Dr. Swallas Talk: 

The night before, the brilliant Dr. Billie Swalla, an evolution and development researcher and professor at the University of Washington, came for dinner and talked to us about her specialty, ascidians, and their genome. We also learned about chordates, and how evolution has changed their body shapes. She showed us a species chart that showed how most species had tails while there were only a couple of species with no tails. We got to walk through her lab the next day during our tour of Friday Harbor Labs. When we were walking through her students were adding their newest catches to the tanks. On our walk through we got to see crabs, barnacles, worms, and jellyfish. We are very grateful to Dr. Swalla for allowing us to peer into her lab and research. If you wish to find out more about her research you can access her website here: https://www.biology.washington.edu/people/profile/billie-j-swalla

Jackson Beach:

Last night, our group of upcoming scientists made a trip to Jackson Beach at night time. A couple of brave individuals entered the freezing ocean and jumped in for a while. Afterward, we all grabbed a volleyball and set up a court in the sand. Unfortunately, one team was severely outmatched skills-wise and began losing horrifically. Luckily, in a genius maneuver, the losing team performed a human pyramid to raise morale and demoralize the other team. The day ended with a clear victory as the comeback never materialized and a successful trip to Jackson’s Beach. HOWEVER, our journey wasn’t over yet as we began the next day exploring the expansive island.

Research Project Talk:

To start the 3rd day of learning we got a lecture about our projects. Adam and Riley gave the time frame for how our projects are going to work in the next 4 weeks. The first week was mainly about getting out in the field and exploring. Then week 2 is about brainstorming and ideas for projects that can be used. Week 3 is about meeting with our mentors and getting data. Finally, week 4 is about getting more data and making our posters. They also told us how we could get our materials and how our projects would work. After their talk, Caroline came in to discuss charts and maps. We learned how people can rely on maps and figure out what’s happening with our planets.

Cattle Point with Dr. Dobkowski:

After the talk about our research projects, we headed out to Cattle Point located on the southern end of the island. We met up with Dr. Katie Dobkowski and her mentees: Lucy and Francisco, to provide help on their project. Dr. Dobkowski is a professor at Evergreen University in Olympia, Washington, and has done many research projects relating to seaweed in subtidal and intertidal communities on the West Coast. Their project was focused on crab molts and the different types of crabs around the beach. We mostly found Red Rock Crab molts on the first part of Cattle Points Beach, and around the corner of the beach, we found more Native Shore Crab molts. It was very tricky to find the actual molts, but it was tons of fun even with the sun and heat and the steep climb up to the vans. More about Dr. Dobkowski’s research here: Website

– Image taken by Morgan

Lab 1 with Dr. Hodin:

We headed to Lab 1, the Seastar lab, where we met Dr. Jason Hodin and his mentees: Venessa and Chloe. Dr. Hodin is a professor and a senior research scientist at the University of Washington. They explained their work with sunflower stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) and wasting disease. Venessa and Chloe led us over to the seastar tanks, where they demonstrated how they feed the stars. They answered our many questions, especially about wasting disease and how it’s taking out sunflower star populations, along with their conservation efforts to save the stars. More on Dr. Jason Hodin here: Website

– Photo taken by Morgan

Exploring the rest of FHL (Friday Harbor Labs):

After exploring the Seastar Lab we were graciously led around the Friday Harbor Labs by  Dr. Michelle Herko, the program director at Friday Harbor Labs. She brought us through the main building and shared the history of the establishment and how she got into working at the Friday Harbor Labs. Then, she brought us around the lab and showed us the various equipment and organisms researched. In one of the sections, there was an area for numerous invertebrates of all sizes and ages, like a large, squishy sea anemone in the lab longer than Dr. Herko worked there! Overall, the FHL was fascinating and led by incredible scientists, and I would love to visit again. More Information on Dr. Michelle Herko here: Website

Blog was edited for clarity, to add more information, and adding new pictures on July 7th, 2024

We trapped 19 students on an island!!!

Mr. Beast: Wassup OGs? Mr. Beast here with our first daily report on the totally awesome Salish Sea Sciences summer bonanza!

