Rumination

[This is a journal entry that I wrote as I was leaving Montana. I think it perfectly sums up how I felt and still feel about my experiences this summer.]

Storm Point, Yellowstone National Park. 6/27/16.

I'm currently on a plane that's taking me away from my heart. Montana's Big Sky Country stole my heart and enthralled my mind. I love this place, and I can't stand that I'm leaving it.

While I love and miss everyone at home, no part of me wants to be going back to dirt, cacti, and 330 days of relentless sunshine. I need peaks, rivers, skies that are clearer than I ever thought possible, and sunsets that are powerful enough to move people to tears. The city moves too fast. It's noisy, smelly, dirty, and no one stops to appreciate the incredible planet on which we live.

Being surrounded by other people all summer who had the same passion and love for adventures, nature, hiking, camping, and exploring was so inspiring, and it kept me motivated to get out. I'm afraid that once I get back home to my old routine that I'll lose my motivation to keep exploring.

I've always thought I was a city girl trapped in a small town, but now I realize that I'm a small town girl who is full of wanderlust. I want to explore cities, towns, mountains, coasts, valleys, fields, and maybe most importantly, people.

As much as the adventures made this summer amazing, it's the people that changed my life for the better. They taught me so much about myself, and they all helped me realize how important it is that I be exactly who I am. I've grown so much as a person, and I need to hold onto that. I'm strong, independent, and I'm capable of anything.

I learned that I can love and be loved. Even though I ended up with a broken heart, I trusted myself to know at whatever happened I would be okay. Besides that, I have friends that I love and who love me.

I found a sense of peace and happiness that I've never had before. I learned that I need to spend time by myself, get out into nature, do yoga and meditate, write, and plan a future for myself that I can look forward to.

Someday, I'm going to return to Big Sky Country to retrieve the piece of my heart that I'm leaving here. Having that to look forward to might be enough to get me through the realities of going to a party school in the literal middle of hell for the next three years.

Take care of yourself, be true to yourself, and you can never go wrong.

-Morgan

Leaving

Avalanche Peak. Photo creds to Rachel Boge. 

I'm terrible with goodbyes. Unfortunately, the past few weeks have been full of them.

Saying goodbye to these people and this place is heartbreaking. I've made some incredible friends here that I absolutely treasure, and I've had some of the most incredible experiences and seen some of the most beautiful things, and that's hard to walk away from.

It's also hard to say goodbye to the person that I've been since coming here. I have grown so much, and I'm more proud of and happy with myself than ever before. Figuring out how to hang on to that once my everyday life starts again is going to be my challenge in the coming weeks and months.





My final hike in Yellowstone took me again to Uncle Tom's Trail. I did it once before, but this was one repeat I didn't mind. We didn't have much time before work, and it takes about half an hour minus time spent at the bottom. I had heard from guests that at certain times of day, a rainbow forms in the spray, and I've always wanted to see it. Luckily, our timing worked out perfectly.

Uncle Tom's Trail. 8/5/16.

I'm glad that my last hike in the park was at the Canyon. While it isn't my favorite place in the park by a long shot, it seemed right to stay close to home, and I'll never tire of the Canyon's beauty.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. 8/5/16. 

I'm now in Bozeman for a few days before I fly home. I don't think it's hit me yet that I'm really done. Part of me still feels like I should be heading back to Canyon after my weekend, and I don't think it'll hit me until I land back in Arizona and get enveloped by 100+ degree air. That's when I'll really start to miss the park.

As hard as the past few weeks have been, no part of me wants to leave this place. Montana, Wyoming, and Yellowstone have stolen my heart, and I know that Arizona is not a place where I will live for much longer. I need mountains, rivers, lodgepole pines, and big skies.

It's been a wild ride, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Peace out, Yellowstone, and I know I'll see you soon.

8/7/16. 

Heartbreak Roadtrip

On Saturday after work, I went to the lake with a few friends. They got in the water (which would have instantly turned this Arizona girl into a popsicle), and I set up my borrowed hammock in the trees beside the lake. I laid there, listened to music, and just thought. It was one of the most serene situations I've ever been in: the slight breeze off the lake, being wrapped in a blanket, listening to an amazing Spotify playlist I just found, and listening to my friends splash each other in the lake. 

