WSU Mom's Weekend 2008 has come & gone! It was a brief but fun trip - we packed in a lot considering we were only there about day & half.
Mike & I left about 7:30 in the morning Friday because it is about a 5 hour drive (give-or-take ... depending on how many slow moving - oversized farm vehicles you get stuck behind) over to Pullman and we wanted to be in town by 2pm. Kate invited us to go to the 'WSU Biological Sciences' Award Ceremonies which were being held at 3pm because she was going to be getting an Award and Mike & I definitely wanted to be there for the presentation.
We got into town about 1pm & gave Kate a call but she was madly 'tidying' up her room and so we were asked to NOT show up at her place until about 2. Mike thought this was so funny because as he said, 'didn't we live with her mess for almost 18 years - we've seen it all already'!! Too True!
I am very proud to say that Katy won the WSU 'Zoology Alumni Scholarship' Award - it is a $500 award. It is awarded to 2 of the top undergraduate 'zoology' majors - Well done Katy! Katy, Cory, Mike & myself attended the event - it was very nice to see her accept the award. Well done & Congrats Katy!!
Katy also recently became the 'Events Coordinator' of the WSU Zoology Club. Yeah Kate!
Here is Katy & the Zoology Club on a field trip to the Portland Zoo several months ago.
It was also a very special weekend because Mike & I had the pleasure of meeting Cory's Mom, Coni, this weekend. Katy & Cory have been dating for about 1.5 years now but this is the first opportunity we had to meet her. She is a very warm & friendly woman and it is not hard to see why Cory is such a great guy! (Katy, Cory & Coni)
We all went out to breakfast together on Saturday morning & had a wonderful time getting to know each other a little bit - it was hard because the restaurant was a very noisy. The whole town is packed to the brim on Mom's Weekend and every restaurant has at least a 35 - 40 minute wait. YIKES ... not good if you are impatient or hungry!
After breakfast we all went to over the see the CVM's (College of Veterinary Medicine) Grizzly Bear Research, Education & Conservation Facility. WSU is the facility in the world to house Adult Grizzlies and so university, government, research & zoo scientists come from around the world to study them in Pullman. In North America - the largest Grizzly populations are found mainly in Alaska (est. 31,000) the Yukon & NW Territories (12,000), British Columbia (10,000) and Yellowstone National Park (1200). It is estimated that there are only about 20 surviving Grizzlies left in Washington State - living in the Cascade Mountains.
The bears - who had only recently woke up from their 'long winter's nap' were out playing in their open pen when we got there. The bears typically hibernate from about mid November until early April. 
You can get very close to the bears - you could even stick your fingers through the chain link fence ... if you so choose but it's not advised. It is interesting to go & view them during these special events because all of the Instructors are out with the bears doing Q&A's. You can really learn a lot - for example, 4 of the 8 cubs they currently have were born at the research facility and the other 4 were removed from Yellowstone National Park as 'nuisance' bears.
We learned that the light brown (golden) colored bears are 3 years or younger and during their 4th year they turn black or dark brown. You can clearly see the different colors of the bears in the photo below.
They are currently doing both Physiological & Ecological studies at WSU. I thought the Physiological study about "Understanding how muscles can remain strong during the inactivity of hibernation:
Hibernating bears maintain muscle strength and mass even though humans
would lose 70% of their muscle strength during a similar period of
inactivity. When human muscles are not exercised, slow twitch fibers
that are important for posture (i.e., standing) and prolonged activity
(long distance running) convert to fast twitch fibers that have minimal
endurance capability. Thus, bed-ridden patients need extensive
rehabilitation in order to resume normal lives. However, bears are very
capable of running and resuming their normal life immediately after
emerging from 5 months of hibernation. Our major findings thus far are
that muscle types, sizes, and contractile properties of bears do not
change during hibernation. It appears that bears prevent these changes
by having a series of whole body, isometric contractions that start at
the neck and extend as a wave over the entire body several times per
day. Thus, it seems that they are exercising while they are sleeping." was very interesting.
They are also conducting numerous ongoing Ecological Studies with the bears.
The 4 bears that were born at the facility were hand-fed and are taught to be less afraid of humans. This is done because much of the research that is conducted at the facility requires the bears to be handled and so this allows for a safer interaction between the researchers & the bears.
The bear in the photo above was actually sucking on his toes & making a humming sound while he did it. The Doctor who was giving the Q&A said that this is very common behavior for baby bears and is likened to a baby 'sucking his thumb'. It is done for the same reason too - comfort.
Here is a photo of Coni, Katy, Cory & Mike at the bear facility. It was such a beautiful day 72 degrees.
After seeing the Grizzlies we all went to see an Art Exhibit called the, "Shimmer' by a Seattle Artist, Sherry Markoviz. It was such an interesting show - I loved her work. It was so different & it really needs to be seen to be appreciated. She is a Mixed-Media artist and uses beads, material, buttons & all kinds of 'found' items.
Well worth going to see if you ever get the chance!
After the art show we went to check out the Botanical Greenhouses and then we went to the Arts & Craft Fair. It is a huge fair with tons of stuff but most of it I have seen before. You've got to click on the photo & blow it up to see the incredible detail.
During our wander through the Arts & Craft Fair Katy began to feel ill and by the time we went home to rest (aka nap) she was really feeling awful. She went for a 2 hour sleep but was still feeling feverish & worn out and she didn't really feel up to going to the Elton John concert & Mike wasn't interested either so we decided to give the tickets to Cory & his Mom. I know Cory wasn't thrilled about going but he was a good sport and took his Mom. Mike & I decided to head home early so Katy could have her own bed to sleep in.
We left Pullman around 7pm on Saturday night and got home around 1pm. I was surprised but the sun didn't set until almost 9pm! When did that happen? I haven't noticed it being light out so late in the day around here! We caught a beautiful sunset - even though this picture doesn't do it justice.
All in all it was a great weekend - good to see Katy & nice to meet Cory's Mom.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
- N -
