June 9, 2007
Meet the 2007 Team
View the 2007 Itinerary
Twelve excited but bleary-eyed participants arrived at RDU at 6:15 a.m. to begin our journey. We were eager for the adventure, but unaware of the magnitude of what we would see and experience later in the day.
During our drive through aptly named Paradise Valley we saw beautiful White Pelicans gliding in the blue sky above the Yellowstone River and Jacque spotted a coyote patrolling nearby. We were in awe at the size of the mountains. This grand landscape makes you feel so tiny. More wonders greeted us as we drove through Roosevelt Arch, the grand north entrance of the United States’ first national park.
 The geology of this area is in your face—Huckleberry Ridge, a tuff atop Mt. Everetts, is evidence of a volcanic eruption over 2 million years ago. The layers of some sedimentary rocks have been uplifted and bent over time. In one dramatic geologic area (Gardiner Canyon) we encountered a “sheep jam”—cars stopped to observe some nearby Bighorn Sheep. It was amazing to watch 5 young lambs jump around the steep rocky canyon walls.
At our first park lodging in Mammoth, we were serenaded by the chirps of Uinta Ground Squirrels scurrying about the grounds and in burrows that seem to go underneath our cabins! After a quick dinner, we drove toward Wraith Falls, coming across a herd of elk with several small calves. These beautiful animals still have their white spots, like the fawns of our deer back home. It was an outstanding sight to behold in this wildlife-rich wilderness.
Q & A for June 9
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