The next day, I hiked to Grizzly Lake. It was absolutely beautiful. The lake is down in a tiny valley, so you go around a corner and see it it at the bottom of a huge hill. On the drive back, we saw a mama and baby grizzly, which seemed appropriate considering the name of the lake. The baby kept popping up onto his hind legs, and I managed to get a picture of it! 

Grizzly near Grizzly Lake. 7/30/16.

Tops off on Top

Saturday after work, a few of us drove to Lamar to hike the Lamar River Trail. The trail is supposed to be a great place to see wildlife, so I had high expectations that weren't disappointed. There were the usual bison and ground squirrels, but we also saw a pronghorn, a coyote, and what was either a fox or a coyote (it was too hidden in the sagebrush to tell).

Rachel approaching a pronghorn. 7/23/16.

We hiked 3 miles in to where the trail meets Cache Creek. We had every intention of swimming, but as soon as we got to the creek, the wind picked up and a huge storm started blowing in. We sat by the creek and ate dinner, then decided to head back to the car early. Once we got back to the valley, the sun started setting. The storm produced maybe the best sunset I've ever seen.

Sunset 7/23/26.

The next afternoon, we went to Grand Prismatic. There is a trail that overlooks the spring, but it's being renovated (most likely they're building a boardwalk). Even from ground level, it's gorgeous. The colors aren't as striking, but it's still cool to see such vibrant hues coming from a steaming pool.

Grand Prismatic Spring. 7/24/16.

After Grand Prismatic, we drove to the Firehole River to the employee hot tub. In reality, it's just an eddy in the river that a bubbling spring pours hot water into. The temperature varies greatly from freezing cold to boiling hot. We were told by others to sit on rocks and to wear water shoes. The warning was important, because the ground is actually boiling. Huge, hot bubbles pop right under the surface of the sand. Even with the precautions, I managed to get burned a couple times. It was pretty cool to be basically sitting in a volcano; it's the first time it really hit me that I'm living on an active hotspot.

On Tuesday morning, I hiked Avalanche again. Since I didn't summit the first time I did it, and a group of my friends hadn't done it yet, I decided to again hike the trail built by a man-man that climbs 2,000 feet in 2 miles. We made it to the top and stayed there for almost an hour. All of us girls decided that the top of a peak was a great place to take our tops off, and we got a couple awesome pictures of us looking out at the mountains. I hope that posting this picture doesn't come back to bite me, but it was such a freeing experience, so I figured, why not. I'll post it small so as not to offend.

Topless on top of Avalanche. 7/26/16.

That night, a couple of us hiked 4 miles into Grebe Lake to camp there for the night. On the hike in, we came across a family of swans. It was the parents and two little fuzzy babies. The male got a little flustered, but they didn't seem to mind too much that we were only about 15 feet away from them.

Our site was between the lake and the river that feeds it. The river is absolutely covered in lily pads. We turned in pretty early since there wasn't a lot to do once it got dark. I slept pretty well despite being cold, but the other two slept horribly. They let me sleep in a little, then we broke down camp and hiked back to the car.

Right after we got back to Canyon, we left for the lake. We rented a motorboat, and spent an hour and a half out on the lake fishing and relaxing. It was incredible being in the middle of one of the largest high-elevation lake in the world. We could see exactly where we had been on Avalanche the day before, which made me feel even more accomplished having hiked up there twice.

Avalanche Peak from Lake Yellowstone. 7/27/16.

Next weekend, I am going with a big group to do the Bechler River Trail. It's 30 miles, and it's supposed to be one of the most amazing backcountry trips in the park. It's going to be incredibly challenging to carry a pack that far since I haven't backpacked much, but I'm really excited. It seems like the perfect last adventure here in the park. My last day of work is the 7th, and I'm leaving that night for Bozeman. I can't believe how fast the summer has gone. I don't want it to end at all, but I know it's almost over, so now all I can do is figure out how to enjoy every last second of it.

-Morgan

Peaks and Passes

Friends in the Hoodoos. 7/16/16.

The night before we hiked Avalanche Peak, a group of us went out to the Hoodoos. We hiked out at dusk, then sat and watched the moon rise over Bunsen Peak. The light on the granite when we were hiking out was amazing. I kept turning off my headlamp to look at the stars and the moon, so I ended up at the back of the group. Suddenly, the people ahead of me suddenly scattered and acted panicked. I reached for my bear spray, thinking it was a bear. Turns out the people in the front had gotten within feet of walking into a bison. We were all on an adrenaline high for the rest of the hike out.

