Just a quick shot from my trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand Lake, CO this weekend. This fellow followed what looked to be his family right up to the lake where I was dining on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I sat at the picnic table for a few minutes while snapping a few photos and then realized I was probably in the middle of all other photos being taken as well, so I relocated.

 

A few minutes after this the female moose decided to charge at a couple of bystanders. That was my cue to retreat. For good.

 

 

Barn in a Field

Barn in a Field, a photo by markkucza on Flickr.

Crazy Kansas clouds behind an old barn or shack outside of Newton, KS.

How About an Update?

Well, I may be inspired by Jake's recent blog posting, so we'll see how this goes.

I am still slaving away in Lawrence at the bank, dreaming of the mountains, wishing I was taking pictures and concocting a way to buy a Prius. OK, the last part may be a lie, but I'd still take one...

My most recent road trip was up to Minneapolis for the New Year weekend.

There are a couple of images from the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Nothing splendid, but this blog entry wasn't exactly planned out, so don't complain too much!

I recently had a display of my photography down in Hesston, KS at a local watering hole. (Note: "watering hole" means "coffee shop" due to the fact Harvey County is dry. Poor folks...)

How did it go? It went great if my goal was to sell zero photos! So, I'm not too disappointed. I'll have to meet up with my marketing team and decide our plan of attack for the next gallery display.

Well, there has been a pretty important game on tonight for most of the local folks. KU vs Missouri for possibly the last time in the foreseeable future. Therefore, I will go help boost these TV ratings and give it a good watch.

Oh, just for the record, I'm not supporting slavery. Go ahead and guess who I'm cheering for.

Water Spigot Shadow

Water Spigot Shadow, a photo by markkucza on Flickr.

Water Spigot Shadow

Keep Off

Keep Off, a photo by markkucza on Flickr.

From Seward, Alaska and Resurrection Bay.

Three Months Seems Long Enough

I haven't posted on here since February. Sorry. I hate to say it, but there aren't a lot of exciting things in real life. I haven't seen a bison on my way to work, or hiked through grizzly land and I certainly haven't seen a tornado. The last one is the real shocker. This is the first time since 1984 there hasn't been a tornado recorded this far through the month of May in the entire state of Kansas. I'm probably jinxing the entire state right now, so I would like to apologize for that.

I don't have much to post right now, which I'm sure you were expecting, so I'll make this quick.

My goal is to upload a picture or two every week here. We'll see how that goes. I was thinking about being ambitious and putting up a picture every day and then I decided that would be too much work.

Since I was last on here I joined the Twitter world. Feel free to follow me @RealMarkKucza. I'm on there a little more often than I'm on here.

The pictures above are from a remote road in Emporia, KS. I was visiting Jake a few weekends back after we were selected to DJ the Emporia High School After Prom. Needless to say, we cooked up an event that was hotter than the frying pan.

Until next time...

Cole World

(Please excuse the formatting of this post. I accidentally uploaded the pictures wrong was too lazy to re-do it. Hopefully it will be better next time!)

Pictures in order:

1. Nesto the Owner.

2-3. J. Cole

4. Big K.R.I.T.

5. Triple Threat Society (L-R: Homework Jones, Louie V, Irv Da Phenom)

6. Curren$y

Hello, folks. Not much to blog about today. The weather is frigid and Kansas is being sucked in more and more by the arctic air. I suppose it's a testament to my willpower to make it through these trying winters without losing any appendages or decaying skin patches due to frostbite, so I'll take what I can get.

This is a bit of a rewind post but hey, I need to catch up when I can! Upon my arrival in the Sunflower State back in October, I was lucky enough to catch two pretty good rap concerts. The first concert was a tour entitled "The Smoker's Tour" featuring several artists, with the most well-known fellow being Curren$y from New Orleans, LA. Before Curren$y (AKA "tha hot spitta") hit the stage the crowd was blessed with some music from Bit K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA and of course, Kansas City's own Triple Threat Society consisting of Louie V, Homework Jones and Irv Da Phenom.

The nice thing about the rap and hip hop concerts that come to Lawrence is that most of the gigs are in smaller venues, allowing the artists to connect with the fans. It's a cool thing, for me anyway.

The next concert was the B.E.T. Music Matters concert about a month after my return. This concert featured one of the most up-and-coming artists in the game right now, J. Cole. He's the first artist that Jay-Z signed to his new Roc Nation label, so he obviously has a lot of support behind him.

