THE EXPLORERS LOG | WINTER 2019

(L-R). JEFF BLUMENFELD, BRIAN P. HANSON FOLLOWING WASHING DISHES. THE VIEWS FROM THE KITCHEN MADE MORE Salt Spring Symposium REMARKABLE WITH THIS RAINBOW! Photo: Pat & Rosemarie Keough British Columbia,

ROSEMARIE KEOUGH MED’02 AND PAT KEOUGH MED’02

TRANSIENT KILLER WHALE SKULL, FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA, LOANED BY MIKE DE ROOS, MASTER SKELETON ARTICULATOR AND EVA B. KOPPELHUS, PALEOBOTANIST/TEC STEFANSSON MEDALIST/ANTARCTICA SERVICE MEDALIST. Photo: Pat and BIOLOGIST. Photo: Jett Britnell Rosemarie Keough

“I spent several days with scores of the most open-minded curiosity about all facets of ex- LM’14 (Pacific Northwest), and Jeff Blumenfeld delightfully eclectic (and some pretty famous) ploration. Topics among the 24 full lectures FN’89 (Rocky Mountain), plus four officials from explorers on this planet...and some of the bus- plus 20 shorts included: the Ocaina of the HQ. Musical interludes of digeridoo and drum- iest and most ‘booked up.’ The fact that they Amazon Jungle; Kyrgyzstan’s Manaschi epic ming were complimented with ethnological dis- were there and not off on one or another of storytellers; Bald & Golden Eagle research; cussions. Thank you Richard for bringing The their pursuits says loads for the esteem they the Gwich’in and caribou of Alaska’s Arctic Explorers Club Flag; Jeff Whiting FI’11, Brent hold for this gathering. None of us are ‘slow’. Refuge; finding the Musahi WWII battleship Cooke FI’13, and Rob Butler FI’08 for the Si- We recognize a special event hosted by spe- at a depth 1000m; paleobotany in western lent Skies Mural art panels of endangered birds; cial people when we see it. And we throw out Canada; technology and dinosaur discoveries Tony Mayo FI’14 and Jim Allan MI’97 for artifacts our calendar just so we can rewrite our sched- in Mongolia; diving an Arctic iceberg; rate of collected along the upper Amazon and Irian ule in order to attend. The Salt Spring Sym- evolutionary adaptations in Stickleback fish; Jaya; Mike de Roos for the impressive transient posium has become one of THE places to be climate change at Mt. Everest; dispelling myths Killer whale skull and teeth. because of the setting, the hosts, the talks, the shrouding sharks, Leopard seals and Polar Jett Britnell FI’16, British Columbia’s incom- food... and best of all, the interaction of friends, Bear; marine mammal research utilizing satel- ing Regional Director, has the final word: “This old and new. It is an educational event bar lite imagery; observations of French Polynesia was one of the most informative and intensive PHILIP CURRIE,, TEC EXPLORER MEDALIST/CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA/FORMER none, yet the teachers and the students alike 50 years apart; culture and land claims of the symposiums I have ever attended. It dawned CURATOR OF DINOSAURS, ROYAL TYRRELL MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY/RECOGNIZED BY PHILIP J. CURRIE DINOSAUR MUSEUM, TEC PRESIDENT RICHARD WIESE REPORTS ON HEADQUARTERS TO RELAXED EXPLORERS SPRAWLED ABOUT THE KEOUGH LIVING are equals with all egos left at home. Friend- San of . on me as I was traveling home on the ferry, how ALBERTA. Photo: Pat & Rosemarie Keough ROOM. Photo: Pat & Rosemarie Keough ships develop there almost automatically.” sen- The atmosphere was one of a grand fami- much goodwill permeated the entire weekend. timents as true today as when voiced by the ly reunion. With this in mind, everyone volun- This is a tribute to the Keoughs for creating late Jim Chester FN’00 a decade ago. teered to assist: keeping coffee brewed and such a fertile environment for stories and ex- Over September 6-9, 2018, 51 Explorers cookie platters full; running the projection periences to be shared; and for the explorers came together for the 12th Salt Spring Sympo- equipment flawlessly; minding speakers to who came together a rare opportunity to get sium held at the mountain-top, ocean-front home their allotted time; preparing a grand total of to know each other. After I gave my presenta- of Pat and Rosemarie Keough, both Sweeney 500 meals and cleaning afterward. Among the tion up until the moment I had to leave to go medalists (2014). Participants arrived from Mon- treats contributed were kgaaw (herring row on home, people were figuratively ambushing me golia, , , Norway, Israel, Alaska, kelp, from Haida friends), prawn ceviche and in conversation offering compliments and ask- , California, Colorado, Oregon, Wash- smoked Spring salmon (the latter seafoods ing questions. It never gets old when people’s ington, Yukon, Ontario, Alberta and British Co- caught and prepared by explorers.) eyes are opened to something they may never lumbia for three days of intensive fellowship. Club news was shared by Richard Weise have seen before. From top to bottom, the en- A great breadth of fieldwork was present- FI’89, TEC president, and chapter chairs tire weekend was one to remember.” ed by passionate specialists who maintain George Kourounis FI’09 (Canada), John All

22 51 EXPLORERS, 3 EXHILARATING DAYS, AT KEOUGH HOME IN THE GULF ISLANDS OF CANADA. Photo: Pat & Rosemarie Keough PAT KEOUGH, SWEENEY MEDALIST; CONSTANCE DIFEDE, DIRECTOR/SWEENEY MEDALIST; ROSEMARIE KEOUGH, SWEENEY MEDALIST; RICHARD WIESE, PRESIDENT; CAPT. LYNN DANAHER, DIRECTOR; BRIAN P. HANSON, CLUB OMBUDSMAN/SWEENEY MEDALIST.