Reptiles at Risk

West Coast at last!!

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 28, 2008 at 7:53 PM

So we've been on the road now for 7 and a half weeks. We have now hit the furthest point west that we will present programs. We now get to talk about Sharp-tailed snakes. This species is endangered and only found in a couple of places on the BC islands. In fact there have only been a handful of sightings of this small snake. They live in Garry Oak ecosystems which have been wiped out from 95% of their former range, along with of course all the species that depend on them.

Right now we're waiting outside the Pender Island Library where we will soon do our last show on our western route (we'll be doing more shows on our way home when we leave the islands after a week off here). I thought since we've now passed all the way across the country from Ontario to the Pacific ocean I'd take the time to share my amazement of the vastness of this country and the great variation in landscapes that it has to offer.

For most of the trip we have stayed off the Trans-Canada highway and away from the more touristy areas. Instead we've spent the majority of our time along Canada's southern border where more of our reptile species are found. It's been a great way to see the country, much better than flying or even driving straight across.

We started out in the familiar rocky Canadian shield of Ontario and part of Manitoba. We then passed into the prairie landscapes of western Manitoba, Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta. The prairies are certainly not nearly as flat as people say they are (though one prairie inhabitant did tell us that along the trans-Canada it is as flat as they say). We passed along the southern border through beautiful badlands where the geography is all negative. You drive along and suddenly the landscape drops before you into really neat rolling hills or strange hoo-doos.

After the prairies came the mountains which have been really beautiful. It has sometimes been a struggle to convince our van and trailer to go up some of the steep roads. It's also been interesting going down as well with all the brake problems we've had, though fortunately none of our brake problems has coincided with mountain descents. And finally we've come to the west coast. We spent a great morning a couple of days ago exploring in tide pools on the coast. We found hermit crabs, mussels, little fish, cool invertebrates, millions of snails and of course lots of neat washed up kelp, driftwood, shells and stones. In fact I think there's a small pile of stones and shells in my pocket right now.

We dropped James off at the airport a few days ago and two days later we dropped off Sara. Both had to head back to Ontario for school while Jeff and I drive the van and trailer back to Ontario. We have about another 4 weeks before we'll be home as we won't be heading straight back. We'll be taking a week off our here to enjoy the west coast and also doing a group of shows in some Saskatchewan schools as well as some other shows on our route back through and in Northern Ontario. For the drive home we'll certainly miss James' antics and Sara's giggles and of course Sean's great photography and Lenny's hypothetical questions (which fueled discussions which helped us all stay awake while driving). It'll be a whole lot quieter on the drive home, though I'm still looking forward to seeing some of the places we've passed through again, plus some new places, and of course, spending more time looking for herps.

Well, I'm off to do our last show before I get to be a tourist for a week!
That's it for now,
- Heather

Some things never change ... -James

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 21, 2008 at 11:19 PM

Anywhere you go in this country, you're bound to encounter a wide variety of people. With this project we get the pleasure of basically just driving around meeting people. Not to mention, when we meet these people we get to talk shop about herps, one of our favourite things. It doesn't matter if you're in the East or the West, Canadians seem to be down right good people.

For example, when we were in southern Saskatchewan we were in a small town and that day there was a wedding, which meant that night there was a reception. That evening I was out for a walk and low and behold I found myself at a table talking with friendly, down to earth people. A small town full of hospitality ... it reminds me of home. But that's just the tip of the iceberg- we keep meeting people that, in my book, are prime examples of great Canadians.

In Alberta we met two guys (the Paddling Bryans) from Montreal that were going to canoe from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. We spent a great evening chatting with them and sharing a meal. We even met them in a great way. The night before the staff of the park we were at (another group of stellar people) had us all over for a campfire, which inevitably became an evening of sing-songs and story telling. It has been really great to see that some things never change, all across Canada the folk you'll meet are good friendly people.

