The Moocher

There is a moocher in our camp. I spied him this morning, snitching dog food out of my bowl.

I chased him up a tree.

But he came back again.

So I chased him up another tree.

He chattered at me. I think that he was saying, "nanny nanny boo boo" in squirrel talk.

I may have to spend my whole day watching out for this moocher!

Stone Sheep

Today we saw lots of Stone sheep along the road. These sheep are at home in the mountains.

Stone sheep are a part of the thinhorn sheep family. Other kinds of thinhorn sheep include the white Dahl sheep.

We found many Stone sheep on the roads. At first it looked like they were eating rocks. We read that they are actually licking salt and minerals along the side of the road.

Because it snows a lot in Canada, many of the roads are salted to keep the roads safe. The Stone sheep like to lick the salt.

Thinhorn sheep like to live in groups. They have their babies in the spring so that their mothers have plenty of green vegetation to eat. These sheep can live to be nearly 20 years old.

To read about thinhorn sheep, go to http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/thinhorn.pdf

Meet Ozzie!

Mom and Dad have been having trouble setting up the tent. It takes a long time. It is hard work. It is especially hard in a rain or wind storm.

Before we left for Alaska, they looked on the computer at this trailer. It is small and easy to set up. It has a nice bed and lots of storage room. It even has room for me! We decided to stop in the town of Wetaskiwin to look at it.

We liked it so much that we bought the trailer yesterday. We named him Ozzie. Here are some pictures of Ozzie and me. I know that we will have lots of fun together!

Fields of Yellow

We have seen fields and fields of beautiful yellow flowers on our drive through Alberta, Canada. The people who live here have told us the yellow flowers are canola.

Once the flowers turn to seed, the farmers harvest the plants. They press the seeds to make canola oil. Canola oil is used for healthy cooking.

Scientists discovered canola oil in the 1970s. One bushel of canola seeds makes ten liters (or about 2-1/2 gallons) of canola oil.

Canada plants over 11 million acres of canola every year. For more information about canola oil, visit http://www.mcgacanola.org/documents/Canola_Glossy.pdf
and www.canolainfo.org/media/pdfs/captain-canola.pdf

Wild Rose of Alberta

We are traveling through Alberta, Canada. It is called Wild Rose Country. The wild rose is Alberta's state flower.

When we were at the park, we saw lots of wild roses. Mom took this picture of a wild rose. Isn't it pretty?

The wild rose begins to bloom in May. It keeps blooming until August. It can be found all over Alberta.

Bees love the wild rose nectar. When the flower dies, it turns into a hard seed called a rose hip. Lots of animals, including squirrels, rabbits, deer, and moose eat the rose hips.

Here's a great coloring page for the wild rose: http://www.kidzone.ws/imageschanged/canada/rose.gif

Loons

Tonight we are staying at a beautiful park near Whitecourt, Alberta. Our campsite has a view of Lake MacLeod. It is chilly and misting rain but we are still having fun.

We hiked some of the trails here. I saw my first loon today. Mom took this picture of him.

A loon is a diving bird. He spends most of his time in the water. He walks very funny when he is on the ground. That is how he got his name, because he walks "loony."

Loons are diving birds. They can dive very deep in the water. They can dive over 260 feet and stay down for over a minute.

Loons are best known for their beautiful call or yodel. If you would like to hear a loon's call, just click here: http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/wildlife/loons/sounds/yodel.wav Tonight we will sleep to the lullabye of the loons.

To learn more about loons, visit http://www.northwestwildlife.com/articles/Loon.pdf

Bear Sighting

We had another long day of travel. Just before we entered Glacier National Park, we saw our first bear!

He ran across the road in front of us. Then he scurried up a steep mountain face.

Mom was able to get this picture of him just as he made the top of the mountain. He looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was chasing him. It was wonderful to see such a magnificent creature!

We will camp here for two nights before we start traveling again. I am ready for a rest and some exercise.

Before we set up camp, the park ranger came to talk to us. He said that a bear has visited our campground. He said that we must be extra careful. We must put all of our food in a special storage container.

The ranger said that we must be most careful when I eat. Bears really like dog food. If I drop even a little bit of food on the ground, Mom and Dad have to scoop up the food and any dirt around it and throw it in the special bear-proof trash cans.

It is very important not to feed the bears. The rangers say, "A fed bear is a dead bear."

If bears begin to eat human food, they may lose their fear of humans. If they become a danger, the bear may be killed. We must take care of the bears!

Would you like to learn more about bears and how to be safe around bears? Just go to this fun activity at http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/education/kids/bearawarecoloring.pdf