Moonrise over Bunsen Peak. 7/16/16.

After work on Sunday, Patrick, Annie, and I hiked Avalanche Peak. The trail climbs almost 2,000 feet in a little over 2 miles. It's straight up, but we took a lot of breaks, so it was not horribly hard. We made it almost to the summit, and a storm blew in. The wind was blowing the rain into us, and it hurt too bad to stay above tree-line, so we headed down without making it all the way to the summit. 

The storm almost made it prettier though, because the sky was clear over the lake, but there were huge storm clouds on all sides. The Tetons were the clearest I've ever seen them from the park though.

View from Avalanche Peak. 7/17/16.

After work on Monday, a group of us drove to Cooke City. We ate dinner and played monopoly on a roadside picnic table while waiting for the second half of our group to arrive. Once they got there, we drove into the Beartooth Mountains to find a camp spot. We ended up at the Island Lake Campground. The moon was one night from full, so we got to watch it rise. We had 6 people in a five-person tent, and it was the warmest night of camping I've had since being here. 

Professor Jacob at the Island Lake Campground, Shoshone National Forest. 7/18/16.

The next morning, we woke up early to drive to Billings. We drove the entire Beartooth Highway, which is listed as one of the most scenic in the country. We stopped at the top of the pass, which is 10,947 feet in elevation. Rachel and I went off in the rocks to take a bathroom break, and I scared a pika. It's the first one I've seen here, so I got really excited.  Before we drove away, I made everyone take a group picture, which we took by propping Patrick's phone on his shoe on the hood of the car. Super high tech. 

Canyon Kitchen Crew at the top of the Beartooth Pass. 7/19/16.

John looking out over the Beartooth Mountains. 7/19/16.

We drove the rest of the way to Billings. There, we went to Denny's and then to Target. Half the group went to get tattoos; the half I went with found a cool record store, then sat in a park for a while. We eventually met up with the boys to see their tattoos being finished. We all went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, then drove back to the campsite. The full moon on the drive back up the pass was insane. It was the brightest moon I've ever seen. It looked like a spotlight was shining on us when we were sitting by the campfire. 

Sitting by the fire at Island Creek Campground. 7/19/16.

The next morning, half of the group went to do Specimen Ridge. The rest of us drove back to Canyon, where Patrick, Davis, Jared, and I immediately turned around and drove to Jackson. It was my first time seeing the Tetons, and I was speechless. In the park, there are huge mountains, but they mostly all have foothills leading up to them. The Tetons appear out of nowhere; it's a huge valley, then suddenly there are 14,000 foot peaks that come out of nowhere. We stopped at a pullout, and I made the boys pose for a photo...

The Boys at the Tetons. 7/20/16.

After spending the past 2 months in front of the camera, I finally decided to get a picture of myself. I wish the picture showed more clearly that my shirt says "Mountain Mama" from John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. That song has become the song of the summer for all of us. Good thing it came out in 1971...45 years ago.

I can't even begin to wrap my head around the fact that I leave the park 2 weeks from today. Patrick and Abby already left, and I've been an emotional wreck. I'm not ready to leave this park and these people. This has become home to me, and the people I've met are my family. This has been the experience of a lifetime, and I'm just not ready for it to end.

Flowers, Fires, and Freezing

Laughing in the Flowers. Photo by Rachel Boge. 7/10/16.

After two nights of taking pictures in fields of flowers last week, I decided it was time to switch gears. On Monday night, I stayed outside of Gardiner at the Tom Miner Campground. The site is 10 miles up a dirt road into some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. Driving past farmhouses that sit in front of huge mountains was incredibly peaceful. We stopped a couple times to take pictures because it was so idilic. 

Farmhouse near Gardiner, MT. 7/11/16.

We got to the campground and started to build a fire. Since it had rained all day and snowed that morning, everything was soaking wet. We wouldn't have needed a fire so badly if we hadn't decided to cook over it, so we were starving also. We tried for two hours before finally giving up and driving back to town to buy firewood and lighter fluid. After so much frustration, we finally got to eat dinner at almost 10 pm, then went to bed almost immediately. 