[Cut to footage of people meeting at the airport, with lively music in the background]

Mr. Beast: To start, yesterday was epic! A few of the betas met up with Caroline and Tom at the airport, cruising through Seattle to pick up our studious Alpha and glorious Sigma,

[Camera zooms out to Mr. Beast with a big smile]

Mr. Beast: If you want free Beast Bars, stay tuned for more epic adventures by smashing that like button and subscribing! The top comment on this video will get a free shipping of Beast Bars, FOR FREE!

[Clip of the group laughing and buying onions at a produce market]

Mr. Beast: On the way to Anacortes, they made a pit stop at a produce market where Sigma and Alpha bonded over the hilarious challenge of eating raw onions like apples. Crazy, right?

[Footage of the group boarding a Washington State Ferry, with views of the water]

Mr. Beast: In Anacortes, we met up with more students, including our legendary Zeta. Then we all took a Washington State Ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. On the ferry, Alpha and Sigma took their bond to the next level with a poker game, while Zeta watched patiently.

[Clip of the reunion at Friday Harbor, with hugs and cheers]

Mr. Beast: At Friday Harbor, Alpha, Zeta, and Sigma reunited with our long-lost brethren, the illustrious Kappa. It was like a scene from an epic movie!

[Footage of a pizza dinner with everyone having fun and eating]

Mr. Beast: Once settled, Alpha, Zeta, Kappa, and Sigma joined the betas for a pizza dinner, cooked by the amazing Tom and Cassandra. The dish? Pizza with a salad bar. Absolutely goated meal, guys!

Mr Beast: So, after we finished dinner and made some quick calls home, we decided to hit up the dorm’s backyard and started tossing around a frisbee.

[Cut to: Footage of everyone casually tossing a frisbee]

Mr. Beast: It started off casual, but then it turned into an EPIC game of ultimate frisbee!

[Cut to: People laying out endzones with shoes and running around in their socks]

[Cut to: Fast-paced action shots of the game]

Mr. Beast: Things got intense REAL QUICK! One team SMASHED it with four back-to-back points, totally dominating.

[Close-up of team 1 celebrating]

Mr. Beast: But wait! Team 2 wasn’t done yet—they finally got their first point on the board!

[Cut to: Team 2 celebrating their first point]

Mr. Beast: Just when they thought they were back in the game, team 1 came back STRONG!

[Cut to: More intense gameplay, focus on Alpha]

Mr. Beast: Then, out of NOWHERE, our super-studious Alpha switched sides! The game got even crazier with a few more tense points.

[Cut to: Close-up of the scoreboard tied, crowd looking tense]

Mr. Beast: It all came down to the ultimate point: LAST SCORE WINS EVERYTHING!

[Cut to: Slow-motion shot of Alpha grabbing the disc]

Mr. Beast: In a matter of SECONDS, Alpha grabbed the disc and LAUNCHED it across the field.

[Dramatic music builds up]

Mr. Beast: It was like a scene from a movie, guys. The disc SOARED and landed PERFECTLY in the hands of a beta teammate!

[Cut to: Teammate catching the disc, everyone cheering]

Mr. Beast: GAME OVER, just like that!

[Cut to: Everyone heading inside, high-fiving and laughing]

Mr. Beast: After the game, we all headed inside, totally exhausted but PUMPED, and crashed into our beds. Time to recharge for tomorrow’s epic adventures!

[Closing shot: Dorm lights turning off, screen fades to black]

Mr. Beast: Remember, every day’s a new chance for something AWESOME. See you in the morning!

Mr. Beast: Rise and shine guys! This morning we were presented with an exhilarating challenge: a town scavenger hunt! And you know what that means… It’s time to assemble one of the most extraordinary teams of all time: Alpha Zeta Kappa Sigma! This team is composed of our studious Alpha, the legendary Zeta, the illustrious Kappa, and the glorious Sigma. Words cannot describe the glory of this team, but I’ll attempt it. These guys had that dog in them.

[Cut to footage of the group running amok in Friday Harbor]

Mr. Beast: They wound through the beautiful seaside town of Friday Harbor with remarkable grace and style, like a pack of alpha wolves. Our mission? Take selfies at specific points around town. And guess what? We racked up the 2nd most points! But in our hearts, we were first. Everyone who witnessed this knew it: this was the birth of a superteam.

