Blue whales are not only the largest animals in the world, but they are believed to be the largest animals that have ever lived. They are simply enormous. Blue whales can weigh 100-150 tons and grow to be 100 feet long. The blow (spout) of a blue whale is 20-30 feet high.
It is incomprehensibly tragic that blue whales were nearly hunted to extinction. In the early-mid 1900s, up to 99% of the original populations were killed off by whalers. Today, fewer than 10,000 of these great leviathans remain in the world's oceans. So you can imagine my excitement when I learned that about 2,000 of them seasonally congregate in California waters, and blues have been regularly sighted in recent years just off the southern California coast. The LA whale watchers said that the blues usually show up in late July and sometimes stay through December. As soon as I heard this, I knew that I had to try and see them. It would take a healthy dose of good luck to see one in July, which would be my only opportunity because I had to return to Utah in August, but it would be the thrill of a lifetime if Lady Luck was smiling on me.
And so in late July, I took one last drive down to Palos Verdes on the slim hope that perhaps a blue whale would pass by that day. I spent many hours scanning the Pacific for any signs of whale activity, but to no avail. The seas were calm and quiet. But it was a beautiful day, so before the sun went down I decided take a walk along a trail that parallels the edge of the cliff overlooking the Pacific. As I returned from this walk, to my surprise I suddenly noticed a tall blow on the south side of the ocean. I squealed with joy and fumbled to pull up my binoculars. And then I saw the colossal back of a gigantic whale. It was the most enormous back I'd ever seen, perhaps twice as long as the backs of the gray whales that I'd become so familiar with. And then suddenly there was a second blow and another enormous whale back rose from the ocean. And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone. I stood there hypnotized with my binoculars glued to my face for probably an hour, urgently scanning the ocean for any more signs of the whale. But I never saw it again.
I'm still not sure whether I saw one whale (surfacing twice) or two whales. And I'm not even positive that it was a blue whale - it could have been a fin whale. The expert whale watchers say that it can be very difficult to distinguish blues from fins because fin whales can get very large as well. But there were blues reported to be in the area. I'll never know for sure, but in my heart I believe that I saw a blue whale. Maybe even two blue whales. And that's good enough for me. :) Lady Luck was indeed smiling on me...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
San Diego
San Diego has long been one of my favorite cities. So when I decided to spend my sabbatical in Los Angeles, I promised myself that I would visit San Diego before returning to Utah. In mid-July, I fulfilled that promise. A colleague and I drove down to San Diego for a four day adventure that came to be known as "Thrill Quest San Diego".
We arrived in San Diego around noon and went directly to the Birch Aquarium, which is affiliated with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD. The Birch Aquarium is in beautiful La Jolla, high up on a hill overlooking the Pacific. When you arrive, the first thing you see are large fountains with gigantic whale sculptures in the middle of them, giving the illusion of whales leaping out of the water. Super cool. The aquarium itself is nice, although it's not in the same league as more well-known aquaria (e.g., Baltimore, New England, etc). My favorite resident was an octopus that excitedly swam around its enclosure for a very long time. I was hypnotized watching this odd-looking creature with a bulbous body and many long tentacles glide so gracefully through the water. Click here to see pictures from the Birch Aquarium.
Next we went to Balboa Park, which is a large, verdant park in the middle of San Diego that houses many museums and gardens. Balboa Park attracts visitors of all kinds, including this typical California dog travelling by segway. We walked around for a while, exploring a rose garden and cactus garden, and then listened to Cajun music at a summer evening music event. Click here to see pictures from Balboa Park. From there we went to Old Town, which looks like the set of a western movie with old storefronts and buildings. A great place to walk around.
Day 2 was Sea World, which may be my favorite touristy place on the planet. Sea World has so many animal shows that it is impossible to see them all in one day, but we gave it a good try. ;) Of course we saw the obligatory killer whale show, which now features four killer whales! We also saw two different dolphin shows (the daytime show includes a pilot whale as well, and the evening show features pyrotechnics high above leaping dolphins), a sea lion & otter show, and a Pets Rule show that features many (and I mean many!) trained dogs, cats, birds, pot-bellied pigs, and other performing pets. Yes, you read that right, there were trained cats. :) Sea World boasts that most of the animals were rescued from shelters, which is exceedingly cool.
