Today was the final day of training for this summer’s crop of interpretive rangers here at Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park. Tomorrow our visitor center opens and we hit the ground running until the end of September. One of our all–time favorite duties is to lead Park visitors on a two–mile hike from West Thumb geyser basin up to an overlook with views of Yellowstone Lake and the Absaroka Mountains to the east.
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| Yellowstone Lake and the Absaroka Mountains |
During the summer the trail is alive with wildflowers and wildlife. The scenery is jaw–dropping, and on a clear day you can see all the way to the Teton Range fifty miles to the south.
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| Lake Overlook trail |
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| Elk enjoying the hillside along Lake Overlook trail |
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| Red Mountains (on left) are in Yellowstone; Teton Range is in distance on right |
Today was also the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. Clearly, it was not one of those sunny summer days.
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| Trail Talking |
As interpretive rangers we were out to scout out the trail on the last day of training, looking for what was new and what had made it through the harsh northwestern Wyoming winter. We were glad to be refreshing our brain after a season away from Yellowstone while picking up tips and hints from each other for ways to improve our programs and fine–tune our naturalist skills.
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| Where’s the lake? |
Yellow monkey flower thrives in this hot spring environment.
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| Yellow monkey flower is found in many hot springs in Yellowstone |
Winter wildlife is alive and well on the trail. We figured this bear (most likely a grizzly) had passed by the trail maybe an hour or so ago at the most.
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| This track was huge, and the claw imprints were still distinct |
How could anyone complain about the weather when they work in a wonderland such as Yellowstone? You won’t hear a negative peep out of the Village people. We’ll be out here all summer, every day, in all sorts of weather, living and loving life in the caldera.
Join us for the fun and adventure!
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