No bears? No way!!!

Yesterday was a great, productive day. We collected lots of zooplankton, monitored lots of pools, saw some cool wildlife, and for once, weren't foiled by bears!

In the morning, we made it past our usual Checkpoints with no bear sightings. Getting out of our truck, we noted that the landscape was looking especially picturesque. It is hard to describe...the clouds were lifting in such a way that the sky took on this grand quality,
the rocks a more vibrant deep orangey colour,

and the pools a new, mirror-y sheen.

Under this beautiful sky, we kept watch for large, white mammals,

but actually found a small, brown one instead...

a weasel!
So after a solid morning of sampling,

we moved on to some of our all-time favourite arctic hobbies: climbin' icebergs

peeking through icebergs

and nestling in icebergs. This is Rebekah, yet another volunteer planktoneer.

I'm sure gonna miss bergie-ing around come next week!!
Next we explored this smooth, slanty rock cavity.

Here's the view from inside the cavity, looking up at Amanda, our fearless bearguard.

Now just when we thought the morning couldn't get any more fun, on our way home, we ran into two......caribou! (The CNSC's in the background.)

Which galloped right by our truck!!

This one appeared to be severely impeded by its antlers.
Then after lunch we went out again, this time with Karen and Leanne. (It happens to be Karen's birthday today - Happy Birthday, Karen, from the Three Planktoneers!)

The afternoon was filled with more great views and more successful zooplanktonery.

And then we ended the day with an evening run/bike ride.

So all in all, it was a bear-free, but nevertheless eventful day. Speaking of eventful, we just participated in a certain Town of Churchill event, involving swords, garbage bags, and Daphnia... Intrigued? Stay tuned for Amanda's post.