Sea World also has a wide array of zoo-like animal exhibits, which are also wonderful. My favorite exhibit was a large pool with 10-15 bottlenose dolphin that you can feed and touch. It is a magical, almost spiritual experience to pet a dolphin while looking it right in the eye. I could have stayed at that pool all day (and nearly did ;). I also learned that Pacific bottlenose dolphins (which were my neighbors in Marina del Rey) are darker in color than their Atlantic bottlenose cousins. The pool contained both species and you could clearly see the difference.
In addition to animal shows, Sea World has a Cirque de la Mer show that features acrobats doing amazing feats in, around, and over Mission Bay. The show was terrific. My favorite part featured a parade of acrobats who, one after the other, did some incredible stunt on a trapeze and then leaped off the trapeze and dove into Mission Bay. Click here to see tons of pictures from Sea World. After we exhausted Sea World (and it exhausted us), we went to Old Town again to have dinner and take another quick tour of the old western buildings.
No trip to San Diego would be complete without a visit to their world famous zoo, so Day 3 was zoo day. I'd been there several times before, but it had been many years since my last visit. The zoo has a wonderful reptile exhibit, errrr, make that reptile exhibits. Of course, they have a Komodo Dragon, or should I say, a Land Crocodile. There are multiple reptile buildings (about 5!), including a "Turtletorium" (I love that word!! It's not quite as good as "Platypusary" though. :), as well as many outdoor reptile enclosures where lizards and tortoises can bask in natural sunlight. Hands down the best reptile exhibit of any zoo I've been to. Another must-see exhibit at the San Diego Zoo are the pandas, including an adorable young panda.
Toward the end of the day, I was dejectedly about to admit defeat in my unsuccessful attempt to find the wolf exhibit when I stumbled onto an evening animal show that featured (surprise!) a beautiful gray wolf. :) When the wolf was a pup, the zoo brought in a golden retriever to keep it company, and now the two are best friends. (Interestingly, the dog was rescued from a shelter, where it had been given up by its owner because he had too much energy and needed lots of space, which he now has at the zoo.) At an earlier show, zookeepers told a similar tale of a cheetah who was raised with a dog, and the cheetah will only come out on stage if the dog comes along. Apparently the cheetah is shy and will hide when it's by itself, but if the dog is there then the cheetah feels more comfortable. I was fascinated that the zoo seems to be using dogs as companions for zoo animals! The evening show with the wolf also featured an animal that I'd never seen before: a New Guinea singing dog, who gave a virtuoso performance. :) Click here to see a ton of pictures from the San Diego Zoo. After the zoo, we drove to the Gaslamp District for dinner and briefly explored downtown San Diego.
Day 4 began with a visit to Point Loma and Cabrillo National Monument, which has historic significance to San Diego. But I confess, I wanted to see it because it is a famous whale-watching site in San Diego and I was curious to see how it compared to my whale-watching site in Palos Verdes. Point Loma is nice and has a terrific view over the Pacific, but there was a lot of boat traffic due to its proximity to the harbor and a Navy base. Palos Verdes is definitely superior, in terms of the natural surroundings at least. :)
Next we returned to Balboa Park to see the Natural History Museum. The museum was better than I expected, given that it is relatively small. I even managed to find a whale. :) If you're in Balboa Park, it's definitely worth spending an hour or two there. The museum had an interesting exhibit about water usage that included aerial pictures of cities that are smack dab in the middle of a desert and have no business being there. The pictures of Palm Springs, CA and Tucson, AZ were particularly striking. There was also a special exhibit on African art that was superb. Many of the sculptures represented symbols or legends of the Shona people; the sculptures were beautiful and the legends were fascinating. My favorites were the hippo, which represents the spirit of shyness, and Eye of Mwari, which represents the God Mwari who sees but does not judge.
Finally, we headed downtown to see the Phantom of the Opera at the San Diego Civic Theatre, before hitting the road back to LA. It was a great performance, and a very nice way to end the trip.
I feel obligated to end with a public service announcement: San Diego has the worst road signs of any city I've been to! If you go, bring maps, and lots of them. Some side streets take you onto the interstate without giving you any warning at all! At one point I came to believe that every street was simply an entrance ramp to I-5. Although when you want to get on I-5, you can't. You might be right around the corner from a freeway entrance but there won't be a single sign telling you to turn. No joke, that actually happened -- I had to peer around a corner myself to see that that there was an entrance ramp just a block away. I love ya San Diego, but geesh, hire someone to make a few road signs, will ya?!
