Halloween carpkin

Halloween carpkin

Happy Halloween!!

Researchers discover the cause of whirling disease is a "micro jellyfish"

Photo from: http://science.peru.edu/ 

Researchers from the Univeristy of Kansas have determined that the Myxozoa that causes whirling disease in Salmonidae are included in the jellyfish phylum (Cnidaria).  They are composed of just a few cells and have "one of the smallest animal genomes ever reported: about 20 million base pairs only."

Read more about it here.

Wow, the North Fork of the Flathead!

Of the three opportunities for adventure I listed in the previous post, fate dealt me "wilderness stream."  I had never floated the North Fork of the Flathead River which forms the western boundary for Glacier National Park and I'm so glad that I did.

Here are some good pictures to waste some time at work wishing you were in Montana, or at least not at work...

Stunning views of Glacier National Park

Green and blue hued crystal clear water

Sunny days on the North Fork

The Northern Lights Saloon in Polebridge, MT

Lots of bears

Flathead Lake sunset

The fishing up there is really fun for small cutthroat.  It is a great place to take a beginner who needs some confidence building and practice with actually catching fish all day.  There are a bunch of bull trout in there but it is illegal to fish for them.  Look down in those deep holes though because you'll see them.  Look for the leading white edge on their fins to tell them apart from the big native suckers. 

Go explore, I'll be in some mine waste this week.  Mmmmmmm. 

Beer Fish Eye

Close-up of the beer fish's eye.