So, drop a comment down below about your favorite town location and smash that like button! Let’s go!

Mr. Beast: We continued the day with a next-level museum tour! Tracie, our guide, dropped some serious knowledge bombs about killer whales in this area. We even checked out a mind-blowing skeleton of conjoined harbor seal twins—crazy rare stuff!

[Cut to footage of Tracie explaining about killer whales, interspersed with shots of Mr. Beast and the crew listening intently]

Mr. Beast: But hold up, it’s not all good news. We uncovered another way humans are impacting marine life: toxins in killer whale bodies. This is a wake-up call, and we’re here to spread awareness. 

[Cut to serious shots of Mr. Beast looking concerned, overlayed with images of polluted waters and wildlife affected by toxins]

Mr. Beast: The next step in our journey was to hop back into the vans and mosey on down to eat our lunches. With the quick work of Legendary Zeta, we were able to discover that 99.99% of Adam’s playlist is made up of unknown tracks. Meanwhile, Alpha and Sigma had an enlightening discussion on the Top 3 Most Important Inventions of All Time (new video dropping soon!!), which were penicillin, the wheel, and selective breeding! Drop your predictions: will Adam’s songs be hidden gems or wacky tunes, and what do you think is the greatest invention of all time? Top 3 beta comments will win a free 1000 pack of Beast Bars, and tag 3 friends to raise the stakes!

[Cut to upbeat music as Mr. Beast and the crew get ready to listen to Adam’s playlist, with a text overlay: “What will we discover?”]

[Opening shot: Wide view of a dorm’s backyard, dusk settling in]

Mr. Beast (excited): What’s up, guys! After dinner and some quick calls home, we all hit up the dorm’s backyard and started tossing around a frisbee.

Mr. Beast: Hey guys, another Day 2 adventure is going to be epic, led by Adam and Riley. We’ve taken a trip to the intertidal pools, where we’re diving deep into the world of marine life. But first, we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to observe the environment and jot down 10 biotic and 10 abiotic factors. Let’s scan the area and see what we can find!

[Cut to footage of Mr. Beast and the crew exploring the intertidal pools, taking notes and pointing out different factors]

Mr. Beast: Alright, we’ve got some people that saw seaweed, hermit crabs, barnacles—those are some biotic factors. Rocks, water, temperature—those are abiotic. It’s like a natural checklist!

[Cut to close-up shots of the biotic and abiotic factors they’ve identified, with labels popping up on screen]

Mr. Beast: Now that we’ve got a good grasp of the environment, it’s time for the fun part. We’re playing Intertidal Bingo! You all need to get Bingo by finding the most epic creatures and features we can find in these pools.

[Cut to shots of the Wolf Pack amongst betas holding up their bingo cards, excitedly discussing their strategies]

Mr. Beast: The goal is to find these items and mark them off our bingo cards. Whoever completes their card first wins an awesome prize!

[Cut to montage of Mr. Beast and the crew searching the intertidal pools, laughing and shouting as they discover different creatures]

Mr. Beast: Oh, check this out! We’ve got a sea star, a Gumboot Chiton, and even a sea anemone. These are some serious contenders for our bingo boards!

[Cut to footage of crew members marking off items on their bingo cards, getting closer to completing them]

Mr. Beast: It’s getting intense, folks! Who’s going to find that last elusive creature and claim victory? Drop your guesses in the comments below! Hint: likely not one of the betas…

[Cut to dramatic music as the crew continues their search, showing close-ups of the remaining items on their bingo cards]

Mr. Beast: That’s it for today’s adventure at the intertidal pools. Thanks for joining us on this wild journey of discovery with Riley, Adam, the Wolf Gang, and betas. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss out on our next epic expedition. See you next time!

[this blog post was written with the help of ChatGPT]

Ищете способ войти в любимое онлайн-казино, когда основная страница недоступна? К счастью, существуют специальные ссылки-дублеры, которые предоставляют полный функционал платформы. Эти дублирующие адреса, созданные для обеспечения бесперебойного соединения, позволяют вам продолжать наслаждаться всеми представленными развлечениями без каких-либо ограничений. Главное – найти актуальный рабочий ресурс.