We arrived in San Diego around noon and went directly to the Birch Aquarium, which is affiliated with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD. The Birch Aquarium is in beautiful La Jolla, high up on a hill overlooking the Pacific. When you arrive, the first thing you see are large fountains with gigantic whale sculptures in the middle of them, giving the illusion of whales leaping out of the water. Super cool. The aquarium itself is nice, although it's not in the same league as more well-known aquaria (e.g., Baltimore, New England, etc). My favorite resident was an octopus that excitedly swam around its enclosure for a very long time. I was hypnotized watching this odd-looking creature with a bulbous body and many long tentacles glide so gracefully through the water. Click here to see pictures from the Birch Aquarium.
Next we went to Balboa Park, which is a large, verdant park in the middle of San Diego that houses many museums and gardens. Balboa Park attracts visitors of all kinds, including this typical California dog travelling by segway. We walked around for a while, exploring a rose garden and cactus garden, and then listened to Cajun music at a summer evening music event. Click here to see pictures from Balboa Park. From there we went to Old Town, which looks like the set of a western movie with old storefronts and buildings. A great place to walk around.
Day 2 was Sea World, which may be my favorite touristy place on the planet. Sea World has so many animal shows that it is impossible to see them all in one day, but we gave it a good try. ;) Of course we saw the obligatory killer whale show, which now features four killer whales! We also saw two different dolphin shows (the daytime show includes a pilot whale as well, and the evening show features pyrotechnics high above leaping dolphins), a sea lion & otter show, and a Pets Rule show that features many (and I mean many!) trained dogs, cats, birds, pot-bellied pigs, and other performing pets. Yes, you read that right, there were trained cats. :) Sea World boasts that most of the animals were rescued from shelters, which is exceedingly cool.
Sea World also has a wide array of zoo-like animal exhibits, which are also wonderful. My favorite exhibit was a large pool with 10-15 bottlenose dolphin that you can feed and touch. It is a magical, almost spiritual experience to pet a dolphin while looking it right in the eye. I could have stayed at that pool all day (and nearly did ;). I also learned that Pacific bottlenose dolphins (which were my neighbors in Marina del Rey) are darker in color than their Atlantic bottlenose cousins. The pool contained both species and you could clearly see the difference.
In addition to animal shows, Sea World has a Cirque de la Mer show that features acrobats doing amazing feats in, around, and over Mission Bay. The show was terrific. My favorite part featured a parade of acrobats who, one after the other, did some incredible stunt on a trapeze and then leaped off the trapeze and dove into Mission Bay. Click here to see tons of pictures from Sea World. After we exhausted Sea World (and it exhausted us), we went to Old Town again to have dinner and take another quick tour of the old western buildings.
No trip to San Diego would be complete without a visit to their world famous zoo, so Day 3 was zoo day. I'd been there several times before, but it had been many years since my last visit. The zoo has a wonderful reptile exhibit, errrr, make that reptile exhibits. Of course, they have a Komodo Dragon, or should I say, a Land Crocodile. There are multiple reptile buildings (about 5!), including a "Turtletorium" (I love that word!! It's not quite as good as "Platypusary" though. :), as well as many outdoor reptile enclosures where lizards and tortoises can bask in natural sunlight. Hands down the best reptile exhibit of any zoo I've been to. Another must-see exhibit at the San Diego Zoo are the pandas, including an adorable young panda.
Toward the end of the day, I was dejectedly about to admit defeat in my unsuccessful attempt to find the wolf exhibit when I stumbled onto an evening animal show that featured (surprise!) a beautiful gray wolf. :) When the wolf was a pup, the zoo brought in a golden retriever to keep it company, and now the two are best friends. (Interestingly, the dog was rescued from a shelter, where it had been given up by its owner because he had too much energy and needed lots of space, which he now has at the zoo.) At an earlier show, zookeepers told a similar tale of a cheetah who was raised with a dog, and the cheetah will only come out on stage if the dog comes along. Apparently the cheetah is shy and will hide when it's by itself, but if the dog is there then the cheetah feels more comfortable. I was fascinated that the zoo seems to be using dogs as companions for zoo animals! The evening show with the wolf also featured an animal that I'd never seen before: a New Guinea singing dog, who gave a virtuoso performance. :) Click here to see a ton of pictures from the San Diego Zoo. After the zoo, we drove to the Gaslamp District for dinner and briefly explored downtown San Diego.
