Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Dear Mr. Jefferson
The journey was the corps at its best. The journey was america at its best. When we reached the the pacific ocean I felt a tear burn down my face, it was a not a tear of sorrow but a tear of happiness. We've traveled far, making our way through the many obstacles we faced. My men gave an incredible amount of effort along this journey. No matter what we faced from walking on prickly pears to being chased by bears to pulling the keel boat up river when the water got to shallow, my men kept on going. We came across many more problems and my men kept on fighting for themselves and for america. We got see land that we or any one else in america had ever dreamed of seeing. I also encountered many different animals that all had there unique touch.

sign, Christian Pearson

 P.S. For my weekly labors, discoveries...for all my endeavors have brought to this  journey, I believe I should be paid the grade of an A.



Monday, May 25, 2009

image: Douglas's Squirrel

February 25, 1806

The little douglas's squirrel is a very quick sneaky  animal. As I was eating lunch the little gray squirrel snuck up beside me and started eating some of my food scraps that had fallen on the floor. It was crouched over with its rust brown tail to its back and a piece of food in between its hand. The little squirrel was chomping away at the food like he hadn't eaten in five days. Its grayish Orange chest was very clear because the rest of its body had dull colors and that orange just shined like the sun.

Friday, May 22, 2009

image: Sea Otter

November 20, 1805

After seeing this little sea otter I have to change my mined and say that this is the most cutest animal I have seen yet. The sea otter was swimming on its back with its little black paws up in the air and its grayish head sticking out of the water. When the little otter wobbled its little body  out of the water to grab a clam for lunch its body was a dark brown from being so wet. As it was getting back into the water a crab bit the sea otter's fairly short tail and the sea otter jumped right into the water head first with its little webbed feet going in last.

image: Roosevelt Elk

December 2, 1805

As I was walking through some tall brush I saw antlers making there way up a big brushy hill. I couldn't tell what it was because the tall grass was hiding the animal. As it reached the top it was still making it's way through some big weeds. Its slender legs were cutting through the brush like blades  and all you could see is the brown and tan top half of the elks body and its Dark brown thick fury  neck. As it kept walking it led its self into an open area were I could see the second largest member of the deer family which was the Roosevelt Elk.
image: Harbor Seal

October 23, 1805

When I saw a little baby Harbor Seal I thought that it was one of the cutest animals I had seen this hole journey, but the big one aren't so cute. The sun was shining on the little guys back bringing out the brownish blotches, and the shade would make his beige skin seem dark dark brown. When the seal turned over on to his back his little flippers popped up from underneath his stomach and he wave to us. My men and I were amazed how smart the baby harbor seals was.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

image: Yellow-Bellied Marmot

August 20, 1805

The Yellow- Bellied Marmot is yellowish brown on top and yellowish on the bottom then the feet go to light brown. They also have white spots between their eyes. The marmot has a very bushy tail and is often confused with a beaver. When  came across this animal I thought that it was a beaver until one of my men pointed out some differences between the two.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009


August 24, 1805

Today as I was walking I spotted a Mountain goat. It was high on top of a rock. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that goat all the way up there. I thought that it would fall right off the edge, but the mountain goats were made for climbing. The mountain goat has a compacted short legged body with yellowish white fur.  Both sexes have backward-curving, dagger-like horns, which is pretty cool. 
image: Ermine

August 20, 1805

The Ermine or other known as the short- tailed weasel has a Elongated body with Dark brown fur above and white below. The is tail brown with black tip. The ermine Legs are very short and it's feet are white. In northern part of range in winter, The fur is  entirely white except for the black tail tip. Also Male Ermines are almost twice as large as a female ermine.
image: Clark's Nutcracker

August 22, 1805

The Clark's nutcracker is pigeon-size, with flashing black, white, and gray patterns. The bird has a light gray, with dark eye and long, sharply pointed bill. The clark nutcracker's wings are probably the coolest thing about this animal. The Black wing are large white wing patch at trailing edge and a black tail with white outer tail feathers. The face of this bird is white from forehead to chin and it belly is white. 

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

image: Plains Western Hognose Snake

July 23, 1805

The Plains Western Hognose snake has a sharp upturned and pointed snout with a stout body and a broad neck. The top of the snake has many different colors, tan, brown, gray, or yellowish gray with distinct or somewhat faded series of dark blotches down the back and two or three rows of side spots. This snake is very cool because it burrows into loose soil to escape hot or cold conditions. 


August 3, 1805

The mountain lion is a large, unspotted cat with a relatively small head and a long, dark-tipped tail. It has a Pale brown to tawny above and white overlaid with buff below. The mountain lion has a dark spot at the base of it's whiskers. The Ears are short and rounded. They also have dark backs and long heavy legs with big feet. I have a strong feeling that seamen had ran into this animal once before, because the way they looked at each other it seemed as if they had a bad encounter before.
image: Lewis's Woodpecker

July 20, 1805,

The lewis woodpecker is smaller than the flicker. The woodpecker has beautiful metallic greenish black back and a gray collar and breast with a pinkish red belly. I spotted this woodpecker pecking away at an oak tree and i was amazed at the strength of woodpecker beak. It's beak was penitrating  the oak tree like nothing. You better watch out for this little guy or he might peck you.

Friday, May 1, 2009



July 6, 1805

The swift fox is the smallest wild dog in North America. The swift fox is a beautiful animal. It's fur is light gray with orange tan coloring on the sides and legs. The throat, chest, underside and inside of ears was a  creamy white and the  tail was very  bushy with a black tip. If you ever come across this animal you are a lucky person because the swift fox is very unique has beautiful colors on it.
image: Prairie Rattlesnake

June 15, 1805

Today my men came across a very vicious animal, the Prairie Rattlesnake. As I was checking up on the men I saw that all of them were standing in a circle and one guy was in the middle. As I approached them  I realized that the man in the middle was taughnting the rattle snake and the other men were cheering him on. After all the men noticed me standing there they quickly stopped and got back to work. My men were lucky that the rattle snake didn't bite them. The rattlesnake was green with yellow and brownish blotches. The unique thin about this animal was it's rattling tail. I assume thats why the call it the rattle snake.
image: Shiras's Moose

The Shiras's Moose is the Largest cervid in the world. The mosses height ranges between 6 to 7 feet. The length of this animal is 6 to 9 feet Long, which is pretty lengthy. The moose has dark brown hair and high humped shoulders with extremely long legs. The Male has massive palmate antlers that you can see from a mile away.
image: Columbian Black-Tailed Deer

November 19, 1805

Today we discovered a columbian black tailed deer. The Columbian deer has a stocky build and is medium size, with long slim, sturdy legs to hold up it;s thick body. The Colombian deer is usally brown or light bash.