Bryce Canyon National Park 2017

Chinese Wall

Tower Bridge

After visiting Yellowstone National Park and purchasing a year-long national park pass, I knew I couldn't waste it. Especially when I live in a place surrounded by so many national parks. The cost of one more entrance fee would be enough to make the $80 pass worth it. After spending last summer working on the Paunsaugunt Plateau for the Dixie National Forest and never visiting Bryce Canyon National Park, I decided that is where I would get my money's worth. It was money well spent after making the two-hour drive from Richfield, Utah to Bryce Canyon along with a couple of friends early one Saturday morning. We hit the trails early in an attempt to avoid the crowds, which now pervade our national parks. On our first hike, we followed the Fairyland Loop Trail past the Chinese Wall, down to the Tower Bridge, and back. After the hike back to the top, we took a lunch break on the picnic tables outside the General Store. During this time, I noticed an influx of people in the area. Good thing we arrived early and found a decent parking spot! The next trail was very busy, but contained many spectacular sights along the way. Starting at Sunset Point, we headed down the Navajo Loop past Wall Street. We did find ourselves off course after this and were met by a tour group on horses. The tour guide was nice as he told us how to get back to the correct walking trail. From there, we headed over to the Queens Garden Trail and ended at Sunrise Point. We did not see everything there is to see in the park, but we enjoyed the places we did visit along with the milkshakes in Panguitch on our drive home. In my opinion, Bryce Canyon is a natural wonder of the world, complete with its impressive collection of hoodoos and sandstone cliffs.                                                                                                                                                                          

Bison - Yellowstone National Park

The American Bison (Bison bison), commonly called a buffalo, is the largest living land animal in the United States. It is also recognized as our national mammal. Once inhabiting much of North America, this species has suffered a dramatic reduction in its population. Over hunting and the introduction of bovine diseases from cattle has contributed to this decline. In response to this population crash, there have many conservation programs organized and directed at protecting herds of buffalo. Conservation herds in places like Yellowstone National Park suggest an overall population estimate of nearly 30,000 buffalo. However, commercial herds managed by private ranches have an estimated 500,000 individuals. It is important to note that these commercial herds are not wild free ranging populations. They are used primarily as a food source, offering more protein and less fat than cattle. These ongoing efforts have contributed to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to list the American Bison as Near Threatened. (Information obtained from the IUCN Red List website.) 

American Bison (Bison bison)

It was an incredible opportunity to witness the bison roaming around in Yellowstone, grazing the grasslands and being totally intimidating. The first one I saw on in the park was meandering around in our campsite as we arrived. Thankfully we kept our distance, because this was very irate buffalo who had just lost a confrontation. We were told by campers that after loosing the fight the bison headed towards the trees and began thrashing around in anger. He was leaving the trees and crossing through our campsite as we pulled up. After lingering between the picnic table and fire pit, this imposing creature moved on leaving behind his warm welcoming gift. They are definitely an animal you will regret messing around with. Keep your distance and admire. The American Bison is truly a majestic animal.

Yellowstone National Park 2017

As part of a week long family vacation, we traveled north to the incredible Yellowstone National Park. Despite the crowded campsites and long traffic delays, this was an incredible place. Following my trip to the volcanoes of Nicaragua, I have become more curious about geological features and varying landforms. Yellowstone National Park is home to some unique hydrothermal features; including hot springs, geysers, mudpots, fumaroles, and travertine terraces. A large portion of the park lies within a caldera, which is a cauldron-like depression that results in the settling of the earths crust atop an empty magma chamber. There are rich geological, biological, and political histories to the Yellowstone area. Enough history that I would prefer to leave it all out of this post and let you investigate it yourself. I really enjoyed the two and a half days I had to explore the park. We were able to visit many of the sites within the park and visit Old Faithful on two separate occasions. It was a rush getting through it all in that much time. We definitely missed a fewAs part of a week long family vacation, we traveled north to the incredible Yellowstone National Park. Despite the crowded campsites and long traffic delays, this was an incredible place. Following my trip to the volcanoes of Nicaragua, I have become more curious about geological features and varying landforms. Yellowstone National Park is home to some unique hydrothermal features; including hot springs, geysers, mudpots, fumaroles, and travertine terraces. A large portion of the park lies within a caldera, which is a cauldron-like depression that results in the settling of the earths crust atop an empty magma chamber. There are rich geological, biological, and political histories to the Yellowstone area. Enough history that I would prefer to leave it all out of this post and let you investigate it yourself. I really enjoyed the two and a half days I had to explore the park. We were able to visit many of the sites within the park and visit Old Faithful on two separate occasions. It was a rush getting through it all in that much time. We definitely missed a few things along the way, yet what little wildlife I saw was amazing. I did see plenty of bison, geese, deer, and elk, I just wish there would have been more time to see the iconic wolfs and bears of Yellowstone. We woke up early on our last day and went to Hayden valley to try and find the wolfs, but had no luck. Although, I was able to witness a bald eagle dive down and snatch a fish out of the river. That spectacle was enough to make the morning worth the 5 o'clock wake up. I would have liked to see some more fish, like the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout, but without doing any actual fishing myself, I can't complain too much. Fish do not walk around like the bison causing traffic jams of camera happy tourists. I also don't know much about the amphibian species of that region. I would assume that the heated waters and extreme conditions in the hot springs would not be suitable habitat, however there must be ample habitat around the lakes and rivers to support some amphibian life. These are all things that I will have to look up someday. Maybe if I return to Yellowstone National Park, I will know more and be better prepared to find the treasures hidden within.

Yellowstone National Park

Wildfires 2017

This has been a summer of fires. Not only has there been several wildfires nearby, but I have lived with 2 wildland firefighters and worked for someone who fought fires in his younger days. I have been learning a lot about wildfires and how they are managed. I learned more as I followed the progression of one fire in particular and asked questions as new things came up. I first heard about the Brian Head fire on the day it started as I sat down to eat dinner at a local restaurant.  I watched the news report and wondered about how this might affect my work this summer. If I was still working on the Dixie National Forest, like I did last summer, certainly our plans would have been effected. The Brian Head fire burned nearly 72,000 acres. Many of the areas burned or severely threatened were places where we performed fish population surveys last summer. However, I am currently working on the Fishlake National Forest and the fire did little more than occupy our minds. Although our time and resources were not pulled towards our neighboring forest, we did spend one day visiting another fire in our forest boundary. The Choke Cherry fire, located on the south end of the Beaver District, burned 211 acres. A fire retardant drop designated to protect power-lines, happened to fall over a portion of Pine Creek. Our fisheries crew visited the drop site to investigate the damages caused by the retardant in the stream and those caused by the fire itself. Firefighters reported seeing dead fish along the stream, but there was no record of this being a fish bearing stream. We were unsuccessful in finding any evidence of fish during this visit. The ash and debris in the creek made it difficult to look for fish, so it remains undetermined what the population was like prior to the fire.

Smoke from the Brian Head Fire

In learning about fire crews and fire management, I have tried imagining myself fighting wildfires. In thinking about the positive aspects of the job it seems like a worthwhile endeavor, yet the negative aspects creep up and overwhelm all desire to be involved with firefighting. It is not the job for me, but I respect those who do it. Their efforts to save our public lands and private property is greatly appreciated.