Some of you will remember my forays to Alaska... and here's some digital photos of printed photos (yes, this job was back in the days before digital cameras were much good)... so although the photographic quality is low, this is a truly spectacular place!
Our kitchen tent is the biggest one in the picture... see those little tents on the cliff? Yeah... that's where we lived for two and a half months... yup... COOL! Literally, as this is in the Gulf of Alaska, open to the Pacific Ocean, and once a week or so we'd have a crazy storm. The Stellar sea lions that we were there to study were down on the rocks... but they're kinda camouflaged. Not a bad idea when there are orcas present.And... how do you reach such a campsite, you ask? By helicopter... yeah... cool again! SUPER awesome way to see the world!
And here's home... the planks were laid out as walkways because of the frequent summer rain in this part of the world... and the mud would get EVERYWHERE...
Our "facilities"... which eventually had a roof, but we were proud of digging and building this entire thing in one day in a horrible downpour! Notice the uniform... we were pretty much wrapped in plastic the entire two-and-a-half months!
These guys are why we were there... they are Stellar sea lions, and in the 90's the populations were dropping precipitously with no single identifiable reason scientists were needing all the info they could get.
The group I was working for was especially interested in moms and their offspring. We did a lot of behavioral observations, just watching and taking notes... and living on a remote island!
The pups were especially cute! It was a good job... and I do miss being in the field.
I mean... who wouldn't when this is your office!
Ahoy, Wilderness Scientist! Do you have any pictures of the bear that was on the island with you?
ReplyDeleteNo... the bear was such a surprise that no one thought to take a picture... but it just added to the adventure!
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