Day 8 Log
Written by Michael and Cameron
7:00 AM MDT
We woke up today and had breakfast on our final full day. We
were sad that this would be our last day of activities, but excited for the
day. We saw the teachers packing up and we took a final photo with Mr. Citron
before he departed. Sean led the cleanup crew who finished the dishes quickly
and we headed to the stage right after to present our research projects.
9:30 AM MDT
Each group presented their projects and data on the topic
that they chose. Cameron’s Climate Crew (Alex, Kevin, and Cameron) went first
and presented on the impact of rising temperatures on precipitation levels.
Next was Michael, Sean, and Abby’s group who discussed bear safety data in
Yellowstone. After them went Naomi, Jackson, and Arthur where we learned about
bighorn sheep and mule deer group size. Next was Ella, Brayden, and Claire,
discussing sex evenness in bison herds over time. The last group to present was
Daphne, Danielle, and Amy. They taught us about the different groups that carry
bear spray and why. Overall, each group was able to present and discuss their
findings and we learned a ton about many different topics impacting
Yellowstone.
11:00 AM MDT
After some quick group games, we made sure we were packed
for rafting and headed to Arch Park, right next to the Yellowstone entrance. We
spent some time at the gift shops, perusing different souvenirs and purchasing
what we liked. Alex found a great cowboy hat at a shop and many of us were
peeking at the ice cream shop that we were going to go to after rafting. We
then took time to take photos under the famous arch and at the Yellowstone
National Park sign. We had lunch and peered at the elk that were wandering
about by the gazebo. We were all enjoying our last to-go sandwiches of our
trip. Afterwards, at about 12:15pm we departed for our aquatic adventure.
1:00 PM MDT
After buying some snacks for the plane, we got changed and
put on lifejackets for rafting. We began the tiring task of carrying the boat
down into the river. We were grouped into two boats and after a quick safety
introduction we were heading down Yellowstone River. Many of us were soaked by
the fast flows and we had a great time playing games and falling out of the
boat! Allegedly, Kevin did a backflip off of his raft (we were in the other
one) and many of us “rode the bull” by holding the front rope and sitting on
the front of the raft. When we eventually parked our boats and loaded on to the
bus, and were taken back and changed into our dry clothes.
3:30 PM MDT
We walked back to the souvenir area and bought ice cream! It was a super rewarding treat after a week of eating healthy. Brayden brought everyone to a great spot that had three scoops of ice cream for six dollars! Many of us tried the moose tracks flavor (peanut butter cups) and we agreed that it was delicious. Unsurprisingly, Michael and Ella fell asleep on the bench and many of us were laughing at their uncanny ability to doze off.
5:00 PM MDT
We picked up our pizzas next from the shop on the souvenir
block and walked over to Arch Park. Once there, we devoured our cheesy treats
after a long day of rafting and souvenir buying. Some of us managed to eat six
slices! We really enjoyed our last time at Arch Park and left for camp after.
8:00 PM MDT
We enjoyed some free time and headed to the gazebo. We
completed our course survey and evaluation and debriefed on our time in the
park and what we learned. We received our diplomas for the course and many of
us took time to sign each other’s to keep in touch. A little later, we received
our schedule for packing up on Sunday and we began collecting our things. When
we went to sleep, it began thundering and storming! Thankfully, many of our
tarps held strong, except for Brayden’s tent who had to do some manual repairs
while preventing the “ship” from sinking! When everything was secured, we went
to sleep for our last night in Yellowstone :(.
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