Sheep, 5, Dogs,1

    On Saturday, we left Skye and drove to Ullapool, a popular vacation town for people from Great Britain.  On the coast, it provides the ferry to Isle of Lewis.  We found it to be quite touristy, but I'm not there yet.

    It was about three hours drive from Skye to Ullapool.  On the way, we saw a sign for sheepdog trials.  This was something my mom really wanted to see, so we turned around to take a look.  They were just getting started again after their lunch break.

The first ones who went, a younger boy with his dog, did very well.  The rest, not so much.

    We arrived at our B&B later, and by the time we got motivated enough to go find some dinner, it was at least 6:30, and dark and rainy.  The owner of the B&B though we were crazy, walking along the beach into town in that weather.  But we survived, and had an excellent dinner at the local pub.  I don't like seafood much, but even I enjoyed the fish and chips.

    The next morning, we headed back into town, this time by car.  It was a bit rainy, so we explored the shops.  I bought a pair of gloves, the weather being what it was.  There were a few shops, very touristy.  Want a kilt?  You can get it there.  Tartan hair clips, pencils, socks, plates, notebooks, salt and pepper shakers, boxers.  T-shirts patterned with sheep, and slippers that look like Highland cattle.  How about some Harris tweed gloves, made in China?

    But then the sun came out.  Hoping to make the most of it, we ran back to our car and drove out to Knockan Crag.  There you can see a geological mystery.  Well, actually, it's been solved, so it's not a mystery anymore.  A geological phenomenon.

Sure, it looks cool, but there's something even weirder.  The top layer is 500,000,000 years older than the one below it!

    How could this happen, you might wonder?  Well, I have an answer.  Remember how in Edinburgh we learned that Scotland was once connected to North America, then collided with England?  That was when this happened.  This area was compressed when the two landmasses crashed together.  The compression caused something called thrust, where deeper layers of rock are pushed up from below.  And that is how we are able to see rock that is 1,000,000,000 (one billion) years old.

    Conveniently, the coming thunderstorm held off until we finished our hike, had lunch, and went back to the B&B.  Then it unleashed it's full force on us, knocking out the wifi, and giving me an excuse not to blog.