Day 4 began with a visit to Point Loma and Cabrillo National Monument, which has historic significance to San Diego. But I confess, I wanted to see it because it is a famous whale-watching site in San Diego and I was curious to see how it compared to my whale-watching site in Palos Verdes. Point Loma is nice and has a terrific view over the Pacific, but there was a lot of boat traffic due to its proximity to the harbor and a Navy base. Palos Verdes is definitely superior, in terms of the natural surroundings at least. :)
Next we returned to Balboa Park to see the Natural History Museum. The museum was better than I expected, given that it is relatively small. I even managed to find a whale. :) If you're in Balboa Park, it's definitely worth spending an hour or two there. The museum had an interesting exhibit about water usage that included aerial pictures of cities that are smack dab in the middle of a desert and have no business being there. The pictures of Palm Springs, CA and Tucson, AZ were particularly striking. There was also a special exhibit on African art that was superb. Many of the sculptures represented symbols or legends of the Shona people; the sculptures were beautiful and the legends were fascinating. My favorites were the hippo, which represents the spirit of shyness, and Eye of Mwari, which represents the God Mwari who sees but does not judge.
Finally, we headed downtown to see the Phantom of the Opera at the San Diego Civic Theatre, before hitting the road back to LA. It was a great performance, and a very nice way to end the trip.
I feel obligated to end with a public service announcement: San Diego has the worst road signs of any city I've been to! If you go, bring maps, and lots of them. Some side streets take you onto the interstate without giving you any warning at all! At one point I came to believe that every street was simply an entrance ramp to I-5. Although when you want to get on I-5, you can't. You might be right around the corner from a freeway entrance but there won't be a single sign telling you to turn. No joke, that actually happened -- I had to peer around a corner myself to see that that there was an entrance ramp just a block away. I love ya San Diego, but geesh, hire someone to make a few road signs, will ya?!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Quaker Memorial Service
This post has nothing to do with California, except that I attended the event immediately before flying to LA two weeks ago. But this event deeply affected me, so I wanted to write about it.
Two weeks ago I attended a memorial service for Jay Lepreau, who died on September 15 due to complications from cancer. Jay was a faculty member in my department at Utah. He was a world-renowned researcher, a terrificly interesting and energetic guy, and way too young to die.
Jay was also a Quaker, and on September 20 I attended a Quaker memorial service to celebrate his life. A Quaker memorial service is very different from a traditional funeral . As we were informed, the Quaker faith is not based on creed, but on testimonial. Friends and family gather in a Quaker meeting room and sit quietly, contemplating the life of the person who has passed. When someone feels moved, that person stands up and speaks about the deceased. Anything goes. Some people eloquently speak about what the person meant to them. Some people tell poignant stories, revealing a generous, loving, or whimsical side of the person. And in Jay's case, many people told funny anecdotes revealing silly things that he had done or exaggerating well-known aspects of his personality and habits. Many of the most personal and moving testimonials also included bits of humor, creating an unexpected harmony of sadness and celebration.
I'd heard about Quaker memorial services before and the description of them sounded beautiful, but to actually experience one gave me a much deeper appreciation and respect for them. I simply cannot imagine a more perfect or a more personal way to commemorate someone's life. First, this event was profoundly primitive and thoroughly social. I have read about elephant herds that gather around a deceased family member, seemingly unsure of where to go and what to do next, but comforted by the presence of each other. Human beings too are deeply social creatures and when tragedy strikes, we huddle together and find comfort and peace just by being in each other's presence. The simplicity of a Quaker service is its beauty: it is the primal act of people coming together to sit in silence, coupled with spontaneous expressions of grief and reflection. This is in stark contrast to a traditional funeral, which has a hierarchical structure where, most commonly, a religious leader (e.g., priest or rabbi) leads a formal, organized service and is the primary (and perhaps only) speaker.
Second, the hour-long service had an electrifying intensity, especially during the long periods of silence that preceded the first testimonial and punctuated the gaps between subsequent speakers. When sitting in a prolonged silence, your thoughts necessarily and inevitably concentrate on the person who has died and the people who were close to him. It is a bit like staring directly at the sun and becoming so hypnotized by its brilliance that you simply can't look away, even as the intense sunlight begins to make your eyes water and burn.
