Operation Yellowstone Ranger: Livingston Farmer's Market, I presume?

Monday was a day. I didn't have anything planned, so it was an office day. And it was the most intense office day I've had here in Yellowstone. My boss indicated at some point that she would like to send some Tribal specific information about the Expedition Yellowstone program we do here in Yellowstone during the school year. Since that is something I'm passionate about (awesome opportunities for youth on reservations), I took it upon myself to find the contact information for all schools of the 26 associated tribes of Yellowstone National Park. I started contacting people last week and began compiling all the responses on Monday. I finished putting all but 8 reservations in a Word document around 9:30am. When I showed this to my supervisor, she requested I put them into an Excel document. That way she could print mailing labels. That totally makes sense. And it ensures that this mailing list will be used long into the future. But, what it also meant was a massive project that lasted until 4:45pm. By the time I was finished, my eyes were hay-wire. I quickly gathered my things and left for the day. A job well done, if I say so myself. 118 contacts and over 160 schools. Oh yeah!
From there, I met up with my wonderful friend Millie. We gathered our things and traveled out to the far corner of Lamar Valley. There we hiked a few miles of Pebble Creek. I didn't think Lamar Valley could get any more beautiful...and then I went to Pebble Creek. Absolutely stunning. We had a wonderful hike and chat. But, by the time we got back to the car, we were more than ready for food. We quickly made our way to Gardiner and straight to K-Bar. This is a restaurant/bar that makes DELICIOUS pizza. Unfortunately, the waiter COMPLETELY ignored us. After ten minutes of attempting to get his attention and being completely rebuffed, we headed over to the classic Two Bit. So delicious. Their delectable greasy food never fails to deliver after a good hike. As I took Millie home, all was right with the world.
The next day was a pretty good day at work. We had the Wildlife Olympics at Old Faithful, so that meant we only had about an hour at the office before we had to head out. I did a few little odd jobs before Matt and I headed out. Alexis was at CPR/First Aid training, so she was gone. And no one else from the office could go. So Matt and I went down and met up with a Wildlife Ranger named Doug. Thus, we only had three to manage the massive influx of Old Faithful. I was a tad bit worried, but it all worked out swimmingly. Matt is a really awesome worker and is super great with the kids. Doug is full of wonderful information about the wildlife in the park. And when it comes to working with kids, that is the best information. Mix that with the Grandfather-esque demeanor he exudes, and he makes the perfect Wildlife Olympics cohort. I really enjoyed our time and thought we delivered a positive experience for all 321 people we encountered during the day.
On the way back from Old Faithful, Matt and I got into a wildlife jam at Golden Gate. Golden Gate is the tremendous downhill road you must take through the mountain to get to Mammoth using the Norris road. When I looked up to see what everyone was staring at, I saw two Mountain Goats. It is a rarity anymore that I see large mammals that I haven't seen in the park yet. And yet, here was one more check on my wildlife checklist. I have not yet seen a Mountain Goat in the park, so I was super pumped to see them so clearly! I did not get a photo since I was driving a government vehicle, but I had to mention it in my post!
Once I got back to Mammoth, it was time to vacate work. It was time to deal with something I had been putting off for some time: Laundry. But, I had a wonderful new development. Udeitha, Christina and Amanda had informed me that I couldn't spend money on our quarter fed washer and dryer anymore. Their washer and dryer are free, so they invited me to come over and use it whenever I wanted. I took them up on that offer on Tuesday. I took my stuff over, washed my laundry and wrote the epic blog post previous to the current post you are reading. It was great. Furthermore, Udeitha, being the wonderful human being she is, took it upon herself to concoct a delightful Lasagna dinner that she then shared with me. It was SO DELICIOUS! Laundry and blogging were elevated by wonderful company, delicious food and eventually a movie. It was a really chill and refreshing night. I went to bed with a great blog post, full belly, clean laundry and wonderful friends.
