Icebergs!!

Whist in Newfoundland we had the privilege of seeing the massive chunks of 13,000 year old glacial fresh water otherwise known as icebergs. It was rare to see so many this late in the year but the increase was due to the breaking apart of an enormous ice island off the coast of Greenland. To see an armada of ice-cubes the size of a battleships sitting in the bay was a sight to behold! A boat tour from St. Anthony also revealed more giants: whales! We saw a pod of whales blowing plumes of breath as they travelled and a humpback whale flippering (I think that's the term) which is basically a maneuver in which the whale rolls around on it's back, flapping it's flippers in the air. The boat took us back to the icebergs where we saw some with vivid blue lines of super compressed ice glowing under overcast skies. Bergy bits crackled in the seawater as the millions of trapped air bubbles in the ice were released. The trip was well worth it.

Cod

The last two weeks was spent on the west coast of Newfoundland. The natural beauty of the rugged land was stunning. During a weekend fishing excursion I caught my long awaited first fish: a twenty inch cod with hardly any meat on it.

Penguin Arm Part 2

Penguin Arm

The Ascent of Sunwapta Peak

On Saturday we climbed Sunwapta Peak in Jasper National Park. It was an early start as we were hiking by 7:30am. The trail as you leave the Icefields Parkway climbs steeply up the south watershed through the mosquito-infested forest. There is a beautiful canyon with some interesting rock formations as one follows the trail to the north of the creek. When we broke out of the trees we were greeted with scree with snowy patches that stretched up into the cloudy abyss. Shortly, all the scree was covered with snow. From there it was one foot after the other. Often the only sounds were the crunch of boot on snow, the metallic clink of the ice axe and our own laboured breath. The last few hundred meters were near white-out as the cloud had meshed neatly with the snow.My eyes played tricks on me as I squinted into the flat white. Swirls and spots appeared in the whiteness, a rock blinked red like an avalanche beacon, and distances that were only a few meters seemed immensely further. When we finally reached the summit, due to the rarified air, it took us a moment to collectively decide whether it was indeed the place!

"Is this the summit?"

"Well, there is a pile of rocks and it slopes down on this side."

"It slopes on this side too!"

"This must be it then."

"Woo!!"

"Yeah! Woohoo!"

"Woo!"

On the way down we were glad for the snow as we awoke our inner otter and slid down most the mountain on our bottoms! We used the ice axes as both rudders and stopping devices. I believe the mountaineers term is glissade but I call it fun! We really noticed the oxygen difference when we dropped altitude rapidly by sliding. After a quick bath in the runoff stream we stumbled back to the car, weary, sunburnt, sore and grinning.

Toronto

I've spent the last two days touring Toronto by foot and by bicycle and I have to say that I am impressed. It is a cosy and lively city with a lot of diversity. There is loads of brick which I love, good restaurants which I love, and people on the street which Freddy loves. Kensington market reminds me of another country. It has been very enjoyable thus far.

A Science Experiment

First off take your beaker and clean it. Get all the particulates from past experiments out. Now the glass is squeaky clean you are ready for the first chemical. It is a compound you developed yourself so name it after you. Sure you had help but it's still yours. Next, take a look in the cupboard. There are a few vials today. Read the labels. So many wasted experiments because the liquid inside the vial looked all sparkly. Some of the vials are more well labeled than others but hey, this is a science experiment is it not? Ok, found a vial? Good! Now unstopper it. Still look alright, waft a smell, smell good? Pour a little into the beaker. Watch carefully. Add a little heat, not too much or the whole thing will boil over! Add a little more from the vial. Are those two chemicals actually mixing? Yes, wait! Stir a bit. Add a little more heat. Little more from the vial. It's starting to look good now, a little steam but it's starting to change color, deepens from the original blue to a red and now yellowing to a scintillating gold!