Third, and most importantly, the service was far more personal and intimate than any other service I have attended. The testimonials came from a diverse set of people that represented many different aspects of Jay's life, including family members, childhood friends, neighbors, professional colleagues, fellow musicians, and friends who shared his love of biking and hiking. Through the broad range of testimonials you got a complete sense of the multi-faceted and complex person that Jay was, and the far-reaching impact that his life had on this planet. Sadly and ironically, in his death I feel like I've come to know Jay better than I did when he was alive.
A Quaker memorial service is a truly beautiful thing. I cannot imagine a more perfect way to gain a full appreciation for the life that someone led and the person that they were.
Two weeks ago I attended a memorial service for Jay Lepreau, who died on September 15 due to complications from cancer. Jay was a faculty member in my department at Utah. He was a world-renowned researcher, a terrificly interesting and energetic guy, and way too young to die.
Jay was also a Quaker, and on September 20 I attended a Quaker memorial service to celebrate his life. A Quaker memorial service is very different from a traditional funeral . As we were informed, the Quaker faith is not based on creed, but on testimonial. Friends and family gather in a Quaker meeting room and sit quietly, contemplating the life of the person who has passed. When someone feels moved, that person stands up and speaks about the deceased. Anything goes. Some people eloquently speak about what the person meant to them. Some people tell poignant stories, revealing a generous, loving, or whimsical side of the person. And in Jay's case, many people told funny anecdotes revealing silly things that he had done or exaggerating well-known aspects of his personality and habits. Many of the most personal and moving testimonials also included bits of humor, creating an unexpected harmony of sadness and celebration.
I'd heard about Quaker memorial services before and the description of them sounded beautiful, but to actually experience one gave me a much deeper appreciation and respect for them. I simply cannot imagine a more perfect or a more personal way to commemorate someone's life. First, this event was profoundly primitive and thoroughly social. I have read about elephant herds that gather around a deceased family member, seemingly unsure of where to go and what to do next, but comforted by the presence of each other. Human beings too are deeply social creatures and when tragedy strikes, we huddle together and find comfort and peace just by being in each other's presence. The simplicity of a Quaker service is its beauty: it is the primal act of people coming together to sit in silence, coupled with spontaneous expressions of grief and reflection. This is in stark contrast to a traditional funeral, which has a hierarchical structure where, most commonly, a religious leader (e.g., priest or rabbi) leads a formal, organized service and is the primary (and perhaps only) speaker.
Second, the hour-long service had an electrifying intensity, especially during the long periods of silence that preceded the first testimonial and punctuated the gaps between subsequent speakers. When sitting in a prolonged silence, your thoughts necessarily and inevitably concentrate on the person who has died and the people who were close to him. It is a bit like staring directly at the sun and becoming so hypnotized by its brilliance that you simply can't look away, even as the intense sunlight begins to make your eyes water and burn.
Third, and most importantly, the service was far more personal and intimate than any other service I have attended. The testimonials came from a diverse set of people that represented many different aspects of Jay's life, including family members, childhood friends, neighbors, professional colleagues, fellow musicians, and friends who shared his love of biking and hiking. Through the broad range of testimonials you got a complete sense of the multi-faceted and complex person that Jay was, and the far-reaching impact that his life had on this planet. Sadly and ironically, in his death I feel like I've come to know Jay better than I did when he was alive.
A Quaker memorial service is a truly beautiful thing. I cannot imagine a more perfect way to gain a full appreciation for the life that someone led and the person that they were.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Back in California!
Every once in a while you get really, really lucky. Sunday was one of those days.
I'd been back in Utah for just a few weeks when I received an invitation to return to LA for a workshop. I'd already begun to experience ocean withdrawal, so I decided to fly out a day early and search for blue whales. Blue whales are not only the largest whales in the world, but also the largest animals of any kind that have ever lived. In the last few years, blue whales have been visiting southern Calfornia waters from roughly August through October, unfortunately right after I had to leave CA. [Aside: I think I actually did spot a blue whale before I left CA, but I'll leave that story for another blog post.] The invitation to return to LA in September presented a welcome opportunity to try to see them!
So, this past Sunday I once again drove to my beloved Palos Verdes whale watching site with my trusty binoculars in tow, albeit this time in a rental car.
I didn't see any blue whales. Not one. But in a surprising turn of events, 4 humpback whales decided to spend the day feeding in the waters off Palos Verdes, right in front of the whale watching station! They were there when I arrived at 1:00pm and they were still there when I left at 6:30pm. Humpback whales are known to live in California waters, but as far as I know, there isn't much regularity as to when and where they will show up. You just have to get lucky to see them.