Alas, there will always be people that just make you shake your head and hope their passport doesn't have a maple leaf on it. One thing that also has remained a constant as we drive cross-country is various mechanical issues with the van and trailer, so it's common that we find ourselves in auto shops and trailer dealerships. Recently, we have been working on our brakes for the trailer to ensure that driving across the great divide goes swimmingly. In one town, we went to a trailer dealership to ask about fixing the brakes. The man there seemed to be quite helpful and told us that his crew didn't have time to fix them, but he explained how we could remove the whole assembly and he'd have a look at it. At our next show we removed the entire brake assembly and brought it to him afterwards. He quickly told us that the entire thing was shot, and that it would be too costly (both in time and money) to replace the individual parts. Luckily he had two of the same brake assemblies in stock. We needed four, but two would certainly do until we could reach the next available dealership. We happily bought the parts and installed them the next chance we got. A few days later we were in Kelowna and went into another trailer dealership- Okanagan Truck and Trailer. The guy behind the desk was also really helpful and after hearing that we needed two new brake assemblies, he asked why. We explained that we were told that our whole brake assemblies were shot and that they needed to be replaced. He then took a look at our old brake assembly (the same one we'd shown the previous shop) and informed us that they looked fine and that he'd be happy to run a few tests on them. He concluded that all they needed was a gentle sanding, a good cleaning, and some adjusting. This was of course something we could do ourselves in a campground after a show. He explain that he would love to sell us a brand new brake assembly but we didn't need it and frankly he'd hate to see us waste our money. So, at no charge he explained, in great detail, how to get our brakes in tip-top shape and wished us a safe journey. It was a little annoying to realize that we had been taken advantage of by the first salesman, but at the same time one could only laugh at the vast difference between the two people. The first guy saw us as a means to make a quick buck off some people he would likely never see again, while the second guy saw a group of people that needed help and took some time out of his day to make sure we got what we needed without wasting any money.

Nevertheless, it does seem that no matter where you go in Canada, no matter the province or what direction the wind is blowing you, 99% of the people in this country are just great. But, that being said, I guess after meeting so many great Canadians we were bound to find one that didn't fit the norm, no matter how awesome a norm it is.

I guess some things never change.

- James

Thoughts from Sara...

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 20, 2008 at 4:13 PM

A fun fact for all to learn- some places have problems with homeless cats roaming the streets, but here in Kelowna, there are FERAL BUNNIES!!!!! That's right, Bunnies! It seems that when owners no longer wanted their pet rabbits, they decide to release them into the wild. And, rabbits being the creatures that they are, have now populated the wilds of the Kelowna's streets. It's really neat to be driving to your next show and see albino, tan, black and brown bunnies on the sides of the roads grazing! But, of course, these bunnies are not supposed to be here and apparently there is talk about what to do about them, but no decision has been made yet. I just thought that this is a really fun and unique fact about Kelowna!

So, as you all know, we are now in the Okanagan Valley. And let me say, it is gorgeous here!!! Rolling hills as far as the eye can see and these hills are covered in sand, grasses, cacti, and shrubs, with some ponderosa pine scattered throughout. When we first entered the Okanagan, it was really hot! Sometimes it would be over 40C in our van! But, as we drive north, the temperature is becoming more reasonable and it no longer feels like I'm going to die from heat stroke anymore.

My feelings so far on this trip are that I'm soooo happy to be here, travelling the country and teaching people about reptiles, and I'm soo happy to be travelling with this crew. They are an amazing group of people, and we are always laughing no matter what. We could be just fooling around or we could have discovered a new problem with the van and trailer, but thankfully our spirits seem to always be up. I think this part of Canada is absolutely beautiful and I would love to come back again, whether it is to live here, work here or to just take a vacation. People in BC have been very friendly and helpful, and it's just a great atmosphere. Also, the wildlife here is phenomenal! So many creatures to see, and things to learn.

I only have 6 days left in this wonderful province before I fly home and head back to school, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it! We'll keep you posted and please check out some of our photos!!! There are some really cools ones!! Adios Amigoes!!!

* Sara *

Sara Pearce Meijerink

Central Okanagan...

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 18, 2008 at 3:29 PM

We're now near Kelowna in the central part of the Okanagan Valley. Two hundred people showed up for our program this morning at the Westbank library, which was great! A local newspaper article last Friday probably helped to promote our appearance, and it should be interesting to see how big the crowd is at our next few programs! Apparently, Global TV is showing up tonight; more media coverage is always a good thing.

We also hope to get the remaining two trailer brake units today, and install them- hopefully that goes smoothly! It would be great to have all four trailer brakes functional again!

- Jeff

Staff Profile: James Baxter-Gilbert

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 16, 2008 at 5:07 PM

Staff Profile: James Baxter-Gilbert

James is back with us for another summer of fun and excitement. Not that it isn't also a lot of work, but James brings his own special brand of fun and excitement to the job! He's quite a character- perhaps a cartoon character brought to life!

