Nature – Page 3 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Alaska State Ferry: Bellingham to Ketchikan

Posted on June 14, 2021 by geek

I have started a three week vacation in Alaska, which will involve planes, trains, ships, buses, cars, and perhaps a helicopter and raft. Thirty years ago or so, I cruised the inside passage with my family, but this time I wanted a little more time to see the southeast area and interior. Thus, the cruising will take place on the Alaska State Ferry. I took the ferry from Bellingham, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska, which is about 38 hours or so of travel. The ferry cruises the inside passage. There was a map in the cafe that shows the route, and in two different places, the route can go either in the open ocean or the inside passage. It is not clear why one is chosen over the other, and the crew (that interacted with the passengers) didn’t even seem to know, but presumably the navigation crew knew. In any event, our route was entirely the inside passage, and a lovely route it was. It was a nice way to travel. I spent the entire time reading and taking photos along the way. Below are some photos I took along the route. Note that basically all of these photos are of British Columbia, Canada and those of the water we passed through.

Caterpillar Conga Line

Posted on February 17, 2020 by geek

While on a hike today in Sistiana, Italy, I saw an entire convention of caterpillars. One group was marching in a conga line on top of a wooden fence. The other group was further down the same length of the wooden fence and were gathered together in a mass. I have never seen anything like it. If anyone can identify these caterpillars and state if this is normal behavior, I would be happy to learn about it.

Sea of Cortez Cetaceans

Posted on January 2, 2019 by geek

First off, the reason why I am titling this post cetaceans, is that I can’t remember if they naturalists on the ship decided these were whales or dolphins. While on my ill-fated trip to Baja California, the ship passed cetaceans several times, and several times the cetaceans came to ride our bow wave. It was so fun to see them. I decided to post some of the better photos that I took. If anyone can identify which specific cetaceans these are, I will happily update my post. Also, in some of the up-close photos of them riding the ship’s bow wave, remora fish stuck onto the cetaceans are visible.

Pod of cetaceans

Cetaceans riding the bow wave

Cetaceans riding the bow wave with visible remora fish

Cetaceans riding the bow wave

Baja California

Posted on December 30, 2018 by geek

During the short amount of time I was able to enjoy my cruise in the Sea of Cortez, I was able to do a little hiking as well as view some beautiful scenery from the boat. The geology reminds me of Arizona. There are some beautiful red rocks and layered sedimentary rocks. There is also scary but interesting plants including cactuses.

Baja California

Red rocks

Desert landscape

Cactus

Red rocks

Snorkeling with Sea Lions

Posted on December 29, 2018 by geek

One of the things I was able to do while on my short cruise in the Sea of Cortez was to go snorkeling with sea lions. There is a small island, which is more of a large rock outcropping, were birds and sea lions live. The water beneath is filled with fish, otherwise why would the birds and sea lions be there. People are allowed to snorkel in the area, but they are not allowed to dive there. We were even required to wear a slightly inflated flotation vest to prevent us from diving. We were also warned that the sea lions are quite playful. They are known to like to gnaw on people, like a puppy might when playing. I got gnawed on at my wrist. Then either the same sea lion of another gnawed on my ankle and kept going right up to my thigh.

The sea lions are amazing to watch. They are so swift and fast. They are extremely hydrodynamic. They are cute and playful. Although the gnawing didn’t break the surface of my skin and didn’t hurt too much, I could have done without the gnawing.

These are not the best photos I have ever taken, but GoPros are only point and shoot. Still I though I would present some of the better ones.

Sea lion gnawing on someone’s elbow

Sea lion

Sea lion swims right in front of my face

Sea lion

Sea lions

Sea lion

Sea lion cuddling (?) with someone

Sea lion gnawing on someone’s fin

Sea lions

Sea lion

Sea lions

Sea lion

Acadia National Park

Posted on August 8, 2018 by geek

While visiting Maine, we took a whirlwind trip though Acadia National Park. The park is spectacular. There are wonderful views from Cadillac Mountain and along the coast. While we were there, a fog rolled in and provided mysterious and obscured views. Based on the views, I have come to the realization that Maine’s coast is just a series of rock outcroppings.

View from Cadillac Mountain

View from Cadillac Mountain, to the left is the sand bar of Bar Harbor.

View from Cadillac Mountain

Pink granite cliffs

Pink granite cliffs with river rock beach

Fog settling over boats in harbor

Beach Rose

Posted on August 7, 2018 by geek

Scattered across Maine’s Blue Hill Peninsula and Deer Island is a pretty plant known as beach rose. A bit of internet searching leads me to understand that unfortunately this pretty plant is invasive. It is still pretty though, and I enjoyed photographing it.

Beach rose

Beach rose with beetle

Beach rosebud

Beach rose hips, immature

Beach rose hips, ripe

Tomato Hornworm

Posted on August 7, 2018 by geek

Where there are tomato plants, there will be tomato hornworms. This one was found on my relatives tomato plant. This is one of those life forms that you don’t want on a plant, but it is really neat to look at and photograph.

Tomato Hornworm

Fungus

Posted on August 5, 2018 by geek

I love to photograph fungus. I don’t know why, but I do. I don’t really like to eat fungus, but I like looking at it. More accurately I suppose, I like looking at the fruiting bodies of fungus. I’m in an area of New York that is filled with forest, and they have recently gotten a lot of rain. Fungus are growing and reproducing in earnest. I’m visiting relatives, and in one small area on their property, I spotted what I guess are at least six different types of fungus. So I went crazy with my camera.

Hudson River Valley by Train

Posted on June 27, 2018 by geek

I just got back from a very short trip to Albany, but the main reason I went to Albany was for the train ride up there. Amtrak has several train routes that go from New York City to Albany. I have taken two of these routes before, and I just love the view. I spend almost the entire time staring out the window at the gorgeous Hudson River, which can be seen during the vast majority of the ride. Below are a few photos I took on the route. The first six were taken on the train ride up to Albany as a storm was passing through and the sun was setting. The last three were taken on the way back down to New York City.