My first key sighting of the day wasn't a whale, but a boat. During the past year, I learned to recognize many telltale signs of whale activity, including water spouts ("blows"), the sun sparkling off whale backs, and the presence of whale watching boats! Almost immediately after I arrived, I identified what I thought was a whale watching boat and noticed that, curiously, it wasn't moving. Had they spotted something? All the passengers were standing on one side of the boat, so I stared intently at the water on that side and, sure enough, I soon saw some blows. Several experienced whale observers also happened to be at Palos Verdes this day, and they identified the whales as 2 humpbacks, probably a cow/calf pair. A short while later, we noticed blows coming from the opposite side of the ocean as well, which turned out to be a second pair of humpacks. For the entire afternoon, the ocean was alive with whale spouts, sometimes from the pair of humpacks toward the south, and sometimes from the pair of humpbacks toward the north. I could frequently see their backs when they dove down to feed, and I got one good look at a fluke!
Being a terrestrial species, I tend to think of the ocean as a 2-dimensional space, but of course it is 3-dimensional. There are trenches and canyons along the ocean floor where sea life changes dramatically (e.g., the Redondo Canyon). On this day, I learned that knowledge of the ocean's topology can also be valuable clues for whale watchers. The whale observers informed me that the humpbacks were diving along "trench lines" in the ocean, which are locations where both humpbacks and blue whales can frequently be seen feeding.
So ... for a brief 1-day stint back in Palos Verdes when I thought it would be a longshot to see any whales at all, I had 5.5 hours of continuous humpack whale watching. Plus, the ocean was teeming with dolphins! Four different pods of common dolphin passed by on this sunny September afternoon. Now that's what I call lucky.
I'd been back in Utah for just a few weeks when I received an invitation to return to LA for a workshop. I'd already begun to experience ocean withdrawal, so I decided to fly out a day early and search for blue whales. Blue whales are not only the largest whales in the world, but also the largest animals of any kind that have ever lived. In the last few years, blue whales have been visiting southern Calfornia waters from roughly August through October, unfortunately right after I had to leave CA. [Aside: I think I actually did spot a blue whale before I left CA, but I'll leave that story for another blog post.] The invitation to return to LA in September presented a welcome opportunity to try to see them!
So, this past Sunday I once again drove to my beloved Palos Verdes whale watching site with my trusty binoculars in tow, albeit this time in a rental car.
I didn't see any blue whales. Not one. But in a surprising turn of events, 4 humpback whales decided to spend the day feeding in the waters off Palos Verdes, right in front of the whale watching station! They were there when I arrived at 1:00pm and they were still there when I left at 6:30pm. Humpback whales are known to live in California waters, but as far as I know, there isn't much regularity as to when and where they will show up. You just have to get lucky to see them.
My first key sighting of the day wasn't a whale, but a boat. During the past year, I learned to recognize many telltale signs of whale activity, including water spouts ("blows"), the sun sparkling off whale backs, and the presence of whale watching boats! Almost immediately after I arrived, I identified what I thought was a whale watching boat and noticed that, curiously, it wasn't moving. Had they spotted something? All the passengers were standing on one side of the boat, so I stared intently at the water on that side and, sure enough, I soon saw some blows. Several experienced whale observers also happened to be at Palos Verdes this day, and they identified the whales as 2 humpbacks, probably a cow/calf pair. A short while later, we noticed blows coming from the opposite side of the ocean as well, which turned out to be a second pair of humpacks. For the entire afternoon, the ocean was alive with whale spouts, sometimes from the pair of humpacks toward the south, and sometimes from the pair of humpbacks toward the north. I could frequently see their backs when they dove down to feed, and I got one good look at a fluke!
Being a terrestrial species, I tend to think of the ocean as a 2-dimensional space, but of course it is 3-dimensional. There are trenches and canyons along the ocean floor where sea life changes dramatically (e.g., the Redondo Canyon). On this day, I learned that knowledge of the ocean's topology can also be valuable clues for whale watchers. The whale observers informed me that the humpbacks were diving along "trench lines" in the ocean, which are locations where both humpbacks and blue whales can frequently be seen feeding.
