Cut up chunks of fish, anyone?

Manaznita Coastline...
Nehalem Bay can be seen in the upper back portion of photo below the ridge line

Went and took a visit to Seaside for their aquarium and who could resist doing some crayon rubbings?

Pacific Harbor Seal Smile :)

The Seaside Aquarium was the first in the country to successfully breed Pacific Harbor Seals. Some of the seals are 3rd or 4th generation offspring

Wolf Eel! Can grow up to 6 -7 feet in length and weigh 40 pounds...this one was massive! Believe it or not; their temperament is quite mild,
but their face is one only a mother could love....
guess that makes us "mothers"

One neat aspect about the aquarium is that it features only animals found along the Pacific Coastline (Cali-Alaska). The Giant Pacific Octopus, for example, in the video above....

None of the seals have been trained. They have each acquired their own set of skills to attract the attention and fish of the visitors. This seal named Greta has her technique down pretty well....

Gazing

Lately...

100% Bona Fide

Sublime Evening

Hwy 101 (follows the Oregon Coast) View

Pacific Harbor Seals!
As soon as we get our State Park pass we won't have to sneak
around and zoom in quite so much to get shots of these guys

The view from one of our study areas overlooking the Columbia River into Washington

Sea Foam Outline

An Upmost Toast to the West Seacoast

Welcome to the coastline of Oregon! We're located in a town called Manzanita along the NW portion of Oregon about an hour from the Washington Border. It's a quaint and small tourist town (population 785) and has everything we need within a couple blocks; coffee shops, a pub, a library, a few restaurants and shops. Oh, and did I mention an ocean? The spring here will be windy and rainy, but the temperatures are mild and we can't wait to start exploring the area.We'll be going out in the field in a few days and learning the ropes of surveying for Spotted Owls.

A view from the beach showing Neahkahnie Mountain in the backround. (A view from the top to come soon!)

Carrie's first Pacific Ocean encounter. Cold and extra great white sharky.

Enjoying the tide.

Excited to start surveying next week... Until then, checking out the new landscape, picking up work trucks and gathering a few pieces of furniture for our place.

Oh the places we'll go....

The Adirondacks have treated us very well and we are on our way to the next adventure along the NW coast of Oregon. However, before we complete our 3,000 mile cross-country-venture to start surveying Spotted Owls, we thought we'd share some more pictures from this winter.....

Wintery Sunset. This was a winter full of snow for Ben and I, however as far as the Adirondacks go, it was a below average year for snowfall.

Using telemetry to triangulate the position of collared martens.

One of the collared martens so conveniently posed on a log after releasing him from a trap.

Elk Lake, a nearby study area with stunning views of the High Peaks.

Martens Martens Martens!

After the new year, snowmobiles were a daily necessity....of course, we had absolutely NO fun riding them around every day :)

Beautiful coat on a candid American Marten.

We made a trip into Boston to visit some friends and ended up making a few more at the Aquarium...

Hello.

A really neat display of jellies.... we spent hours gazing at them and taking pictures. A life size lava lamp.

Speaking of jelly.....in this video the marten is rewarded after time spent in the trap

“What is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? -it's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies." - Jack Kerouac

See you in Oregon....

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.