Для получения надежного соединения с вашим любимым игровым сервисом, рассмотрите возможность использования проверенных ресурсов. Например, переход по ссылке ‘вавада вход‘ откроет вам двери к азартным развлечениям. Такие платформы обеспечивают идентичный интерфейс и ассортимент игр, как и официальный сайт, гарантируя, что ваш игровой процесс будет таким же комфортным и увлекательным.

Найти актуальную альтернативную ссылку можно с помощью поисковых систем, используя запросы, связанные с “рабочие ссылки казино” или “альтернативные адреса игровых клубов”. Часто сами игровые площадки публикуют такие ссылки на своих официальных страницах в социальных сетях или тематических форумах. Это гарантирует, что вы попадете на подлинный ресурс, а не на мошеннический сайт, который может угрожать вашим личным данным и средствам.

Как быстро найти работающее зеркало Vavada для незамедлительного входа

Для моментального входа на платформу, где предоставляются азартные развлечения, воспользуйтесь поисковыми системами с уточняющими запросами. Например, “актуальный сайт казино X” или “альтернативная ссылка казино Y”, где X и Y – название вашего предпочтительного ресурса.

Проверяйте первые страницы результатов поиска. Часто операторы альтернативных площадок размещают актуальные ссылки там, чтобы обеспечить максимальную видимость для пользователей, ищущих прямое соединение.

Ресурсы с актуальными адресами

Существуют специализированные сайты-агрегаторы, которые отслеживают и публикуют актуальные адреса для онлайн-казино. Регулярное посещение таких порталов гарантирует, что вы всегда будете иметь под рукой действующий портал для совершения ставок.

Обратите внимание на тематические форумы и сообщества энтузиастов азартных игр. Участники часто делятся проверенными ссылками и обсуждают текущее положение дел с рабочими площадками.

Проверка работоспособности

Перед вводом личных данных или совершением депозита, убедитесь, что открывшийся сайт является подлинным. Обратите внимание на адресную строку браузера, наличие SSL-сертификата (значок замка) и общий дизайн ресурса, который должен соответствовать вашему привычному сайту.

Сохранение проверенного адреса в закладках браузера – отличный способ упростить будущие входы. Это сэкономит время при поиске в случае возникновения блокировок.

Следите за официальными каналами связи платформы, если таковые предоставляются. Иногда уведомления об изменении адресов рассылаются по электронной почте или через мессенджеры зарегистрированным пользователям.

Выбор безопасного зеркала Vavada: критерии для защиты игрового счета

Стоит исключать ресурсы, предлагающие доступ к игровому сервису через устаревшие или подозрительные домены, а также те, которые запрашивают избыточную личную информацию на этапе регистрации или авторизации. Проверяйте наличие контактной информации техподдержки и скорость ее ответа. Надежный дублирующий сайт всегда стремится обеспечить бесперебойный и защищенный процесс осуществления ставок.

Регистрация и пополнение счета через зеркало Vavada: пошаговое руководство

Чтобы начать пользоваться полным спектром услуг на альтернативной платформе, пройдите быструю регистрацию. Перейдите на работающую копию сайта, кликните кнопку “Регистрация”. Введите актуальный email, придумайте надежный пароль и укажите желаемую валюту счета. Подтвердите согласие с правилами ресурса, поставив галочку. После этого на вашу почту придет письмо со ссылкой для активации аккаунта. Перейдя по ней, вы сможете войти в личный кабинет.

После успешной авторизации, для внесения средств, кликните раздел “Касса” или “Депозит” в вашем профиле. Вам будет предложен список доступных платежных систем. Выберите наиболее удобный для вас метод: банковские карты, электронные кошельки или криптовалютные переводы. Обратите внимание на минимальную сумму пополнения, которая может отличаться для разных платежных инструментов. Введите сумму, которую хотите внести, и следуйте инструкциям выбранной платежной системы для завершения транзакции.

Детали пополнения

• Банковские карты: Введите номер карты, срок действия и CVV-код.
• Электронные кошельки: Авторизуйтесь в системе кошелька и подтвердите перевод.
• Криптовалюты: Скопируйте предоставленный адрес кошелька и сумму, отправьте средства с вашего крипто-кошелька.

Hey Blog! 

