 'Mamiko is preparing a specimen'. We could have 'Ann is preparing cell cultures' and 'Shiway is playing with chloroform'...
They had an amazing African penguin exhibit. The CAS participates in a captive breeding program for these animals. We showed up just in time for feeding! I could have spent days in this place!
video of toad and Trent


penguin feeding video