James is a Zoology student at Laurentian University, going into his senior year. Obviously, he is very interested in reptiles, but his interests also include many other aspects of the science, and art, of life. He is remarkably adept at many tasks, and not at all fazed by the challenge of tackling something unfamiliar. This may be related to his farm-boy upbringing, and his fix-it attitude is certainly a great asset on the road. James is the kind of guy you want to have around when everything goes wrong, so it's even better when things are going as well as they have been so far on this trip.

Too bad we'll have to put James on a plane in Vancouver to go back to school, as we'll definitely miss his presence on the return leg of the trip!

P.S. James asked me to add that he's dashing and handsome...

Further west...

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 14, 2008 at 9:43 AM

We're stil in central BC, heading for Osoyoos in the Okanagan Valley, after finishing our last program in the Kootenay area. We did six programs over four days there, and had good crowds at each. While at the Creston Valley Wildlife Area we also managed to find a Northern Alligator Lizard, one of BC's two remaining lizard species. We hope to catch a glimpse of the other, the Western Skink, sometime soon. The third lizard, the Pygmy Short-horned Lizard, was found in the Osoyoos area a long time ago, but it has been extirpated (wiped out of the local area) for many years.

The Kootenays have been interesting- lots of steep, winding roads, including one 8 km stretch of 8% downhill grade. Our van has a little more power with the new fuel pump, so going uphill is better but still quite a struggle at times. We always get there, but sometimes we're only doing 35 km/h by the top! Downhill is more interesting, as we're always concerned that we might boil our brake fluid again like we did in the Cypress Hills and temporarily lose our brakes. We've also had lots of trouble with our trailer brakes- our brake controller apparently shorted out while we were re-wiring the trailer wiring harness, and we didn't realize it was putting out 12V constantly to the trailer brakes. Of course, this isn't good for the brake magnets! We've now replaced the controller, and replaced two of the four brake units from the trailer axles. Unfortunately, we were only able to purchase two in Creston, so we're hoping to pick up two more and replace them in Osoyoos. Having two of the units working does seem to help, though, on the descents! Removing the old brakes was more challenging than we had thought it would be, but James did an admirable job, with occasional help from the rest of us!

- Jeff

Into British Columbia

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 12, 2008 at 2:55 PM

We have finally entered the last province on our trip. Yesterday we crossed over into British Columbia, and ironically just as we crossed over it started to rain. It is a beautiful day today however, though it's a little cooler than we've been used to. Today we're in Creston BC doing a show at the library as well as the wildlife area nearby and a provincial park tonight - it'll be a busy day. We woke up early this morning to make it to our first show, however we crossed over into Pacific time on our way to the show and gained another hour, so now we're an hour early. It's ok though- James and Jeff are taking apart one of the wheels on the trailer to see what might be going wrong with the brakes on it, I'm writing this update and Sara is filling out some booking sheets for the remainder of our shows in BC. We make good use of all the time we get!

So far we've seen a bunch of signs for wildlife crossings on the highways, but we have yet to see any of the large animals. Today we saw a turkey and her young by the side of the road, but that's the biggest thing we've seen in BC. Well, actually, I suppose we've seen deer, but we've gotten so used to seeing deer that they hardly register any more.

Our shows today and yesterday were both in Western Painted Turtle areas. These turtles are actually endangered in parts of BC, so it was interesting to see areas devoted to the painted turtles - something you wouldn't see in Ontario where Midland Painted turtles are more common.

We are all still very happy to be traveling through the rocky mountains and to be seeing such wonderful scenery. Today we entered orchard country as well and I'm hoping that we'll pick up some fresh BC fruit soon.

The Library is about to open, so I'll sign off now.
'Till next time,

-Heather

Wrapping up in Alberta...

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 10, 2008 at 2:41 PM

We've had a fairly busy time here in southern Alberta- highlights would definitely include our time at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, and here at Waterton Lakes National Park. Low points would include removing and patching our forward diesel fuel tank multiple times, and having to get our fuel pump replaced in Medicine Hat. Big thanks to Jenny's uncle Keith for phoning around to find a shop that would change it out quickly, and for letting us park our rig in his driveway overnight! Also, thanks to Neil MacKinnon Mechanical Services for not only changing the pump right away, but giving us a discount on the labour charges as well! We certainly appreciate it!

We've done four TV appearances here in Alberta, and one radio interview- a little better than average and the media attention is great! Hopefully it will continue in BC.

Our import permit for BC came through with a few minutes to spare on Friday afternoon, so we're clear to head further west! Our first show in BC is in Kikomun Creek Provincial Park this evening, and we're looking forward to it!

