Oceanographer Jesse McNinch gets excited when the big storms roll in. He loves being near the ocean, so his job taking samples and gathering data along the coast is perfect for him. Further north, we pass the city of Norfolk and arrive on the eastern shore of Virginia.

In Grand Lake, not far from the Rocky Mountains National Park, it has become a tradition for people to get together and play ice hockey on the frozen lake in the middle of winter. Kate introduces us to some of her friends there and also to a very American snack, the s’more!

The king salmon swim upstream to spawn and complete their lifecycle, also providing a meal for a dipper. On the hillside, it’s the elks’ breeding season, and a black bear fattens up on berries before winter closes in across this magnificently diverse landscape.