Today was an extraordinary day for work. I got up early and ran into work to meet up with the Vegetation specialists here in Yellowstone. The crew consisted of Heidi (the long-time expert), Andy (the first-year botanist) and the GPS specialist girl (I forget her name). They were a fun crew, and I really enjoyed working with them. We went around Mammoth, locating Wetlands near the roadsides. There are future plans for road extension or road reroutings, so it is their job to locate, map and identify all wetlands near the road. If there are substantial wetlands, the construction projects MUST move around them. They are a very important part of the overall ecosystem of Yellowstone. I didn't realize it, but Mammoth has a TON of small Wetland patches. When we found the Wetlands, we took a three step process to identify and documenting. First, we would dig a hole about 14 inches into the ground to identify the different soil layers and composition. From there, we would map the entirety of the Wetlands using a GPS system that communicates to 6-11 satellites. The final step was traversing the entire Wetland, identifying and documenting all rare and unusual species. We also spent much time pulling invasive species up by the roots.
My favorite part was definitely the GPS mapping. At the third Wetland we surveyed, I was able to do the entire mapping by myself. I took the pole that transmitted the satellite signals from the GPS and followed the flag patterns that Heidi sent out. (Heidi took colored flags and outlined the perimeter of the Wetland). I would stop at each flag, correlate the GPS, and document the vertex. When I finished each point, I would synthesize them together to create an entire perimeter map. It was so cool! That will be used for all future Wetland references during construction. I left a fingerprint!
After we finished documenting the Wetlands, they took me down to Gardiner to check out the Herbarium at the HRC (Historical Reference Center). It was so cool to see the process where they dry and mount vegetation samples. There were cabinets upon cabinets of samples. I was so overwhelmed and completely lacking in knowledge about plants that I didn't know what to do about myself. That is why I didn't particularly enjoy the plant identification process: I had NO IDEA what they were talking about when they were breaking down the scientific names of plants and arguing over the different specifications. It was just too over my head and I couldn't involve myself. But, I plan to start studying. Maybe next year it will make more sense to me!
Once we were done at the Herbarium, I dashed back to Mammoth to get ready for my next adventure. Alexis and I were heading out to Livingston to setup the Wildlife Olympics at the Farmer's Market. It was Kid's Day at the Farmer's Market, and we thought that would be the perfect venue for Wildlife Olympics. I was actually very proud because I setup this outreach day all by my lonesome. So I was determined to make it successful!
Anyway, I arrived back in Mammoth around 1:45 and we needed to be in Livingston by 3:00pm. It takes over an hour to travel to Livingston, so I was nervous about us being late. Luckily, we arrived in Livingston right at 3:00pm. Setup was painless and we were ready to go way before the event was scheduled to begin (4:30pm). We ended up taking down the tent because a storm began to move in. We were afraid that the tent was going to be ripped up, so we took it down. Fortunately, the front passed without a drop and the evening became bright and beautiful soon after.
We were beginning to feel a little uncomfortable when we realized we had brought the wolf pelt. We were wondering why people seemed to be avoiding coming over to talk to us...and we started to wonder if it was because of the wolves. The wolf reintroduction of 1995 is very controversial, especially in ranching country, due to the perceived threat of wolves on livestock. We began to wonder if people thought we were there for an agenda. But, once it reached 4:30pm and families began to arrive, all doubt went out the window. The Livingston Farmer's Market was definitely the most fun I have ever had doing the Wildlife Olympics. The kids REALLY enjoyed the activities, family involvement was fantastic, and the venue was chill enough to allow for personal connections with all the visitors. It was very ideal. Not to mention the fact that we were surrounded by delicious foods. Throughout the night, I purchased a fresh-made stir-fry, sugarless/butter-less cookies (delicious) and fresh-squeezed lemonade with mint. I made out like a bandit!
When we began to pack up, I was really sad. I did not want to leave! But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Alexis and I packed up and jetted for home. By the time I dropped off Alexis in Gardiner, the government vehicle at our office and reached home, it was passed nine. Udeitha and Eric were home, so we spent the rest of the evening chilling out, doing not much of anything and listening to stand up comedians. Now I am sitting on my computer, typing, long after they went to bed. I really need to do the same, but I wanted to make sure I generated a slightly entertaining post. I hope I delivered! Night all! Enjoy the photos!