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...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
Today we passed the Great Salt Lake. Salt Lake City lake in Utah runs 75 miles north to south and very shallow. It doubled in size over the years. It is considered to be the 4th largest salt lake in the world. There is no fish life but a shrimp lives well in there. In 1845 the first settler was Miles Goodyear. In 1947 Brigham Young came through and was considered a colonist and settled in Salt Lake city.
Later we arrived in Logan, Utah. Some of the mountain men such as Jim Bridger settled here and made their living as trappers. They mostly trapped beaver pelts. Interestingly, they treated the pelts with mercury. This is where the term " mad hatter" was coined.
We also passed by Bear Lake...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
We started the morning hiking the tropic ditch. It was a manmade irrigation engineering center to get water flowing to the town. This hike was my favorite. We walked up a steep hill to view the small waterfall. The combination of rocks and water made this my favorite spot thus far.
We continued to drive and stopped to get lunch at a mall that has the greatest view of the mountains. Eventually we arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah. We were greeted by the sisters who are essentially missionaries for the Morman church. We viewed the place in which the morman choir practices. The choir is a very selective group of individuals. They are professional but thry are also volunteers. You are able to be...
