Valdez Glacier Butterfly

I believe the butterfly we saw at Valdez Glacier was a Mustard White butterfly (Pieris napi).

VALDEZ GLACIER

It was on the 29 of May 08, the temperature was 69 degree F. At the top of the hills on our way to the valdez glacier, we could see distinction between the vegetations that is at the top of the hills were kind of brown vegetation due to cold and they had not blosom yet, while at the foot to mid hill the vegetation was green and beautiful. At our wonderful field trips the following were witnessed or encountered, a willow with kind of hairlike leaves, and Alder tree with doted white spots on the back,a mos plant and varieties of likens on the rocks.
Likens on their part,get their nutrients from the rock or from the air. further more where sticky scrubs that looked woody as was observed. also were Mos campions and the only insect that attracted our attention was the black spider and to add, was an artic willow and a horse tall which was out of experience by doctor Julie, could be used as a substitute for dish washing.
The field trip though was my first ever, was a great and wonderful one.

Valdez Glasier

Valdez Glasier
May 29, 2008

1:30 p.m.

Weather was sunny, a light windy and about 69 degree.

On the way to walk up Valdez Glasier we studied variety of plants and trees. I would like to share one of the trees which was very first studing object. But the evening of the trip I got sun and wind burn on my neck and face area. We should be safety this type of syndrom during the trip.

Red-alder Tree-25 m tall: bark thin, grey, and smooth, often with white patches of lichens, becoming scaly at the base with age; wood and inner bark turn rusty-red when cut.

Male and female flowers in hanging, cylindrical spikes appear before the leaves.

Red Alder wood is considered to be the best possible fuel for smoking salmon and other types of fish. It is soft and even-grained, and is still used for amking feast bowls, masks, rattles, and a variety of other items.

Valdez Glacier

Our first field trip would be to the Valdez Glacier. It was warm (69 degrees is very warm here), with very high clouds. Something I noticed about this field trip and these mountains, is how the trees covered the same slopes that snow and ice dominated only a few months before. Wendy would later say "It's like they grow overnight."
The first animal we spotted was a mountain goat. Dr. Julie spotted a "pile of snow with legs", high up on a mountain, and with a look through binoculars we saw that it was a mountain goat. As we watched it move around on it's small, but high cliff, I wondered if a mountain goat has ever taken a "bad step"....We heard birds singing in the area, but they did an excellent job of keeping themselves hidden. We did, however, spot a raven in flight..
As we continued on, we identified the paper birch, red alder, and many willows that seem to dominate the area. Except for some fire weed, a pink flowering plant spotted on the mountain closest to us, and horsetails, the birch, alders, and willows (creeping, and alpine) were the main plants here at the glacier. There were some mosses and dark lichens on the rocks and ground especially towards the glacial lake.
We found alot of quartz among the rocks (flysch), as well as a lot of rocks with iron in them (you can tell by the rust). The glacial lake (VERY COLD) was gray with ice floating around and the glacier itself was covered by black sediment. We got a chance to grab a couple pieces of the ice floating near us, and I got to taste it. It's probably the purest water you'll ever get to taste! On our way back to our car, we spotted 2 folks on a dirt bike and a 4-wheeler, along with with cars and trucks coming to and from the glacier lake. All of these made for some nice clouds of dust, which were more of a nuisance than a real health hazard.
Overall I enjoyed our trip to Valdez Glacier! It would be another thing I can tell people to get them to come and visit this wonderful land called "Alaska".

Valdez Glacier/ Airport Road

1. 5/29/08, 1:30pm-3:45pm, Valdez Glacier
2. sunny with some haze, approx. 70 degrees F., mild breezes from the southwest.
3. Alaskan SouthCoastal area, Temperate Rainforest, recently vacated glacial area, with silt, flysch, and till. Mountain terrain on our left, glacial lake and stream on our right, and glacier in front of us, active gravel pits nearby.
4. Willow, Alder, Black Cottonwood, Aspen or possibly birch, black, orange, yellow, and white lichen, moss (reddish green), fireweed, moss campion,
5. Mountain Goat, Bald Eagle, possible Pine Siskind or Wilson's Warbler, beetle, black spider, Mew Gulls (a pair), possible swift.

We got out of the vehicle and walked down a gravelly road, which consisted of glacier silt, flysch (thin layered rock), glacier till (rounded rocks worn smooth by glacier or water friction), and various other rocks which contained copper, iron, quartz, and other minerals.
On our left side, and indeed all around us, were mountains of the Chugach Mountain range. The closest mountain had water running down it in rivulets, from the melting snow. There was a small bird singing nearby, which may have been a Pine Siskind or maybe a Wilson's Warbler. I didn't get a good look at it, just a fleeting impression of small and yellowish. It was in a shrubby area.
Some of the trees I noticed were similar, but not the same as ones I am familiar with. For example, there was a tree I thought must be a birch because of the shapes of the leaves, the bark texture and horizontal dark scars, but it had a more golden color to it. Dr. Julie said to compare it to an Aspen, since it could be that, but I have looked up pictures of Aspen on the net, and I am still not certain. I will do more research on this. However, I was able to identify a Black Cottonwood tree and an Alder, as well as a few different types of willow, one of which had willow roses on it, which occur because of an infestation.
We saw a large boulder, which had black lichen, which I am told is a fungus/algae symbiot. We saw a reddish green moss on it, too. On other rocks, we got to observe orange, yellow, and white lichen. Other plants we identified include False Hellebore, aka Corn Lily, Horsetails, and a couple different types of fireweed. I saw a pink spot up on the mountain, and looking through the binoculars, I saw low bunches of flowering plants. I was able to determine that it was probably Moss Campion, from looking through the field guides and confering with my cohorts.
Signs of animal life- a nest halfway up a tree, which was made of twigs. It may have been a squirrel nest. Closer to the glacier, there was a pair of gulls, which I believe were Mew Gulls, based on their wing bands of white and black. There was also a very fast bird, flying low over the water, its wings barely visable because they were beating so quickly. I caught a glimpse of brown and white, and maybe stripes. I also saw a brown beetle winging by, a large black spider on the road, and a Bald Eagle soaring overhead. I found some black fur or hair that I am excited to see from whom or what it may have come.
On the little island we visited, I saw Arctic Willow, Alpine Willow, Jacob's Ladder, and Arctic Sandwort, all very small and unusual plants that only grow near glaciers, apparently.
What really struck me about this walk was the difference between our group and the tourists who were out there in their RV. They were throwing rocks into the water, goofing around, and one guy said to us that there was "nothing over there," where we were obviously going and observing such neat things. He saw nothing, and we saw. . . well not everything. . . but certainly more than he did. Poor dear. . .

