Where the Buffalo Roam

Sorry for no update yesterday. When I get back to use the internet in the evenings the conditions are less than favorable. It takes things way too long to load, so I think I may save my updates for the mornings.
Yesterday I went and did a little sightseeing on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. I hiked the trail for a mile or two, but more or less was just being touristy and trying to get a few good pictures. It was pretty great. Not quite as great of a view as from the south side, but still worth seeing for sure.

Yesterday was also my first day of work. I didn’t do a ton, but it was still a good time. Everybody there is pretty nice and very understanding that I had no idea what was going on. I pretty much got the check-in procedure down pat, and now I need to learn everything else. It’s nice because we were put through all the situations during training so nothing is completely foreign, but just difficult to understand. There’s always someone on duty that is ranked higher than me and the rest of the lousy desk clerks, so we can always ask for assistance without a problem.

Today was a decent day. I woke up somewhat early so I could hit the trails. I had originally planned on trying to get a run in, but that failed. Instead I hiked the Cascade Lake Trail with is about 1 mile north of Canyon Village. It was a nice hike except for the massive number of mosquitoes. You pass through a wooded area before finding yourself in the middle of a big meadow. In this meadow I was able to witness a bison grazing on the luscious, green, Wyoming grass. I thought of snapping a photo but I didn’t feel like switching my lens to zoom in more than what my current lens was capable of. Upon arriving at the lake it was rather peaceful until I heard the loud chopping of helicopter blades thundering over the mountains that surrounded me. I’m guessing it was the firefighting crew(s) that is here to fight a couple of the fires that are currently going on inside the park.

Sign on the Cascade Lake Trail

After my hike I decided I’d head down to Lake Village to check things out, but I didn’t make it. I should have known that there would be a massive number of bison hanging out on the sides of the road which would slow me down. I turned around and figured I’d save the trip for a day off when I didn’t have to worry about being back in time to report for duty.

There were several bison that decided they would take turns leading traffic down the road. So, as you can imagine tourists were leaning out of their windows while their vehicles were still moving, and trying to get a shot of nature without actually experiencing nature. Okay, I can’t lie… I stuck my camera out the window and got a few photos as well. Call me a tourist.