Week Four Maui, 2011

It's hard to believe it is coming to an end already. I leave for the Big Island on Wed. I went on a scooter dive to St. Anthony's and met Bill and Brock, who live in this same complex and we have had three great days of diving together. The two today were great. Aaron, Bill, Brock and I went out to Wailea. On our first dive we trailed behind Sarah from Maui Dreams and had a great dive. Aaron didn't do the second dive because he was having a little trouble with his ears. We went straight out and saw lots of stuff. Many different kinds of eels. What a great day for Bill and Brock, since this was their last dive of the trip. Good to go home with good dives under your belt.

Wailea, Great Shore Dive 8-13 2011

We went out seahorse hunting again this morning, but instead of just going to the area we meandered our way there. It was a great dive. I'd forgotten how pretty the reef is straight out. Ron found lots of eels, scorpion fish, octopus, shrimp and different reef fish. But no seahorse. There is some swell coming in even though we got out early. I'm sure this swell will make the shore diving stink for the next couple of days.

Maui, More Week Three

The diving this week has lead to some neat sightings. First I found a seahorse on the boat dive on Sunday and then we did a shore dive on Tuesday and found him again. Tried again today but he wasn't having any of it and kept himself well hidden. But I snapped a picture of a fish I had never seen and when I couldn't find it in the book I asked Bill Stohler and he told me it was a Randall's Puffer and he had never seen one. I feel really special that I did.
I also started going to the workout room here at the condo. I need to get stronger to be able to do more stuff and this is a start.

Reef Check Catalina July16 2011

Ron and I spent the day over on Catalina diving with Reef Check. We got there a little later than everyone else so they were ready to go in when we got there. We got to do the core off to the right out by the buoy, which is the big rock drop off. I actually got some 3s on my UPC. It was a great dive and Ron found some interesting stuff while he was waiting for me to finish. Our second dive was 2 fish only. One on either side of the dive park. As Ron said "in two different zip codes". Even though Ron has passed his fish, I offered to do them both so he could spend his time "fun diving". He would find something, remember the meter and show it to me when I was done. He has turned into a great diver, though neither of us are great navigators. I did the navigating this time and actually did ok, but how can you get lost in the dive park. He even beat me on air one dive, an awesome feat for someone with 50 dives. Our third dive was a totally fun dive. Lauren joined us and she knows how to navigate so we were good to go. Although Ron asked me where the wall was and I took him right to it. All in all a great day of diving with my son.

Maui 2011 Week Three

Week three out of five I am spending here this year. It is different this time since no one is coming over to dive with me. This week I am closing in on my 400 dive mark. I'm at 392 with 395 hours 23 min under water at this point in my life. Pretty awesome. Who would have thought.
I went on a boat Sunday and found a seahorse. The ones from last year are gone, dead or moved on. Andy found one small male dead and he had eggs in his pouch. Really sad. So now we have found another one and are hoping to be able to find it again. This ones moves around but we were able to find it and get a few pictures of it.

Maui 2011 Week Two

Same stuff different day. Blowing bubbles when I can. There is a south swell going on and it visibility stinks so we haven't been out too much this week. Hope it settles soon.

Maui 2011 Week One

Well since I've been here before and I will be doing the same things I always do, blowing bubbles and looking at fish, I figure I can post one week at a time. This way I will share my best pictures of the week and not bore you too much with the mundane stuff. The water here is about 77 degrees and all our friends are complaining about how cold it is. They are all wearing 5mm wet suits. My new 3mm is keeping me toasty, sometimes to toasty. This week I had to take Thursday off from getting wet so I could get all my Earthwatch paperwork in. I hate doing that stuff so much it took twice as long as it should have simply because I couldn't stay focused. But I did get it done and only had to redo one piece of it. The rest of the days were spent in the water, either diving or snorkeling with Bob.

York PA

When I got home from Churchill I had a plane ticket to go see Lynn and Craig in York. I went out and spent a long weekend with them a couple of years ago and when Connie offered me a Jet Blue FF ticket because she didn't have any place to use it, I said I'll go see Lynn. I am so glad she found me on the Internet after all these years. I had a great time. York had record heat while I was there and we spent a lot of time in their pool. And a great pool it is. We went to the Farmers Mkt one day and bought fruit. It was too hot to walk around for too long. It was such a typical PA market with a little of everything in it. It was fun to walk around and see all the stuff. Wed Lynn planned for us to go horseback riding. The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. I went for the ride, Lynn's back didn't let her go. She was very disappointed and it was hotter than hxxx while she had to wait form me. The horse was a Percheron and very tall. I had a three step stool and I still had to stretch to reach the stirrup. On Friday night they had guests over and we had great food and Maryland Crabs. I ate them until my tummy said enough already. They were so good. I really miss them. It was such a great week I am already scheming how to get back for another visit. Thank you Lynn and Craig and all your great friends for making my stay so much fun.