Alaska Zoo

I wanted to post a little bit about our recent trip to the Alaska Zoo, which is in Anchorage on O'Malley Street. I had heard it wasn't a great zoo, so my expectations were not high, and I figured Henry would enjoy it, in any case. I was pleasantly surprised by how many animals were easily seen and the fact that most of them were Alaskan natives who had been "rescued" from injuries, etc.. We got to see many critters that you just never see up close, such as wolverines, lynx (lynxes?), wolves, a snowy owl, river otter. This was good because we got to see how they really look and move. Henry got to see them and seemed to think they were really neat. When children grow up loving animals and learning about them, they tend to want to protect them when they grow up, so that's really, I think, the primary reason for zoos.
On the other hand, I got the feeling that many of the cages and enclosures were too small and not close enough to the animals' natural ecosystem. A couple of the animals showed signs of stress, I thought (though admittedly I don't know a lot about such signs), such as the brown bear who kept obsessively pacing back and forth along one small stretch of fence and the porcupine who had a big bald patch on his back. The caribou did not have any grass left growing in their enclosure. I realize it takes a LOT of money to run a zoo well, and there were many opportunities throughout the park for folks to contribute as much or as little as they wanted. This is great! I hope people will continue to contribute and help this zoo improve and grow. What a great resource and learning opportunity!

Introduction Gena

Oyungerel DugersurenI came from Mongolia in Center Asia. I have been studying PWSCC since on September 2006. I have learned a variety field of knowledge including software, English, and Yoga. Living the foreign country has a lots of experience especially learning the different culture, dressing, human behavior all of these require a lot of patient and goal. Living and learning foreign country is wonderful venture of my recent life.

Greetings!

I’m Isaiah W. Edwards. I’m 20 years old and I’m from Oakland, CA. A year or two ago, I never thought I’d be here in Alaska of all places, (I always knew I wanted to visit, but I never thought I’d get the chance to live here). Now, after changing colleges, here I am. So far I love it. People told me about this Natural History course, and I see it as an organized way to explore parts of the area and Alaska. An unorganized way would be me trying to figure out where to go, how to get there, and when to go, all on my own. I came in January, which I got a chance to experience a part of winter up here. The snow has melted now, and the ‘nature walks’ are blossoming with shrubs and leaves. It’s very beautiful. I’ve also gotten to see that Alaska has some of the BIGGEST mosquitoes I’ve seen. They out do California’s mosquitoes that seem to bite in the night, Arizona’s mosquitoes that travel and attack in packs, and Georgia’s large-24-hour-bite-more-on-the-hottest-days-ever mosquitoes

I’m looking forward to this class!

P.S. “Cold-blooded” is a universal adjective I’ve used for 2 years (after watching a Chappelle’s Show skit). It can be bad or good, depending on how I say it…

Hello!!

Emmanuel Nfonoyim are my names I’m 26 years old. I came from Africa precisely Cameroon which is found in West Africa around the equator. I’m a student of Prince William Sound Community College, studying the Natural History of Alaska. I choose to take this class becuz I’m kind of thirst to acquire knowledge.
I leave presently with a friend but for the most part, I leave at the dorms when school starts.
My main aim here is to grab as more information as possible about nature and its creation, I will be amaze to know that there is more outside than we think it is.
At the moment, I don’t have enough experience but I believe as the days runs by, with my thirst for knowledge, I will gain lots of experience.

Oyungerel Dugersuren
I came from Mongolia in Center Asia. I have been studying PWSCC since on September 2006. I have learned a variety field of knowledge including software, English, and Yoga. Living the foreign country has a lots of experience especially learning the different culture, dressing, human behavior all of these require a lot of patient and goal. Living and learning foreign country is wonderful venture of my recent life.

Wendy Goldstein

Hi! My name is Wendy Goldstein, and I live in Valdez, Alaska. I moved here about 3 years ago from Connecticut. I work at Prince William Sound Community College in the Campus Shoppe and the Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum. I live with my husband, Andrew, my son, Henry, aged 1 ½, and our two dogs, Jemma and Fred.
So far, I adore Alaska. I am taking this class because I want to learn about the plants and animals of this great state. They are so much different than I am used to. For example, I miss crickets, lightening bugs, good loud thunderstorms, and the sounds of heat “heat bugs”, in other words, cicadas. However, there are so many amazing animals here that it makes up for it.
I grew up a child of the 70s, going to the Barnes Nature Center in the summer, and walking in the woods with my dad, learning about the trees, plants, animals, and birds in Connecticut. It was a magical upbringing, which taught me to observe and appreciate Nature.
Now that I live in Alaska, I feel lost without the knowledge of my surroundings that I am used to. I need to know more about Alaskan natural history for my own self as well as for my son. He will have a magical upbringing as well- an inate talent for observation and appreciation of Nature. That is my goal.