The next day, one of my friends and I hiked two miles into the Rescue Creek Trail and camped at site 1A2. The trail goes through, so we hiked the other 5 miles to the end, and hitchhiked back to our trailhead. We got picked up by one of the tourbus drivers who had an empty bus, and he drove us to Mammoth. From there, we ran into a couple of our coworkers from Canyon, and they drove us to the trailhead. We hiked the 2 miles in again to our site, and build a fire, which miraculously lit and stayed lit through a misty rainstorm. 

Perfect Pinecone. Rescue Creek Trail. 7/12/16.

This Tree Nose What You're Thinking. Rescue Creek Trail. 7/12/16.

We went to bed early, but barely slept since we were so cold. We finally decided at 6 am that we were too cold to stay any longer, so we packed up the tent and hiked out. 

Tavin on the Frigid 6 am Hike Out. 7/13/16.

Wednesday evening, a group of us went to Bozeman for the afternoon which was a lot of fun. We ended up playing in a park for a while and appeasing our inner children. 

Patrick at the Park. 7/13/16.

I'm now working half mornings and half evenings, and I love it. I get to sleep in two mornings a week, and then I have three evenings to do whatever hiking I want once I'm off work. Tomorrow I'm hiking Avalanche Peak after work. It's 2,000 feet of elevation change in 2 miles, so I might die on the way up, but I've heard the view from the top is one of the best in the park. Expect pictures soon.

-Morgan

Here Comes the Sun

Thermal Feature on Mary Mountain Trail, 6/29/16.

I survived Mary Mountain, and I can now say that I have hiked 22 miles in one day. We were all  grumpy and ready to kill each other by the end of it, but I definitely feel accomplished. And I surprisingly was barely even sore after. It was a cool hike, but I would not recommend it to anyone. It's not worth that many miles, especially since the scenery is nothing spectacular.

I laid low after Mary Mountain, but got right back to hiking a couple days later. On Sunday, I hiked Uncle Tom's Trail, which is just a bunch of stairs leading into the Canyon. It was gorgeous, but 305 stairs is definitely a challenge. Right as we got close to the top, it started hailing like crazy. We took shelter under some trees and waited out the storm. It was incredible to watch, but the pea-sized hailstones hurt like crazy. As soon as it slowed down, we power walked to the car and drove to Artist Point rather than taking the trail there.

Lower Falls from Uncle Tom's Trail, 7/2/16. 

For the 4th, I went with a group of people to Livingston. We camped at this awesome campground called Pine Creek. I forgot how much I love camping. Even though I froze during the night, I woke up feeling well-rested and peaceful. That morning, we explored Livingston before going to Bozeman. We went to music stores, thrift stores, and a second-hand sporting goods store in Bozeman where I got my first pair of Tevas since I was 10 and decided I was too cool for them.

Fourth of July Sunset in Livingston, 7/4/16. 

After Bozeman, we drove back to Canyon. We decided that we would do a sunrise hike the next morning, so naturally, 7 of us slept in one room so we'd be sure we all got up. I slept horribly, and probably only got about an hour total because I kept waking up. At 3:15, we all woke up and got ready to go. We drove towards Old Faithful to Purple Mountain. It's a super easy 3 mile trail that leads up to a pretty good overlook at the top of the mountain. About 2 miles in, we were able to turn off our headlamps. We should have left earlier to actually see the full sunrise since we got there at 5:42, exactly when the sun was supposed to rise. It was still striking to see the sun light up the incredible valley and geyser basin down below.

Sunrise from Purple Mountain, 7/6/16. 

We came back and napped, then decided to go to the Lake to hang out. We hiked the Pelican Creek Trail, and actually managed to see a pelican! It was windy so the water was choppy, and it looked so stark with the expanse of the lake leading out to huge mountains on the other side. I brought a book, but I ended up just sitting with my toes in the sand, marveling at the beauty surrounding me.

Creeping on Friends at Lake Yellowstone, 7/6/16. 

Tonight, a group of us girls are going to Mount Washburn to sit in the wildflowers and relax. I've never seen so many flowers in my life, especially since it's been raining in the afternoons here the past week, and everything looks even more green than before.

Work has been getting busier, but things have been running fairly smoothly. I'm still working mostly mornings, so I have time to hike in the evenings which I absolutely love.

-Morgan

Storm Point and Idaho

Henry's Lake, 6/21/16. 