Welcome back to the S(l)a(y)lish Sea Sciences blog written by the amazing group of two: Una and Millie! This morning, a few of us stopped in town for coffee. We went to The Crow’s Nest! I ordered a pistachio rose latte, which I thought would be more floral-y and nutty but it wasn’t, and ended up just tasting like a latte. Props to the barista: she worked like a pro, making 4 different drinks all at once.

After working on our projects for 30 minutes, we went to a local high school to finish up what we did yesterday: PCR for the Invasive Mussel Project! After working carefully to measure out PCR cocktails with micropipettes, letting our PCR tubes run through the thermocycler, and setting up our gel electrophoresis, we waited excitedly to see the results. We expected some cute glowing lines demonstrating gene sequence length that would allow us to determine the mussels’ species when compared to the DNA marker. Instead, we got nothing at all! Other than the important life lesson that science can be frustrating and disappointing, I guess. Sam Garson, who was directing us, guessed that the issue was something that unfortunately we do not remember.

Our guest speakers, Sofia Denkovski and Erin Casellas from Soundwatch, came in at 3 o’clock and talked about Orcas! Specifically near the Salish Seas. They first talked about the different marine mammals in the Salish Seas, then went on to the scientific names of different whales, then talked about Orca identification. We did a fun game of Orca ID, identifying different orcas based on their saddle patches and dorsal fins. We learned that each saddle patch on an orca is like a fingerprint to a human–none of them share the same one.

After the informative presentation, Adam drove all of us down to South Beach. We watched the sunset, ate pie (the rhubarb pie was so good omg??), and climbed the cliffs and logs all while the wind blew in our faces, making us chilly. We took a lot of photos and watched the sky turn indigo. It was the perfect time to reminisce about our trip and all the memories we made, since this was our second to last day.

See you all tomorrow! I can’t believe this is almost over, time flies!

Isabella, Riya, and Stella

Our benevolent dictator, Adam, let us start the day with a late 8:00 AM wake-up. While the extra sleep was greatly appreciated, we all would have liked to sleep for another twelve hours. 

After a quick breakfast, we gathered at the table with our notebooks and pens to reflect upon the kayak trip we had just returned from the day before. Caroline asked us three questions: 1) What did you learn from this experience? 2) What is an anecdote you want to hold onto? 3) How did you grow from this experience? As we all ponder these questions, Caroline explained that we are doing the reflection because moments are fleeting, and if you do not write them down, they fly away, never to be seen again. 

We all piled into the van for our first stop of the day, American Camp National Park. Once we arrived, we were quickly greeted by Emilio Santiago, a park ranger and archaeologist who has worked in several parks over the United States.

Emilio opened the visitor center and gave us a general explanation tour and history of the building. He explained that every plack had gone through all eight tribes that had historically inhabited the Salish Sea. He pointed out the Canoe paddles that had been hung on the wall and that each one had been carved by one of the eight tribes. He gestured towards a mural painted on the wall and told us about how the purple flowing was called Camis and has a humongous significance to the indigenous people of the area because its root was one of the staple foods. After a brief tour of the building, Emilio set the group free to roam around the visitor center. 

After we stopped at the status of the pig who started the Pig War, a war between the English and the Americas started after an English pig was shot by American farmers because he had been eating all his crops. We held a quick photo shoot with the pig and then were off again. 

Emilio led us to a spot with a great view of the park and everything around it. There he motioned toward the burial ground where thirteen soldiers had been buried, casualties of the pig war. He told us how smallpox had devastated the indigenous people and how wooly dogs were used for their fur. Emilio was an endless fountain of knowledge and was happy to answer any questions we had. We were truly lucky to get to speak with such a knowledgeable guide. 

After the American Camp, some of us decided to climb some trees cause we just goofy like that!  

We then hopped into the van and headed to False Bay. On the way down to the beach, we saw many adorable puppies and stopped for a good ten minutes to pet all of them. We also saw a garter snake in the grass! It was super cute!!!!!!!!

Although Millie was a little weirded out, haha! We all enjoyed lunch on the beach, and Stella, Sonja, and me (Riya) were crying and hoping someone would see how lonely we were……… :,((((

After that, you know what time it was: project grind time! Some of us goofballs also decided to dogpile on the couch. 

