Blog Credits: Aoife, Violet

The start of our last week on the Salish Sea began much earlier than normal. Spirits were rather low throughout breakfast–which was at 6:00 am–as everyone had to switch gears from a fun day out at Orcas to (surprise surprise) science!! Despite this, sacrificing a few hours of sleep in order to catch the low tide was worth it, as most students were able to collect organisms and/or begin the data collection phase of their projects.

We regrouped around 12:00 back at the dorms where some people continued to work in the lab, and others worked on getting back the hours they lost this morning with a mid-day nap. An hour later, we headed into the art room to meet with Augie Kalytiak-Davis, a PhD student at Oregon State University who studies sea stars at the Friday Harbor Labs. He instructed us on how to properly incorporate statistics into our research projects. He also introduced us to the program “R” which is a tool commonly used by marine scientists.

After our chat with Augie, project time resumed and we once again went off on our individual pursuits. Some people spent time with their organisms, and others resumed the hunt for specimens.

After a fulfilling day of project time, we are excited to welcome Will Ballentine for dinner. He is co-teaching the invertebrate zoology class at Friday Harbor Labs this summer!

Written by: Eva, Sam, Owen, and Addie

It was an early morning, but spirits were high anyway since it was Orcas Day! Even better, it was our dear Violet’s Sweet Sixteen — we all sang many times to celebrate! We packed our bags and headed to catch the 8:15 ferry, which, after a delay, turned into the 8:30 ferry.

On the ferry, there were many activities to partake in. Some napped, some puzzled, but everyone enjoyed the view… except for those who were asleep.

We got off the ferry and took a scenic drive to our nature walk. The weather was a little down, but Addie has some magic in her veins. She was able to spell the sky into shining, shimmering, sparkling, sunny view.

We embarked on a hike down a glamorous nature trail lead by Ani at the Coho reserve. On this cute little trail, we stopped every once in a while to learn about the diverse environment that is very unique to Orcas Island.

Our next stop was Mt. Constitution, where we ate lunch and enjoyed the amazing view from the top of the mountain. We were even able to go up the Fire Lookout, where the best views were found.

Next, the best part, the star of the show, lake time! We swam in Cascade Lake in Moran State Park which was very warm and fun!

Unfortunately, we got out of the water and rushed to the Ferry to make sure we could get on. It was all worth it, because we got the last spots to Friday Harbor. We just needed some more of Addie’s magic. The ride back was surprisingly less sleepy than the way there, though there were still naps being taken.

We ended the night with pizza and cake for Violet’s birthday!