It's been way too long since I've written, but we haven't had internet for the past few days, so that makes blogging much more difficult.

Anyway, I finally got switched to mornings, so I have a lot more time now in the afternoons to hike. It's so refreshing to finally be able to get outside again, even if its just for a short hike after dinner.

Last week, a few of us decided to drive to Idaho just because we could. We found this place called Henry's Lake, and we sat on a hill above the lake for a while eating cookies. It was so incredibly peaceful.

Since then, I hiked Ribbon Lake (where we had to turn back due to time constraints and never got to see the lake), and I've done Storm Point twice. It's an easy 2 mile hike, and it goes out to Lake Yellowstone.

Lake Yellowstone from Storm Point, 6/27/16. 

A couple nights ago, we hiked out to Grebe Lake. We started a fire, and a few people fished. We stayed there listening to music until about 10:30, then we hiked back. We turned off the headlamps at one point when we were in the middle of this huge open space; I've never seen so many stars in my life. We could clearly see Mars, Venus, and the Milky Way. Standing there looking up at the stars was so peaceful, even though we were freezing to death. Then we hiked the rest of the way out in complete silence. 

In other news, I got my nose pierced in Bozeman today! I'm super happy with how it turned out! 

Tomorrow I'm hiking Mary Mountain which is a 23 mile hike. It's mostly flat, but it's still gonna be brutal, especially since I open at work the next morning. It should be fun though, and I know I'll feel accomplished once I've done it. 

-Morgan

10,243 Feet Up

Hiking Buds at the Top of Mt. Washburn, 6/16/16. 

On Wednesday, I went to Bozeman with a group of people. The boys all wanted to see X-Men, so I decided to have lunch with Anna. Once she went back to work, I wandered around town. I bought Dad a Father's Day present and picked up a few other odd things that I've been wanting. It was nice to have some time to myself to just wander and shop. After the movie, we all got pizza, then went to the Bozeman Goodwill, which was quite the experience. I got more flannel shirts, because what else would I wear while living in Wyoming?

We were almost back to Canyon from Bozeman when we saw a group of cars pulled off to the side of the road. Usually, it's because people stop to marvel at a bison (there are a million of them here. Just keep driving). We looked out, and right off the road was a brown bear. I think he was a yearling because he was fairly small, but he was so cute! I tried to get a picture with my phone, but he was too far away.

Yesterday, a few of us hiked Mt. Washburn. It's only about a 15 minute drive from Canyon, but before now, it has still had a ton of snow at the top. We did have to climb up and over a couple snowbanks, but it wasn't as bad as it was a couple weeks ago. It was around 3.5 miles to the fire lookout at the top, and the trail is what was an old road before, so it isn't terribly technical hiking. The last half mile was brutal though, because the wind was blowing so hard I thought I was going to blow off the mountain. We were all walking bent over at the waist to resist the headwind. That's why we're all squinty in the picture above; we're all trying to keep our eyes open in the wind.

After Washburn, we just relaxed for the afternoon. Once most of the morning shift people got off work, we got a group together to go hiking. A couple guys were going to camp for the night, so we all hiked out to their campsite and had a fire. We all sat around on logs, and a couple people pulled out guitars. We stayed there until around 10:30, and then we night-hiked the 2 miles back to the cars. I didn't have my headlamp, so I had to use what little light came from in front and behind me, but I managed.

Today is my Monday, and as much as I don't want to work after such an awesome weekend, I'm excited because we got new hires!! Hopefully they'll stick with the job for longer than the original hires have, and maybe work will calm down a little. One can only hope.

-Morgan

An Important Tangent

I'm taking a break from my usual Yellowstone based posts, because I need to say something. 

I've been thinking a lot about the nightclub shooting in Orlando. As much as I've tried to avoid reading the news while I'm here (ignorance is bliss, as they say), the news of this shooting was everywhere. 

People fear what they don't understand. It's a perfectly natural human inclination. Problems arise, however, when people act out of this fear. This is where prejudice and discrimination begin. 

In this particular case, there is news now that the shooter himself was gay. This makes what he did even worse, if that's even possible, because he targeted people who know best the struggles that he has faced. He took his own fear and pain out on people who did absolutely nothing wrong. He stole the lives of people who had everything ahead of them, everything to live for. 

