Good morning from the States! It is so weird being here but in a good way! The first thing I did when I landed in Miami was head straight to a Pizza Hut, then I made a b-line directly to a Dunkin Donuts were I downed two yummy raspberry jelly filled donuts and topped it all off with a big thick home made pretzel, it was great! I was like a kid in a candy store, one could just fly to Miami and never leave the airport, they have every kind of food and all kinds of great stores! The worst thing about the Miami airport is the INSANE amount of walking you have to do to get thru customs and to your next flight, I mean really it’s too much! I kid you not, I walked fast, in fact faster than anyone else and it still took me one full hour to get all the way down to customs and then to my next flight,maybe that’s why I was so hungry! And as luck would have it by the time I boarded my flight to Chicago that I rushed to make, the Caption came on and said “folks we have a problem with the plane and we are waiting for parts, it could be 30-45 minutes”.  This message stirred concern with so many travelers who had to make connecting flights and after 20 minutes of waiting the Caption once again came on and said “folks, I am real sorry but we are going to have to ask you to take your carry on items and get off the plane”, hearing this everyone started to panic and there was a mad rush to the American Airlines desk where everyone made a long line and tried to re-route their flights, it was the biggest mess I have ever been involved in! I finally got to Chicago hours later and then once there had to find another flight other than American to get me to South Dakota as it had already left, I can’t even begin to tell you how much walking I did that day, good thing I was in shape for it! Like I said before traveling just plain sucks!

I had another super fun day of hiking yesterday and even got pretty sun-burned, especially my neck! It wasn’t the greatest day of fossil collecting but still I wouldn’t have wanted to be any where else, the day was perfect! I had again started my day with photographing flowers after a wonderful breakfast and then set out by jeep to my collecting areas.

During my days out on the prairie I am constantly being watched and surrounded by Pronghorn Antelope, they are so cool! The males are more brave than the females and come pretty close and stand above me on a hill barking at me! Yes barking, it’s the weirdest noise you will ever hear. I have also seen two baby Swift Foxes,a bunch of rare Sage Grouse, an owl with a snake in it’s mouth, a mother Wild Turkey with it’s nine babies,  a coyote, deer and countless birds and butterflies, this place is great!

Last night we went on a lightning watch. Right now there is a lot of dry grass out on the prairie’s and if they get a lightning strike it could start a bad grass fire. So what we did is drive to the top of multiple hills and just sit and watch for any lightning that may hit the ground and start a fire. Then, if there is a strike and fire starts they race to the spot with a truck and trailer with water in a large container and put it out! Thank goodness last night was uneventful even though we did see some big lightning strikes but it was far away over other areas which other ranchers will have to deal with.

Here’s a beautiful Intermediate Queen Angelfish for your viewing pleasure today, they are one of my all time favorites, so graceful and colorful!

That’s about it, off to play, hope all is well, Barry

Hello friends, remember me? Well I finally made it to South Dakota but not with my luggage, they are still looking for it! My trip was terrible to say the least, it was one problem after another and in the end I was able to get a flight out of Chicago via United instead of with American Airlines. I arrived late last night flying thru a terrible lightning storm and finally got home at around midnight, traveling seems to just be getting worse and worse! The good news is, I am alive and all is well here. South Dakota is so green and beautiful and tomorrow I drive to Wyoming to start my week off by hiking in the field looking for fossil ammonites, I can hardly wait! I spent all day doing errends with my friend Dan like sending my camera equipment off to Ikelite to be repaired, going to the bank, meeting friends for lunch, shopping and going thru tons of old mail. Most of my friends here are laughing at me because I keep saying how cold it is yet they say it’s warm, will take some getting used to!

Here’s a fun shot of two different colored Trumpetfish hanging out together. We have four colors of Trumpetfish here in Curacao, yellow, red, brownish gray and my favorite, blue. I have been trying for years to get a photo of all four colors together but so far I haven’t had any luck but I am still trying!

I will try and send out another note from Wyoming tomorrow evening so please check back. Very sorry about the poor comunication this week, not even sure if Aimee got our internet fixed at home yet as well.

Have a great evening, Barry

Good morning from Curacao! Still no internet at home, trying to get UTS to come out and do a repair is close to impossible, maybe today?

Yesterday I worked and tried to finish my last minute shopping list. I leave tomorrow morning at 6:00am and will arrive in Rapid City, SD at around 5:30pm, that’s a long day of travel and I have to get on three different planes.

Here’s a fun shot for you all today, this is a macro shot of the tail of a large Stoplight Parrotfish. Saturday night when Aimee and I went diving together instead of seeing coral spawning we found countless other cool creatures instead. Once the sun goes down, Parrotfish like so many other reef fish seek shelter for the long night ahead. During most dives we see countless Parrotfish laying under coral heads or hiding in some of the coolest spots you can imagine, the trick is not to wake them. Most divers end up spooking them or waking them up because of their bright lights, the trick is to find one and use soft light and then slowly move in close. I found that using diffusers over my lights allows me to get very close at least most of the time. The other trick is to never go night diving too early because the fish are still not fully asleep and are spooked a lot more easily!

That’s about it, see some of you real soon, I am going down in the sub right now for a photo shoot with friends. Have a great day, Barry

Good morning all, still no internet at home so we are unable to send out any daily e-mails.  We will try again on Monday to get someone out to help from UTS but I think that is being unrealistic.

Yesterday was another very hot day here in Curacao, I think our summer heat has finally arrived!  I did one reef dive with the sub yesterday but had a hard time as the current was running fast!  There was coral spawning last night but I did not go, maybe tonight, I went for a nice bike ride instead.

This is a small school of Goatfish I found yesterday all having breakfast together. I finally got a shot of their Barbels as they were searching for food in the sea-weed. Much of their day is spent digging in the sand, they use two fleshy whiskers called “barbels,” located under the tip of their chin, to search for prey hiding in the sand.  These fish are Carnivores, they feed on shrimp, crabs, bottom-dwelling invertebrates, clams, and clam worms.

That’s it, sorry again for the brief mail, I just have so much to do today before I leave for the States.  Talk to you tomorrow, Barry

Good morning friends, OUR INTERNET AT HOME IS OUT!  Yesterday Aimee tried and tried to get someone to come out and fix it but no one came!  UTS and TDS are both two of the worst companies on planet EARTH, “that’s our TV and Phone providers”, trying to get repair service is just plain awful!  My poor Aimee waited all day for them to call or come by but no such luck and ended up almost in tears at the end of the day as they had her on hold for hours.  These are the things we hate about living here.  So not sure when it will be fixed, just keep checking back here for updates.

Yesterday I did two dives again but having some camera problems, I will be taking all my gear with me to the States soon for repair.  This is a little Peacock Flounder I found in our bay yesterday and just had to stop and take a photo.  I am always amazed at how well they blend in with their environment and how cool they look just laying there on top of the sand.

Again sorry about the short e-mail, I am at work and need to get ready for a sub-dive.  I hope all is well with everyone, I am sure I have a million e-mails waiting by now.

See you tomorrow, Barry