I slammed my computer closed, the undeniable pressure of perfecting my proposal too much to bare. Luckily, there was light on the horizon: swimming in Egg Lake. Ever since I read the schedule the night before, I knew that this upcoming swim would be entirely and utterly life-altering. I suited up in my swimming suit and a new coat of greasy sunscreen, and we were off!

After a group car singalong performance of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” worthy of a Grammy, we stepped out of the van into the unpleasantly brisk air. I had never experienced such a chill (a low 70° 😨). Although I had my qualms about swimming and making myself even colder, Maya, Keelin, Una, and Cleorr jumped right in.

Eventually, I jumped in, with the support of my bff4lyfe Sonya, and found that 1) It wasn’t that cold, and 2) The seaweed at the bottom of the lake was, in fact, hairy.

After a solid hour of swimming and a toe in William’s mouth (thanks to Caleb), we returned to the dorms and took a much-needed break (trying to drown your friends is downright exhausting).

After an early dinner, we were off to our final event of the day: a talk given by Dr. Rachel Collin. The presentation detailed her research on tropical marine invertebrates, specifically sea urchins. Although the graphs may have hurt my head to look at, we were all completely invested. 

When the talk was over, a woman enthusiastically reminded us for the 4th time that there was an ice cream social after in the commons (I think she might have liked ice cream). The sundaes were the cherry on top of an already great day (haha, I’m so funny).

Goodbye, for now, loyal bloggers!

Xoxo,

Isabella, Riya, and Stella

Hi readers!

Welcome back to another day in the lives of Salish Sea Science’s awesome students. Today we woke up at 7:30 and started our day off by driving to Friday Harbor Labs to view another necropsy. However, when we got there, we discovered that there was no necropsy happening today (GASP). Luckily, Adam’s lightning quick thinking saved us. He drove us down to False Bay, an important spot on San Juan Island where all of the bay water completely disappears during low tide. We walked on some of the flats in the bay and found literally tons of crabs.

When we were done, we returned to the dorms and got some extra time to work on our final projects. Some of us were very productive, but others(me) got distracted playing Wikiraces 3 and spent more time finding Benedict Cumberbatch’s wikipedia page than working on our projects.

After eating lunch, we left for the Friday Harbor Whale Museum and learned about the massive marine vertebrates that call the Salish Sea home. We got to touch a gray whale’s baleen plate and learned about the Salish Sea’s Resident killer whales. But for some reason, everyone’s favorite part of the museum was the coloring pages they had in the kids section. Relatable.

After an eventful time at the whale museum we got to go to the Friday Harbor High School and do some experiments with mussels. Using PCR we will be able to identify which mussels are the invasive species from the Mediterranean, which are native, and which are hybrids of the two. We smashed the mussels (sorry Maya), cut out some membrane, mixed in buffer and proteinase k, and left them to process overnight. 

Although it was just thrilling to be in a school during the end of summer, we were excited to go to the thrift store after and try on some ridiculous outfits (I think William would win if it were a competition). 

Then everyone had the exact same craving for French fries, lizzy and I went to a restaurant down by the pier while Cleo, William, Una, Millie, Stella and Riya got some from the bait shop. We will be testing tomorrow which fries are better, we’re very excited for round two of French fries. We roamed the town a little bit before coming back to campus to do our jobs like dinner, blogging, and research on our dinner guests. Today Justin Cox and Jessica Farrer from the SeaDoc society who would’ve done our highly anticipated necropsy that we sadly did not have. Lucky for us we have an entire dinner to ask as many questions as possible to make up for it!

Today was the final day of our kayak adventure!!!

Since we managed to arrive at Turn Island before setting up camp on Sunday, we were rewarded with a late wake-up of 10am this morning. Despite some hesitation, most of us went to sleep last night on the beach, snug together under the stars and moon rather than a tent and rain-cover. The weather forecast was clear, and this way we were just a short reach away from a nice, warm racoon to snuggle up with. Racoons are so cute. 

The skies, of course, promptly proved all predictions wrong and thoroughly soaked our sleeping bags as soon as the clock struck midnight. While this did leave some a bit chilly this morning, I like to think it was a refreshing start to the day. The rain stopped around 3am, leaving us with enough time to get in some more sleep before waking up a few hours later. 