So ... for a brief 1-day stint back in Palos Verdes when I thought it would be a longshot to see any whales at all, I had 5.5 hours of continuous humpack whale watching. Plus, the ocean was teeming with dolphins! Four different pods of common dolphin passed by on this sunny September afternoon. Now that's what I call lucky.
Friday, September 5, 2008
La Brea Tar Pits
In the middle of downtown Los Angeles there is a site eerily reminiscent of Jurrasic Park -- a true Jurrasic Park and not Hollywood fiction. Amid the tall buildings, small shops, and busy traffic of the city of Los Angeles lies Hancock Park, which harbors a startling collection of hot, bubbling naturally occurring tar pits. When you enter the park, it takes a moment for your senses to adjust to the stunning contrast between the urban chaos that is modern Los Angeles and this lush green park that is filled with bubbling cauldrons of goo, evoking images of Yellowstone National Park and wild lands of long ago.
The La Brea Tar Pits are estimated to be about 40,000 years old, and over the years a great many ancient animals got entrapped in the tar and died. Consequently, the bones of many varieties of ancient animals have been nearly perfectly preserved in the tar, providing a wealth of fossils for eager scientists to study. The museum makes a point of noting that no dinosaurs were found here, but only prehistoric mammals of more recent ancient times. The tar pits are fascinating to look at, and Hancock Park also contains the Page Museum, which displays many of the fossils that have been discovered in the tar pits, along with much historical and geological information about the area. The museum is wonderful and has many interesting fossils, including huge ground sloths, California camels, sabertoothed cats, and an amazing wall of over 400 skulls of dire wolves (illustrating how much variation there is even among members of the same species). For anyone planning to visit, it is also worth noting that the museum gives free admission to students and also teachers (including professors :). This place is a "must see" if you're in Los Angeles!
Pictures can be found here. (The pictures at the end are from a beautiful pond filled with turtles and koi that is inside the museum. I have no idea why it is there, except maybe to balance all the dead animal karma with a few live animals. :)
The La Brea Tar Pits are estimated to be about 40,000 years old, and over the years a great many ancient animals got entrapped in the tar and died. Consequently, the bones of many varieties of ancient animals have been nearly perfectly preserved in the tar, providing a wealth of fossils for eager scientists to study. The museum makes a point of noting that no dinosaurs were found here, but only prehistoric mammals of more recent ancient times. The tar pits are fascinating to look at, and Hancock Park also contains the Page Museum, which displays many of the fossils that have been discovered in the tar pits, along with much historical and geological information about the area. The museum is wonderful and has many interesting fossils, including huge ground sloths, California camels, sabertoothed cats, and an amazing wall of over 400 skulls of dire wolves (illustrating how much variation there is even among members of the same species). For anyone planning to visit, it is also worth noting that the museum gives free admission to students and also teachers (including professors :). This place is a "must see" if you're in Los Angeles!
Pictures can be found here. (The pictures at the end are from a beautiful pond filled with turtles and koi that is inside the museum. I have no idea why it is there, except maybe to balance all the dead animal karma with a few live animals. :)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Earthquake
I stayed in Los Angeles just long enough to experience my first major earthquake! I was at home packing boxes when the floor began to shake. At first, the shaking was light and I thought that a big truck must have rumbled by. But then, very suddenly, the shaking became much more intense. The whole building began to sway, and I knew instantly that this was an earthquake!
When the shaking intensified, both of my cats jerked their heads up, eyes wide with fear, and dove under the nearest piece of furniture. I was surprised to see how frightened they were. I confess, I was pretty frightened too. I stood under a doorway that was relatively far away from the sliding glass doors and waited for the shaking to stop (it lasted about 20-30 seconds). You could literally feel the building rocking back and forth, and there were a host of strange, creaking noises.
I happened to be watching the local news on TV at the time, and they instantly showed a seismograph on the screen. The news anchors were matter-of-fact in their reporting: "Apparently we are experiencing an earthquake. And it's a big earthquake. Our KABC seismograph says it's a 5.8." (It was later officially declared to be a 5.4 magnitude quake.) You know you must be in California when the local news channels have their own seismograph screens ready to display on a moment's notice!