It's a classic bullying complex. The bully doesn't understand why the short, nerdy kid out-performs him in all school subjects, so he acts out of the fear of failure with violence. Except that in this case, the bully used an AR-15 instead of his fists. And 50 people are dead because they had enough confidence in themselves to go to a gay nightclub, while the shooter was most likely struggling with accepting his identity. 

There are many things that I don't understand, and senseless killing is one of them. 

Everyone focuses on their differences rather than finding common ground to stand on. I am always struck from the Harry Potter quote that says, "while we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one." Learning to embrace our differences and celebrate our similarities is the only way to end the hatred and intolerances that lead to such horrific events as the Pulse shooting. 

We all need to do our collective best to be accepting, kind, and empathetic to everyone around us. Remember that we are not all so different in the end, and be patient with people who may see the world differently. And keep the families of the 50 dead and 50 more injured in your hearts. 

16 Miles Later

View from Bunsen Peak. 6/10/16. 

I finally had my two days off!

Wednesday, I spent the morning sleeping in and relaxing. It was so nice to have some down time. I did a little bit of yoga and meditation as well. Once a couple of my friends got off work in the afternoon, we went down to Lake Yellowstone to fish. All they succeeded in catching were rocks and sticks, but it was still a lot of fun. Spending a couple hours taking pictures and sitting with my toes in the sand was exactly what I needed.

On Thursday, a few of us hiked Fairy Falls. The actual trail is closed because they are turning it into a boardwalk, but we found a way to get there via the Imperial Meadows trail. It wasn't the most exciting hike, but the falls were gorgeous. That evening, we hiked Mystic Falls, which was a little more strenuous. We got back to the car just as it got dark (at 9:30). Between the two hikes, we went a total of 12 miles.

Yesterday, a group of us hiked Bunsen Peak in the morning before work. It was pretty steep, but not bad considering that we hiked all the way up a mountain. It only took us an hour to hike the 2 miles to the top, so we spent some time sitting, eating snacks, and climbing trees to get an even better view. We could see almost 360 degrees around, which was incredible. This place is insanely beautiful.

It might rain here today, but if it's clear tonight, I'm gonna try to go stargazing. I've been looking into how to do long-exposure photos, so I want to try it out and see if I can get a good picture to show just how incredible the stars are here.

-Morgan

Geysers

Sunset from Canyon Lodge Deli. 6/4/16

Work has taken over my life.

The past two days as shift lead have been insanity. The entire food and beverage department is understaffed, so we are all working ourselves to death trying to keep up. I stayed to help the dish crew on Friday night, and we were there until 2 in the morning. Every time that things are going well, I'm just anticipating the next rush and waiting for yet another large, essential appliance to break (we're down two fridges in the deli currently). Because of the crazy hours and exhausting days, I have not had the time/energy to do much hiking or exploring.

Aside from the metaphorical geyser that is my work life, a few of us went to Old Faithful before work on Friday. We hiked up to Observation Point, then back down. We made it to the bottom right in time to see the geyser go off. After all the hype, I was a little disappointed, but it was still pretty cool to see in person. It's one of those things you just have to do while in Yellowstone.

Last night at work, I looked out the windows to see one of the most incredible sunsets I've ever seen, and that's coming from the girl who swears that Arizona has the best sunsets in the world. I had to step outside to get a picture. The picture from my phone doesn't even come close to showing how amazing it was. It went on for almost 15 minutes too, and it stayed incredibly beautiful the whole time. It made my evening ever so slightly better.

I'm so ready to have Wednesday and Thursday off so I can finally get back out there and do some hiking. I still have a huge amount of this park left to explore, and I can't wait to grab my camera and take off.

-Morgan

Stars and Skeletons

Elk Shrine, Tower Creek, 6/1/16. 

On Tuesday night, a group of us went to Artist Point to stargaze. I've never seen so many stars, and it blows my mind just how small and insignificant we are in relation to the universe. One of the guys that was with us was musing to me about how all of those stars are dead now, but we're still seeing their light, and the way he phrased it showed me that I was not the only person there who was struck by the profoundness of it all.

I saw the Milky Way for maybe the second time ever, and it was much more clear than the last time I saw it. Mars was also the brightest it's been in over ten years, and it was just barely over the horizon, which was awesome to see.

