The Magic of Mariposa Grove

One of the coolest places that we went while in California was the Mariposa Grove, home to the Giant Sequoias, just a short drive outside of Yosemite.  It was absolutely incredible!  These trees were just simply massive, you couldn't even begin to get over their enormous size!  Here are some pictures of it, with myself, my sister, my father, my mother, and some other random people randomly in there for a size comparison!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also saw these really cool and weird looking red flowers all over the place!  These flowers belong to a plant called the "snow plant," and belong to the genus Sarcodes.  Related to the heaths (i.e. rhododendrons, blueberries  and cranberries), the snow plant is an interesting parasitic plant.  Instead of living off of dead plant and animal material, they infect fungi.  However, they don't kill the fungi once its been infected.  Instead, the fungi and the flower help each other out in a classic case of mutualism!

Finally, I was really excited by this burnt log that, in my opinion, greatly resembled the devil.  Other members of my family thought it resembled a bison more, but clearly they are insane.

 The photo credit for all of the photos in this post go to Julie Neher.

Mariposa on Dwellable

Milling About in Muir Woods

When our family visited Muir Woods in California, we were all completely blown away by the immensity and the wonder of the trees.  They were simply enormous!  The coastal redwood can grow to enormous proportions, and now one really knows exactly how big they can grow.  The tallest one, however, is a stunning 379.1 feet tall.  That's about the size of a 37 story building.  Holy cow.  Anyways, I definitely recommend checking out Muir Woods if you are ever in the area, it will definitely make you feel pretty humble!

 

 

 The photo credit for all of the photos in this post go to Julie Neher.

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Sanctuary Spotlight: The Marine Mammal Center

While in San Francisco, my family and I decided to check out the nearby Marine Mammal Center, and boy are we glad we did!  It was a really, really cool place, and we got to learn all about the local marine mammals, as well as what is being done to conserve and preserve them!  In the picture below, you can see my sister standing next to a life-size statue of an elephant seal!

We also got to see all of the enclosures where the various seals and sea lions are kept while they are being rehabilitated.

 

 

We also got to watch (and, in the case of my sister, be a part of!) a really cool and interesting demonstration about how the people who work at the Marine Mammal Center are able to capture wounded and injured seals and sea lions, and bring them in to the center for care!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credit for all of the photos in this post goes to Julie Neher.

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The Wild Reptiles of Epcot

One of the best parks at Walt Disney World in Florida was Epcot, it was super cool to see all of the different cultures and stuff like that!  Epcot also had lots of cool resident wildlife in and around the vast lake that much of the park is built around!

I just LOVE this picture!  An anole contemplates how small it really is as it gazes upon the Epcot ball!

We saw a TON of anoles!

 

 There were also a ton of cool turtles and fish just chilling in the waters at Epcot! 

 

 

Aquarium Spotlight: Georgia Aquarium

In 2006, my family and I visited what would soon become my most favorite aquarium I have ever been to: the Georgia Aquarium!  It was fantastic, and they had a ton of really cool animals that I had never seen before!  So join us for this Aquarium Spotlight on the Georgia Aquarium, with a bunch of pictures that my mother took while we were there!  Let's start off with the penguins.  The Georgia Aquarium has a colony of adorable African penguins there, sure to be a favorite on your trip!

Another animal that is sure to be a favorite is the whale shark.  The largest shark and, for that matter, largest fish, still alive today, the whale shark behaves more like a whale than a shark, being a filter-feeder, consuming copious quantities of krill.  (Like that alliteration back there?)

Now, the photo below I originally thought was a whale shark, but it looks like its tail might move up and down like that of a whale, dolphin, or porpoise as opposed to side-to-side like that of a whale shark, so I'm not really sure what the heck that is!

The four whale sharks are all in an enormous tank with a ton of other animals, such as large schools of fish, stingrays, and guitarfish, amongst others.  Something that seems to be pretty standard in aquariums these days is the circular walkway thing (pictured below), but, in my opinion, that never gets old!

 

 A stingray

A guitarfish (left) and a stingray (right)

Another fast-favorite will undoubtedly be the beluga, one of my favorite animals of all time!

 

Another smaller and more unassuming creature that is just as interesting as the African penguin, whale shark, or beluga is the leafy sea dragon, THE SUBJECT OF A PREVIOUS ANIMAL SPOTLIGHT. 

 

Another really cool animal was the giant Japanese spider crab!  Inhabiting the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean near Japan between 150 and 1000 feet below the surface of the ocean, the giant Japanese spider crab has evolved to be able to cope with the extreme cold and lack of light experienced so far down in the ocean.

A sea turtle swimming around.

 

 

Greatly interactive, the Georgia Aquarium also has a number of touch tanks for a hands-on experience!

 

Finally, some jellyfish!

Jasper on Dwellable