After we all finally stumbled out of our sleeping bags anywhere from 7-10am, we surveyed the impressive reorganizing skills of the local racoons, retrieving our torn-open pancake mix for a very tasty breakfast. Over the following couple of hours, we packed up our kayaks for the final time before waving a final goodbye to the very smelly toilet on Turn Island as we pushed off onto the water.

Once offshore, we linked together our kayaks, floating while we got some sweet photos. We let the current drive us as it pleased for a bit before paddling onwards for our short trip to shore. The sun really decided to shine down on us for this final stretch, giving us clear skies and slight sunburns. 

We soon stepped out into the relatively warm water at Jackson Beach, pulling up the kayaks onto the beach for a final time and unpacking all our gear. After taking a quick dip into the wonderful water, we set up for a sandwich lunch. The PB&Js were incredible. They were a serious motivator throughout. 

Once completely packed up into the van, Greg and Julia dropped us off back at Spring Street where we raced to take showers and do our laundry. It was a good shower – I would say it may even be up somewhere in my top-20 showers list. We all scrubbed off the built-up grime and dug into the incredible cupcakes that Barrie made. I never want to wear my water shoes again. They are so genuinely gross. Luckily, my bed isn’t, so I can look forward to a comfortable rest tonight.

I think it’s safe to say that we are all a little bit completely pooped-out, so we settled down for a mellow afternoon and evening, readying ourselves for another day of fun.

We all woke up at 8:00 am, ate breakfast, and then spent a long time repacking everything onto the kayaks. We kayaked all the way to Shaw Island, where we stopped for lunch and enjoyed sandwiches and ice cream. Following our eelgrass seed collection experiment (which you can see on day 2), we kayaked to the opposite side of Shaw Island. When we arrived, Greg, our kayak guide, told us that the ranger on duty did not think we would be able to kayak to Turn Island, where we would spend the night.After then, Julia, another member of our kayaking team, stated that the group of individuals who entered their boats the quickest would receive some money. As everyone scrambled to get ready and get into their kayaks in order to earn that money, this led to quite a bit of mayhem.

Photo Cred: millie

Julia said that Sonja and I (Brian) had won and would be receiving the money the following day while we were all in the water. When we got to the island, some of us went swimming, and Caleb, William, Riya, and Kellin all went to the nearby tiny island. However, given how frigid it was, the water may as well have been from the Arctic. After everyone’s dinner, which turned out to be pasta, dinner was ready. opted to argue We even organized a little competition. After that, everyone retired for the night.the sky, where we all hugged or “spooned,” but didn’t fall asleep completely until after 9:00 o’clock.

Photo Cred: millie

Hey Blog, it’s Caleb! The one that keeps getting called out. Anyhow, today we all woke up early, and took two vans. The first took us to a primary location (Port of Friday Harbor), and the second took us to a secondary location (an undisclosed beach). Anyone who has watched a decent amount of John Mullaney would know that Detective J.J. Bittenbinders first rule is to never get taken to a secondary location because if you are taken to a secondary location your chances of getting saved drops to zero. J.J. Bittenbinder apparently isn’t always right because when we arrived at the secondary location they did not handcuff us with zipties, but instead, put us in lovely kayaks! 

Once we had finally finished struggling to pack up the kayaks we suited up in lifejackets and spray skirts and then got our pedals situated for our varying heights and leg lengths. I feared it would be difficult for me due to my larger stature, and my fears were not assuaged when I was referred to as “big guy” by one of the guides.

Anyhow, once we were all situated, we launched and started paddling towards our lunch spot at Turn Island. We stuck close to the coast and coasted on the counter currents to gain a bit of a boost. There was one rock we passed that was absolutely covered in seals that hopped in the water and poked their heads out. The water was covered in little seal head bumps, all rather curious about some dinky teenagers in some weird fiberglass vessels. 

After getting to our lunch location and consuming sustenance we explored the beach we were stopped at and I found some fresh oysters attached to some rocks. I shucked one oyster and ate it raw on the halfshell even though I was warned there was a 50/50 chance of me getting sick from eating it, but you know, life isn’t worth living without a few risks. In this case I lucked out and was perfectly fine. 