I finally had today off, which I have been looking forward to all week! I woke up early and went on a hike with 4 guys. We went to Tower Falls for a minute, then we drove to the campground and hiked part of the Tower Creek Trail. It was much less of a hike and more of a stroll, which I was absolutely fine with. The trail meandered along the creek, and we kept losing it, so we just scrambled over all the fallen logs that lined the banks.

While looking for a rock to skip, I bent down and picked up part of a bone fragment. I turned around, and there was an elk skull. I drew the guys' attention to it, and we soon discovered the rest of the elk. The pelvis was still attached to a few vertebrae, and we found the rest of the spine still flexible and covered in blood (sorry, kinda gruesome). One of the legs was still attached to the knee until one of them picked it up and broke it.

Being boys, they decided to make a skull and crossbones, and once they had done that, they decided to make a shrine to our fallen ungulate friend. We tried to burn some sage for it, but it was too wet to light, so we stuck the sage and some dandelions into its eye sockets. Lovely, isn't it?

The weather couldn't have been any more perfect. It was sunny and warm enough that I took off my hoodie and just wore a tank top. It was so nice to finally get a little sun on my shoulders.

Now that I'll be working all closing shifts, I'll have to get used to hiking in the morning. It's almost nicer that way because I don't have to worry about it getting dark, but there will always be time constraints with getting back in time for work.

I could not be happier that I'm here though. Work is hard, but I just keep reminding myself that I'm in Yellowstone. The job is the only thing keeping me here, but it's not what I'm here for. I'm here to make friends, hike, stargaze, and have an amazing summer, and so far it's working out pretty well.

-Morgan

Elephant Back

View from the top of Elephant Back looking at Yellowstone Lake. 5/29/16. 

On Sunday, I opened at work, so I was off by 4. After dinner, I met up with a group of 5 guys, and we hiked Elephant Back. It was a mile and a half of brutal switchbacks to the top, and a mile and a half on the way down, but the view from the top was 110% worth the soreness that ensued after the hike.

We could see the entirety of Yellowstone Lake and the mountains behind. Of course, this was the day that my camera decided not to work, so I didn't even hike with it. I took the picture above on my phone, but there's no way to capture how it actually looks. It was absolutely the prettiest thing I've ever seen, and that's saying a lot considering that I've been traveling and seeing new places for the good majority of my life.

In other news, I got a promotion at work! I am the new pm shift leader in the Canyon Lodge Deli. My hours won't change much, and I still get two days off each week, but I will have more responsibility and have to work harder when I'm at work. I'm excited for what doors this might open for me, though. Plus, putting down that I was a shift leader for this company would look really good on my resume.

I'm sure now that coming to Yellowstone was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I miss home and the people there, but it's worth it to be able to be here. Anytime I have a rough day, I remind myself that I am in Yellowstone and can walk out my door, walk 20 minutes, and I'll be standing at the top of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone watching an osprey land in her nest.

I also feel like this summer will help me grow a lot as a person, friend, employee, and most of all, a nature lover.

-Morgan

The Adventure Begins

Trout Lake, Yellowstone National Park, May 26, 2016

I still cannot believe that I get to call this place home for the summer. After 5 full work days, we all got Thursday off, so a big group of us went out to explore the park for the day. We drove about an hour north to the Lamar Valley, which is where it's generally easiest to spot wildlife.

Our first hike was about a mile long, and it looped around Trout Lake. It was a fairly easy trail, but the scenery was incredible.

We then drove to Slough Creek, and did a 6.5 mile hike. The first half mile was straight uphill, but the trail finally evened out some. It was so muddy that I don't think my shoes will ever be the same. We went from scrubby bushes in the valley to aspens to pine trees within a half an hour, which was incredible.

I have done a few other short hikes in the evenings; we went to Mud Volcano a couple nights in a row, and most nights at least a few people go to the Canyon since it's only an easy 20 minute walk from the dorms.

Besides the hiking, I am also being considered for a promotion to shift leader at work. I'm the youngest person working in the deli, if not the whole operation, so it's crazy that they're even looking at me for it. I am super flattered, but I'm just worried about how the dynamic might change if I'm somewhat in charge. I would also hate for it to take away too much of my time off, or make work more stressful when I'm there. They're gonna interview me and one other guy for it by Monday, so I guess I'll just wait and see what happens!