Last Day, Churchill Canada 7-29-11

We are all headed home today with mixed emotions. Glad to be going home to family and friends, but hating that it is all ended. This is an experience of a lifetime and I am so thankful that I was chosen to participate. Thank you Northrop Grumman for caring enough to sponsor this trip for us. I also want to thank all of the people who nominated me as a teacher they thought worthy to go on this adventure. Thank you all for everything.

Day Nine and Ten Churchill Canada 7-27/28-11

Today we saw a Polar Bear up close and personal. As we were going to breakfast Craig came running down the stairs yelling there is a bear out my window. Of course we took off for his room and watched as it came down onto the grounds of the research center. We shifted to the outside observation deck as he came around the corner. He finally settled down in the trees. They said he was a young two year old bear and was pretty skinny. After we left for the site they said he went into one of the ponds and laid there cooling off and then came back to the same area.
When we were going back out after lunch we drove by the spot Dr. Kershaw was going to check his equipment and there he was. Carley radioed back and Pete was hoping they could scare him off. Carley turned the van around, came up to Dr. Kershaw, rolled down the window and said,"I hate to burst your science bubble, but there is a bear at your site and you are not going there". Not even science happens in the face of a polar bear.

Today is our last full day of work before we head back to our real worlds. It will be so hard to leave this place and all of the teachers in this group. What a great bunch of teachers. Our children are so lucky to have teachers who are this excited about learning and new adventures.

Day Eight Churchill Canada

Sunday started out cold but it became more interesting when it started to rain. It kept getting worse as time went by. We of course are on the ground, fighting the tree skirts to get to the trunk of the tree to core it. We finished up our cores and plots and then everyone helped get the rest done so we could get in out of the rain. Interestingly we had three umbrellas and they ended up with the people who were entering data. As it should be I guess.
With the rain continuing we stayed at the center and Dr. Pete gave us jobs to do. Everything from sanding cores to dusting and cleaning the new labs. Another interesting day at the Research Center.

Day Seven Churchill Canada 6-25-11

Our big day off. We left the Center and headed to town to see the sights. We shopped in the stores that were open and walked around to see what the little town of Churchill had to offer. I bought a baseball cap that says, Churchill Canada, Polar Bear Capital of the World. It is also considered to be the Beluga Whale Capital, since they get so many of them coming to give birth.
Before the boat ride we rode around the town and went to the beach. It was low tide and you could see rocks everywhere. I found some little animals in the tide pools, but not many. We climbed up on the wall by the Bay and saw whales everywhere. It was fun to watch them. We didn't know at the time that we would be right on top of them in a couple of hours.
They have an Eskimo museum in Churchill. When the people from the northern provinces used to get sick they would come to Churchill for medical attention. While they were there they would make carvings of their way of life and sell them to the museum. To say they are fabulous would be an understatement. The museum is full of artifacts about the Eskimo way of life. Very interesting.
Then off to the whale watch boat ride.Whale watching here is different from CA. Here we go on Zodiac's. These are inflatable rubber boats that you sit up on. Imagine a huge inner tube and see yourself sitting on it going up the river. That's what we did. Mary Lou had never been in a boat, much less a Zodiac, and she was scared. Of course as soon as she saw the first whale her fear went away, to return as soon as we started back and there were no more whales to watch.
They had microphones in the water and we could hear the whales. They were clicking and chirping to each other. Beluga's are called the canaries of the sea, because they are always singing to each other.
Again after dinner we went for a ride with Dr. Kershaw and this time we saw a mother bear and 2 cubs. They were headed away from us and were about 3/4 of a mile away. It was great fun to look at them.

Day Six Churchill Canada 6-24-11

Today is our last day to work before we get a day off to go to town and go whale watching, The weather was nice and we worked hard as usual. I have to tell you that the food here is outstanding. Every meal is good. And we are eating a ton of food at every meal. After all that work, we are hungry. I just hope I don't gain 10 lbs.
We went out for a ride after dinner again and on the way to town we saw whales in the Bay. I'm excited about going tomorrow.
We again tried to see if there were any Northern Lights, but no luck. The sun was up way too much to see the lights. At 1:30 am you could still see the sunset or the sunrise which ever it was. The sun set at 10:30 or so, but it would be showing color for hours afterward and it came up at 4:00. It never gets dark enough so you can't see the rocket tower.