Experiencing an earthquake was different than I thought it would be. Feeling the building move was definitely scary -- no doubt about it. But the period after the shaking stopped was equally scary! Why? Because everyone knows that there are usually aftershocks. And there's always the possibility that the original quake was just a warm-up act for an even bigger one. So while the initial quake is a complete surprise, afterwards you live with the immediate anticipation of more earthquakes to follow in the next few hours and possibly even days. The seismologists on the news kept reminding everyone to be
prepared for aftershocks for the next 24-72 hours. The local news reported every aftershock all afternoon, showing the seismograph readings as they happened. It's unreal to watch a seismograph recording a tremor as it's happening, even when it's far enough away that you can't feel it. Knowing that aftershocks were continuing all through the day was unnerving.
An interesting experience, to be sure, though one I hope to never experience again! Unfortunately, Utah is overdue for a big one as well...
When the shaking intensified, both of my cats jerked their heads up, eyes wide with fear, and dove under the nearest piece of furniture. I was surprised to see how frightened they were. I confess, I was pretty frightened too. I stood under a doorway that was relatively far away from the sliding glass doors and waited for the shaking to stop (it lasted about 20-30 seconds). You could literally feel the building rocking back and forth, and there were a host of strange, creaking noises.
I happened to be watching the local news on TV at the time, and they instantly showed a seismograph on the screen. The news anchors were matter-of-fact in their reporting: "Apparently we are experiencing an earthquake. And it's a big earthquake. Our KABC seismograph says it's a 5.8." (It was later officially declared to be a 5.4 magnitude quake.) You know you must be in California when the local news channels have their own seismograph screens ready to display on a moment's notice!
Experiencing an earthquake was different than I thought it would be. Feeling the building move was definitely scary -- no doubt about it. But the period after the shaking stopped was equally scary! Why? Because everyone knows that there are usually aftershocks. And there's always the possibility that the original quake was just a warm-up act for an even bigger one. So while the initial quake is a complete surprise, afterwards you live with the immediate anticipation of more earthquakes to follow in the next few hours and possibly even days. The seismologists on the news kept reminding everyone to be
prepared for aftershocks for the next 24-72 hours. The local news reported every aftershock all afternoon, showing the seismograph readings as they happened. It's unreal to watch a seismograph recording a tremor as it's happening, even when it's far enough away that you can't feel it. Knowing that aftershocks were continuing all through the day was unnerving.
An interesting experience, to be sure, though one I hope to never experience again! Unfortunately, Utah is overdue for a big one as well...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Back in Utah
Alas, my sabbatical is over. [sniff] I recently drove back to Utah, which was a 2-day trek with a midpoint in Las Vegas. I would prefer to forget the first leg of the journey, which was bumper-to-bumper traffic for the first 3-4 hours. I hate to brag, but it takes an undeniable talent, and an astonishing level of stupidity, to unintentionally yet willingly embark on a road trip that requires traveling across the entire width of the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area at exactly the beginning of rush hour. Yes, that's right, I started my journey from the west side of Los Angeles at 4pm on a Friday. It doesn't get any dumber than that. ;)
However the second leg of the journey was a wonderful drive. Once you leave the brown and desolate land known as Nevada, the rest of the scenery through Arizona and southern Utah is gorgeous. Even along the highway, you drive alongside Joshua trees, rock formations, brilliant red cliffs, and finally the majestic Rocky Mountains.
My sabbatical was outstanding. The work environment and people at ISI were terrific. And I had a blast exploring the LA area and coastline. When I arrived back in Utah, I felt like I was returning from a year-long vacation. Indeed, my apartment in Marina del Rey always felt like a hotel to me. So I am very sad that my sabbatical is over. [sniff] But there is something nice about coming home.
I had quite a few adventures in California that I have not yet blogged about because things got crazy busy toward the end. So this blog will remain active for a while longer until I clear out my backlog of stories and photos. Stay tuned...
However the second leg of the journey was a wonderful drive. Once you leave the brown and desolate land known as Nevada, the rest of the scenery through Arizona and southern Utah is gorgeous. Even along the highway, you drive alongside Joshua trees, rock formations, brilliant red cliffs, and finally the majestic Rocky Mountains.
My sabbatical was outstanding. The work environment and people at ISI were terrific. And I had a blast exploring the LA area and coastline. When I arrived back in Utah, I felt like I was returning from a year-long vacation. Indeed, my apartment in Marina del Rey always felt like a hotel to me. So I am very sad that my sabbatical is over. [sniff] But there is something nice about coming home.
I had quite a few adventures in California that I have not yet blogged about because things got crazy busy toward the end. So this blog will remain active for a while longer until I clear out my backlog of stories and photos. Stay tuned...
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