Instead of class in a classroom, how would you enjoy class in America’s First National Park? For several SWOSU students, that was a reality last May. The SWOSU Parks and Recreation Department and Dr. Lisa Boggs hosted Mountain Resource Management from May 19th to May 23rd. The class took place in Yellowstone National Park, as well as the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Students stayed at a house in nearby Gardiner, Montana.
As a parks and recreation student, I had the privilege of attending this class, and it was the experience of a lifetime. I will detail our day-by-day experience of the class, to spread just a little bit of the information we learned throughout the trip, and also to make you jealous! I believe everyone should get to experience at least one of America’s 63 National Parks in their lifetime, but after seeing one, good luck stopping there.
Day one: Tuesday, May 20th: Accompanying the class on this trip was Yellowstone Wildlife Profile’s Brad Bulin. An extremely knowledgeable and professional guide. Starting the morning off, we spotted some Elk just outside the house. Animals around the house and community of Gardiner quickly became a common theme throughout the week. Shortly after entering the park, we saw a herd of Bison, again, a common theme throughout the week. This first day was primarily spent in the northeast corner of the park, which I found to be less busy than anywhere else (while in Yellowstone, you want the less busy areas…trust me). Beyond Bison, we caught our first glimpse of some Yellowstone Wolves with spotting scopes. Within the park, viewing (or attempting to view) Wolves is a very popular activity. So much so, it becomes dangerous for the Wolves. We saw firsthand how the Wolves reacted to the plethora of people rushing to view them, and even blocking the road they were trying to cross. This becomes a problem within the park, and rangers even have to close roads so the furry friends can cross them. The class also got snowed on during day one, a cool sight in late May, but common in this area. After leaving the park, we got our first taste of Huckleberry ice cream. Try it, you won’t regret it. The evening featured Evan Stout, a guest speaker with Bear Awareness Gardiner, who spoke on the challenges presented by bears within the community. It was interesting how the organization has worked to prevent bears from becoming reliant on trash within the community to receive food, as this begins to pose the risk of bears becoming violent towards people.
Day two: Wednesday, May 21st: Day two was packed full of excitement, beginning at the tiny village of Mammoth, within the gates of the park, including the Yellowstone Post Office. We caught our first glimpse of Mammoth Hot Springs, a very fascinating area created by water warmed by the Yellowstone supervolcano, which rose through cracks in the Earth’s crust, eventually interacting with the rocks in the area, and dissolving the calcium carbonate from the bedrock, creating the interesting formations we saw. Next, we participated in a volunteer project, removing invasive weeds from one of the trails. A nice chance to get the hands a little dirty! For the second half of the day, we left the park and went to Tom Miner Basin to listen to guest speaker Malou Anderson-Ramirez as she detailed the challenges of ranching next to Yellowstone National Park (a real-life Yellowstone TV show, essentially). With many challenges from Wolves to people, this portion was very eye-opening and thought-provoking.
Day three: Thursday, May 22nd: Way more of the touristy spots were in the itinerary this day. We took the nearly two-hour drive down to the most famous area of the park, the Old Faithful geyser. Along the way, however, we encountered my favorite animal sighting of the trip, the grizzly bears! Seeing three grizzlies through the spotting scope was a highlight of the trip for me. Simply because I love bears. Upon getting to Old Faithful, we walked around the Old Faithful Inn, and really took in the history, getting to see firsthand the areas and stories that Dr. Chad Kinder spoke of in his Natural Resource Management class! After viewing the tremendous architecture, we saw the eruption of Old Faithful, which was the second time I had seen it; you’d think it would lose its magic. However, it was just as cool the second time. Following the hours spent in this area, we made the trek back to Gardiner, stopping along the way many times and seeing deer, elk, bison, and other creatures. At the end of the day, we even saw some deer right outside the window!
Day four: Friday, May 23rd: Day four featured even more wolves, bighorn sheep, and obviously more bison! All along the way to view the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. A stunning river that flows below the steep rock faces, with a waterfall at one end of the canyon, all of which is not done justice through the photographs. The last day was shorter, but it was packed full of wildlife. A common theme throughout: none of this ever got old. Seeing this wildlife and learning about their biological processes was fascinating every time.
This day-by-day account doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the overall information I learned throughout the trip, and it certainly doesn’t show the amount of fun we had on this trip. Aside from travel troubles on the way home, the experience was all good and all fun. With a professor like Dr. Boggs leading the charge, it was a perfect mix of education and fun, all wrapped into one amazing trip. This class truly is just another example (in my opinion) of the most unique, fun, and exciting program at SWOSU. Getting real credits for a class in Yellowstone isn’t super common.
Not only was it a cool experience, but it really helps students within the program to get a firsthand view at many of the potential jobs they could be looking towards once they graduate. Being so far from any national park, getting on location provided so much more to students than any book or video can. Getting to Yellowstone was a long journey. Students had to pay for their flight to Bozeman, MT, or they could choose to drive. Beyond transportation costs, students had to pitch in a small amount for food. It was a class, so students had to pay for the credit hours, similar to any other class. Although a long journey, the trip was well worth it, with so much to see and much learned.
The best part of Yellowstone National Park is that there is so much more we did not see! The park is over 2 million acres, making it bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. So even though we spent four full days in the park, I’ll just have to go back to see more of the park, and so should you! If you don’t consider yourself a “nature” person, give this a try; you won’t regret it.
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