Staff Profile: Lenora Carbonetto

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 8, 2008 at 4:59 PM

Lenora, or Lenny, is an International Development student at Ottawa U. She had never held a snake prior to working with us, so she's had an interesting time learning lots of new things! Lenny is funny, adventurous, and can light up a room with her smiles and antics. It's been wonderful having her along on our tour so far!

Hiring Lenny was an interesting experience. Our funding approvals were quite delayed, and one of our project staff left to take another position since ours were uncertain. I was scrambling to find staff, and posted job annoucements in various places- one of which was the Mountain Equipment Co-op Gear Swap/ Ride Share message board. I also scanned the boards, and saw a posting looking for a ride out west to work for the summer. I sent Lenny an email suggesting she consider working while travelling out west; it caught her attention, and she ended up spending four weeks on the road with us out to Calgary! She has now headed back to Orillia, to start in a different position with the project- doing similar programs but just in Ontario, with Mary Ellen who toured the maritimes with us last summer!

Hello from Sara

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 8, 2008 at 1:05 PM

Well today we are in Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta and it is my 4th day joining the crew touring out west. So far it has been an amazing trip and I just got here!!! The senery is absolutely amazing! At the begining of the day you can start out by driving through the prairies and then sundenly there are rolling hills all around you and gorgeous miniture canions with streams and rivers trickling through them. The skies have been clear and at night you can see all the millions of stars in the sky. This province is absolutely beautiful and i'm loving every minute of it!!!

The last couple of days we have had shows in Coaldale, Warner, and Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park as well as at Writing-On-Stone. There have been some great turn outs, all the kids have been awesome and are genuinely interested in learning about species at risk. We have also been able to convert some people from fearing snakes into thinking they are really cool animals and that they are worth protecting (which is of course our goal).

Now we are heading off to a more western part of Alberta and hopefully we'll be in BC by the end of the week! I'm very excited for the weeks to come and the creatures I will see, not to mention travelling throught the Rockies!!! Hopefully all will go as planned and even if there are a couple of bumps along the road, that's ok, cause that's what a road trip is all about, right? So stay tunned to our continuous adventure and we'll keep you posted!

* Sara *

Sara Pearce Meijerink

Dinosaurs and Reptiles

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 2, 2008 at 4:14 PM

Alberta has proven to be really beautiful. Within a half hour of entering our first Alberta park we found a wandering garter snake. This is one of the three types of garter snakes that are found in Alberta and was a new species for us. We found it at Dinosaur Provincial Park. This park was absolutely stunning. We had been traveling through flat prairies and suddenly came upon a huge river valley badland area. This valley was carved out by the action of glaciers a long time ago. We also found another Prairie Rattlesnake in this park with the help of a researcher who was radio-tracking them.

We've seen a lot of dinosaurs since entering Alberta. Saskatchewan had the T-Rex centre, but in Alberta we've been to Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Royal Tyrrell Museum, both of which are devoted mostly to the fossil dinosaurs that have been found in the area. They both had really neat galleries and we managed to have time to spend looking around both. The Royal Tyrrell Museum was really neat, we did a show in their auditorium then went to explore the town of Drumheller nearby. Drumheller had really taken the dinosaur theme to the max. There were tons of dinosaur statues all over the town, which we of course took pictures of. Drumheller is also home to the worlds tallest dinosaur statue!

A couple of days ago we traveled up to Banff on a side trip to drop Lenny off so she could have a couple of days off before we send her home. We'll be picking her up in Calgary after her adventure so that we can deliver her to the airport where she will trade places with Sara. Banff was very touristy, but surrounded by wonderful mountains. I have never seen the mountains, so it was a great experience for me. (I believe i now have about 100 pictures of mountains on my camera ... may need to delete some of those).

While Lenny has been away the rest of us have had a few easy days. We've only had one show each evening. It's been nice to sleep in and spend time swimming and floating down the Bow River. We've also had a chance to catch up on some receipt filing and administrative duties. We're trying to take it easy now because once we get to BC our schedule will be a little busier. I'm looking forward to spending more time in the mountains though!

Well I'll sign off now, we're heading to the town of Vulcan - named long before Star Trek came along - however they didn't seem to mind the reference at all and have actually embraced the whole Star Trek reference with space ship statues, a Trek Information Centre selling a bunch of Star Trek souvenirs, and murals around town with scenes from the shows. We did a show here earlier in the week but are heading back today on our way to Little Bow Provincial Park so that we can do some shopping and hopefully get onto an internet connection.

- Heather