Hello Adirondacks!

Hello! We've started our job as Marten Research Technicians here in the Adirondacks and must say we are having an amazing time. So far, we've trapped ~10 martens and are looking forward to the first big snow to start backtracking, snow shoeing, and using snowmobiles. The scenery here is fabulous and we arrived just in time to see the end of the fall colors. We are working with a great crew and are overwhelmed at the amount of outdoor activities available around the area. Hiking, fishing, kayaking, climbing, skiing!...you name it. It seems the landscape has more lakes than land. Lots to say, but that will have to wait for another day. Until then, enjoy the pictures...

Kayaking
the lake in our backyard!

Measuring, weighing, etc.

Yes, that little guy has a hand warmer he's holding onto.

They sound like Ewoks.... perhaps George Lucas got his sound bites for Star Wars right here in Newcomb New York.

Each marten has had its own personality....most, however have been very clever and vocal. We bait the traps with raspberry jelly and it seems some of the martens are fiends for it. Over the past week or so we have caught one of our martens four times.

A very timid Marten video.

Our home :) Very spacious 2 bedroom cabin, giant living room, kitchen, bathroom, complete with a view of the lake seen above which we kayak on.

Road within the Adirondack Ecological Center that leads to our cabin.
Here's a link to the Center and all of it's research.... http://www.esf.edu/aec/

Goodbye American West. Hello New England.

Goodbye Shiras Moose!

Goodbye Wilderness Cabins

Goodbye Teton Sunsets

Goodbye Teton Sunrises

Goodbye Bison

Goodbye Waterfalls

Goodbye Wilderness

Goodbye meandering Yellowstone River

Goodbye Bear hangs

Sad to say so long to Wyoming and its amazing wilderness. It was definitely a job we will not soon forget. What a great summer :)

In a few days we will be saying hello to the Adirondacks for American Pine Martin research. They are a carnivorous member of the weasel family and prey upon the American Red Squirrel as well as fish, frogs, and insects. They also eat some fruit and veggies. We are very excited about our new endeavor and can't wait to see a new part of the country and drive across it during the peak fall colors! You can expect lots of pictures and stories in the months to come. We will be in Newcomb NY until the end of March 2010.

September beginnings

Here are a bunch of pictures and videos from the past 5 days we spent with a visit from family. We had amazing weather and saw SO much during the week; including a few wolves which we sat and waited for across Lamar Valley (American Serengeti) in Yellowstone. If we could post all of the pictures we would.

 

The two pictures above from Mammoth Hot Springs :)

One of many spectacular views in Yellowstone

Upper Falls

We took a boat ride on Jackson Lake from Colter Bay. This was our view.

Mt Moran. 2nd Tallest of the Teton Range at 12,605ft.

Early bird catches the worm. Get up at 5am, get these kind of shots.

The Moose we saw in the town of Moose. (Not one of the 42 collared for our study)

Video of Otters! Off of Jackson Lake Dam in the Tetons. 

Video of Dragon's Mouth Fumarole in Yellowstone.

Bison Bison Bison Video

"Every thing in life ain't nothin but a thing."

Well we're back from another stint in the back country and as always, really looking forward to the next. Lots of delightful moose, lots of scat, lots of vegetation collected and who could forget the willow transects. We were both barked at by packs of wolves, saw bears (and their steamy-fresh green poo), and hiked through some of the most beautiful landscapes our eyes have ever seen.
We love our job.

Start off with yet another shot of the Tetons, can't get enough...

Couple cow moose enjoying an evening stroll across the marsh.

Ben's humble abode

Carrie's humble abode

15 days without a shower, not bad.

Ben's Fox Park shot with Beaver Ponds

Snowed on in August; a first for both Ben and Carrie.
Temps dipped down into the low 20's at night.

Jellystone

The quaint cabin at and its outhouse at Hawks Rest.
Carrie and Mike got to stay here 5 nights of their trip in August and looking forward to staying in September once the temperatures really start to drop at night. You can see the cliff face behind the cabin called Hawks Rest
where you'll always find at least 3 birds of prey (ie: hawks, bald eagles) circling above.

View from the Hawks Rest Thorofare Cabin.

Note Worthy Animals Seen Thus Far:

Moose
Black Bears
Grizzly Bears
Wolves
Bison
Bald Eagles
Short Tailed Weasle
Pine Martin
Trumpeter Swans
Golden Eagles
Osprey
Jumping Mice
Boreal Chorus Frogs
Tiger Salamanders
Wandering Garter Snake
Boreal Toads
Pronghorn Antelope
Mule Deer
Elk
Grey Owls


Leave you with a quote from a man we ran into 30 miles out. He had been traveling that very back country for over 25 years and had quite a few memorable lines. He said to us "Every thing in life ain't nothing but a thing." He was referring to the traffic jam he encountered while trying to get to the start of the trail head....

More Yellowstone and Teton pics you ask?

Ben's Adventures in Fox Park:

Ben on his trusty steed while being packed in

Yellow Bellied Marmot who lives under the outhouse at the cabin in Fox Park/Teton Wilderness.




Tiger Salamander :)

View from Ben's cabin window. A luxury roof above ones head when out camping for a couple weeks... complete with wood burning stove and bunk style beds.

Next series of pictures are from Dubois Wyoming
- a 40 minute drive East of us
Amazing how quickly the scenery changes along this short drive

Very Painted Desert-esk, only prettier.

Brook's Lake - Nothing to complain about this hike

These mountains in Dubois Wyoming are part of the Wind River Range.

Yellowstone and its fabulous geysers in the next few pictures below...

Deep!

Bacteria/Iron Oxides create incredible patterns surrounding the geysers

(No, we are not secretly doing research on the Planet Venus)

Mandatory Old Faithful Picture.
Contrary to popular belief
it does not "faithfully"erupt once every hour;
rather it goes off every 45-122 minutes.

After a wonderful few days of great sites, food, and some family in town, we are headed to the back- country again.  See ya in a couple weeks with more stories and pictures to boot. (To boot or not to boot, that is the question)