After paddling a total of ten miles we finally made it to our campground! After dinner we went on a night hike to the beach where we observed bioluminescence. We enjoyed throwing rocks into the water and watching all of the bioluminescence that was activated. After the bioluminescence we all went to our tents.

BLOG TIME!! It’s stinky crew!! Except William because he is arguing that he’s not smelly. So that just leaves me (Maya) and Elizabeth to hold up our name. 

We started today with a nice hike up Mount Grant this morning. It was very pretty but most of the time we were busy chatting. About half-way up we decided to start playing riddle games, which lasted till we got back to the van. It started with William’s “perfect line” riddle, which was basically nonsence and I’m still not quite sure what it was. He is very proud of it though. It took us a really long time to realize the rule was that we had to say “okay” before we made a line between any two objects. 

Anyways, we also played black magic, snaps, and a couple other tricky games. Keelin had a game called trains, which took William a while to realize was alphabetical. We played snaps pretty much the entire way back.

I learned a new word!! Thigmomorphogenisis. Adam taught us it at the peak of Mount Grant. Basically, it describes when a plant changes its growth or development because of an abiotic factor, like wind or something. So not only is it a cool fact but it’s a funny word.

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Hey guys, It’s Lizzy now! I’ll be taking you through the middle part of our day.  

After hiking down, we got into the van and drove to Roche Harbor where we explored the town and got massive amounts of ice cream. We then sat in a small garden and talked for some time until we needed to get back into the van and drive to Lime Kiln Point State Park.

At Lime Kiln we met Erin Corra who works for a non profit organization in collaboration with the state park. She gave us a tour of some of the property. We began our tour by looking at some of the oldest trees along the trails and learning about them. Some of the trees included the Western Red Cedar, the Douglas Fir, the Madrona, and Big Leaf Maple. She explained the special characteristics each tree had and the history of the tree in the area. We also walked to the water and learned about the different types of rocks that exist along the water. We saw basalt pillow rock, which comes from volcanoes, bedrock, and granite. 

We then made our way up the shoreline to the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1919 and we were able to go inside and up to the tower where the light is. The lighthouse is also used for whale watching (specifically Orcas) and they had a big board with a list of all of the sightings of different pods that live throughout the islands. Below the lighthouse is also a hydrophone which can pick up noise that is detected around. This is a cool way of hearing what goes on below the surface of the water and sometimes you are even able to hear whales communicating!

Howdy folks, William here. After our delightful tour of Lime Kiln Park, we drove to Zylstra Lake, which is a gorgeous lake in the middle of the island. Zylstra lake has not always been a lake, it was originally a small river but has been damned for agricultural use. Sadly, we could not swim in the lake due to the prevalence of blue-green algae during the summer months. Regardless, we received a scintillating tour of the ongoing riparian conservation efforts from Shauna Barrows, who we will be lucky enough to eat dinner with tonight. 

Our tour began with a bumble bee petting session, during which I was able to get over my fear of bees. Apparently, bumblebees love physical touch, and if scaled up to cat size, would be similarly affectionate. After saying goodbye to our fuzzy friends we hopped in the van and followed Shauna to a dried-up creek. The creek is normally full of water, but during the dry season remains dry(obviously). She explained her efforts to cull the local reed canary grass population, a task which has proven very difficult, as the grass grows to knee height in just 3 weeks. All of her efforts are focused on keeping the lake clean, currently, the lake has off-the-chart levels of Nitrogen and Phosphorous, but she intends to bring that back down. 

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After that delightful tour, we headed back to the dorm, and we all got some free time. Stella’s grandmother was having an art show in town, so some of us when to that, while others went for a dip in the frigid Salish Sea. Caleb will try to tell you it is not that cold, Caleb is wrong, Caleb is not to be listened to. The water is cold, manageable, but cold. Having dinner with Shauna was a pleasure, and the following presentation was enlightening. Today was a very fun day, but it will no doubt be overshadowed by tomorrow. Tomorrow we begin our 2-night 3-day kayak trip, which we are all super excited to begin. The camping will be pretty rough, so don’t be surprised if there are no blogs for the next few days.

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Here are some more random pictures from today!

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