handwritten on July 5, 2016
It was a scorching 100 degrees today. Certainly, the hottest day thus far. This morning we drove to see the statue of Crazy Horse- a statue that is much larger than Mount Rushmore. It has been a project that is privately funded and has been ongoing for many years. In fact, no one knows when it will be completed! The man who originally started the memorial had 10 children. His children and grandchildren have continued the carvings. When completed, it will be the largest statue to date. The granite the Crazy Horse Memorial is made from contains minerals such as iron, garnet, feldspar, quartz, mica, and pyrite; pretty spectacular.
We also went to the Crazy Horse Memorial Museum which I found...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
In 1872, a lot of new surveys came out to this region. In 1873, there were many new inventions such as the colt revolver and the devils rope ( barbed wire) thid was a much cheaper version of fence. Unfortunately, a lot of bison were slaughtered, so the Native Americsns lost their food source. In 1834, General Custer found a lot of gold in the black hills. The Americans want to buy the Black Hills which is sioux territory. After January 31, all Sioux were supposed to move out of the black Hills. Those who did not, a war was started.
Terry, Gibbons and Crook go on an expedition to clear out any Sioux that are still in the lands. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were the two leaders of the Sioux...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
Today we woke up early to race to breakfast. The sky was just as sunny and blue as it was yesterday. We traveled to Cody, Wyoming where the famous Buffalo Bill Cody established a town named after him. On our way to Cody, many forests of trees were spotted. It was clear that many of the forests contained dead trees from the forest fire of 88. It may take 200 some years before this vegetation comes back.
We then ventured through the first national forest known as the Shoshoni National Forest named after the Shoshoni indians. We stopped after a bit to enter into Buffalo Cody's hunting lodge. It was quite a rustic lodge with very little lighting. Apparently it was the original lighting they...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
We woke up to a rather crisp morning surrounded by peace. Had a quick breakfast in the mess hall and then hopped on the bus to head to the Geyser Basin in Yellowstone. We first stopped at West Thumb lake which is right on top of an active volcano site. There were numerous hot spots. Impressively, one was 53 feet deep. If you fall in, you will fall to your death. Another hot spot our guide discussed was one in which microorganisms eat the gas making sulfuric acid. Many of the organisms found in these hot spots may have been the first microorganisms to practice photosynthesis.
At one point it was mentioned after spotting a bull elk that we used to have 30 million to 60 million bison roaming...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
This morning we traveled through the Grand Teton mountain range. Magestic would be an understatement. Elk generally populate these open fields in the winter. Approximately 10,000 elk populate these areas. In the summer time, the elk migrate up towards the mountains for feeding purposes. This morning we were able to navigate the waters of the snake river on a yellow raft. This was definitely the best part of our trip thus far. We managed to see the entirety of the Teton range at one point of our 10 mile journey down Snake River. The water that spills into Snake River is a result of the run-off from the Tetons as well as the soil that spills down with the melted snow. A few purple lupines...