Day Five Churchill Canada 6-23-11

Hard day of work. Cold and wet. We stayed longer and finished the site we were working on because none of us wanted to come back. Thank God for REI rain gear. I laid in water all day and still stayed dry.
After dinner and a lecture Dr. Kershaw took us for a ride. Jen dug a hole down to the ice and it was only about 8 inches down. Dr, Kershaw told us it would melt a bit more before summer was done, but after that it was the Permafrost.
Then we went over to Twin Lakes and saw our first Polar Bear. It was about 1.5 miles away and moving fast. Even with the binoculars it was too far to see. But the bottom line is "we saw a bear". Yoo Hoo
After that we went to the place I wanted to see. The Boreal forest. It was beautiful with lichens all over the ground that looked like snow. These lichens had been growing for 100 years and we tramped them down. I felt really bad until Dr Kershaw explained that one moose would do more damage than all of us put together.

Day Four Churchill Canada 6-22-11

Today it was cold in the morning when we were working. I had my jacket and my rain gear on. It wasn't raining but I was laying in the puddles coring and counting and measuring. I still got cold and put my heavy winter jacket on. After we came back after lunch it was better. I still was in the water, but I wasn't cold. We did our first plot today. Actually it was a practice one. We threw a stake over our shoulder and from that point we made a rectangle that measured 1 meter by 2 meters and we counted and measured the seedlings and saplings in the plot. This can sometimes be a real job if there is a lot of them or you can get none in your random plot. Then you move on to another. My body is sore from all the up and down and coring. Thank God for good meds.
PS I'm the one in the blue raincoat laying on the ground

Day Three Churchill Canada 6-21-11

We did a lot of work. Cored 9 trees twice each. The hard part was getting through all the growth around the bottom to get to the truck of the tree. Boy am I tired tonight. We had a bonfire because of the summer solstice. That means today is the longest day of the year. We roasted the biggest marshmallows I have ever seen.
The sun set at 10:30, but it still is not totally dark. They are having about 21 hours of sunlight right now.

Day Two Churchill Canada 6-20-11

Churchill was nice and warm and sunny today. I spent the morning learning to use the equipment that we will be using to collect the data. This included GPS, a hand held data collector called an iPAQ, a tree corer (drill a hole in a tree to tell how old it is and how much it has grown each year) and other stuff. Then we went out in the field and practiced. We only went around the back of the building but the girl who works here had to go with us with her shotgun. We call her , "the girl with the gun". That was in case there was a bear, but we didn't see any.
The work we are doing is going to be hard work. We have to measure the tiny little seedlings of white spruce and collect all kinds of info on them. Tomorrow we go out and do it for real.

Day One Churchill Canada 6-19-11

Hi,
I made it to Churchill and am now sitting in my room at 11pm and it is not dark outside. We are having almost 24 hours of light. It gets sorta dark about 1:30am and by 4am it is bright light again.

As I was flying in I saw hundreds of whales at the mouth of the river. They are coming in to have their babies and eat the fish that swim up the river. It was very cool.

Found out I probably won't see a polar bear. The ice on Hudson Bay just broke up last week and the bears are out on what's left of the ice about 5 miles from shore. Turns out polar bears can swim a long way and when it melts they just swim in.

The research station where I am staying is between the northern most edge of the boreal forest and the tundra. As I look out my window I can see the forest. For those of you who don't remember, a boreal forest has trees with needles not leaves.

Tomorrow we go on our first research trip. We are going to be collecting data about the trees.
I'll write again tomorrow. If you have questions, please post a reply and I will answer them.

Earthwatch 2011

I am preparing to head to Churchill Canada for an Earthwatch expedition titled, "Climate Change at the Edge of the Arctic Circle". I am flying to Winnipeg on Sat, June 17th to catch a plane on the 18th to Churchill. Plane or train is the way you have to get to Churchill. It is located on the Hudson Bay and the research station where I will be is 25 miles north of there. Churchill is the Polar Bear capital of the world and I had to sign a paper saying I will not leave the compound without one of the researchers, because they have bear deterrents and I do not. This is going to be a crazy week because I still have a lot to do to be ready to go. Stayed tuned for the next installment.