One of the opening performances was from Nesto the Owner, straight out of Kansas City. This guy has been on several tracks with well-known artists from the area, including Tech N9ne, Kutt Calhoun, Irv Da Phenom and many others. It was a great concert to say the least.

Anyway, I'll just post a few of my pictures from each event. Nothing too great, but this provides a reason to put some pictures up.

Big K.R.I.T.

Curren$y

Hello, Folks

Hi guys. Please excuse my absence. I'm struggling with finding stuff to blog about as of late, so the posts are few and far between.

Just a quick update of everything since I've been back from the great state of Wyoming...

I came back and worked for a couple of months at the grocery store, Dillon's, where I've unfortunately been employed since sophomore year of high school. I'm thankful for the time there with extreme schedule flexibility and great co-workers (for the most part). But, it was time to get the heck out of there. I've since taken my talents to South Iowa Street at Peoples Bank. I'm enjoying it there. It's very laid back compared to the fast paced corporate world of Kroger/Dillon's. So, I plan on sticking it out at the bank for a little bit until I determine what my next adventure will be.

Just in case I decide banking isn't for me, I've applied and accepted a position at Yellowstone again for next summer. The job would be the same thing as next year, and likely at the same location. I'm up for any location, so I'll wait to hear more about that later on.

As far as running is concerned, I've been on a hiatus for about 3 weeks now. I got a nasty bug a few weeks ago, which took me out for a week and after that the weather took a turn for the worse. After missing a week of running and trying to jump back into it with crappy weather, it makes it a bit tough.

I've been snapping a few photos, but nothing great. I'll post a couple images here that I recently had printed to fill a frame that I received from Jake for Christmas. Other than that, being the rookie photographer that I am, I find it tough to find my creativity during the winter months, so hopefully I'll come up with something before spring arrives to put on here.

Lastly, I've been considering setting up a Twitter account. I'm not sure why. It seems like that's where all the news in the world comes from now, which is slightly ridiculous, but I don't want to miss it!

Until next time!

'Tis the Season

Happy Holidays from the Kucza household. It's been awhile since I've put up a post, so now is the perfect time. Because it's Christmas time, I will post this Christmas card that I created. Each image of the family members is from a different picture in the past year. With me being away for a few months and Jake living out of town, it's difficult to get everyone together for a family portrait. Of course we can't forget how busy Ma and Pa are. Constantly escorting the young ones around town and then filling up the gas tank (stomachs and vehicles) to continue on. We'll have to work harder to get that accomplished next year! I'll definitley attempt to start updating a bit more on here, but no guarantees...

Until next time!

Jake gets love from Big K.R.I.T.

Jake was spitting some K.R.I.T. like it was his religion and got a nice point from the artist himself.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3

It's Almost Time

Wild beast found roaming the park

Yellowstone River

Bison in Hayden Valley

Grand Teton Sunset

Grand Teton sunset

Howdy. As you can see from my lack of posts the internet at Grant Village is dreadful. I am occassionally able to connect for a couple of minutes before losing signal. As you can guess, this makes it nearly impossible to upload any sort of photos or to even make my way to updating this puppy. My apologies. I feel like I've been apologizing all summer for the lack of quality internet connection. So, when you're disappointed about my quality posts, just think to yourself, "It sure would have been amazing had this kid updated daily...". Well, I didn't.

First off, I would just like to acknowledge Jake's posting of my web cam performance the other day. So tastefully put together, with great commentary. Thanks to him for taking time out of his busy schedule to watch a fool run around a delayed live stream of the world's most famous geyser. Except, I'm pretty sure his schedule isn't that busy. Whenever I talk to him it seems as though he just got done playing a game of FIFA or just got done running. Maybe I'm missing something... Oh yeah, he does have a full time job. Man, I hope I don't have one of those any time soon. (Dang, I sound like a responsible adult).

Presently, I'm coming to you live from the Bozeman Public Library. I thank them for the speedy internet access. As I mentioned in my last post, I receieved a new stereo unit for my beastly Pontiac Vibe from Ma and Pa for my day of birth. I made my way north this morning to get that puppy installed. It took them approximately 18 minutes to get the Vibe from the parking lot, to the garage and right back out with a new CD player securely attached to my dashboard. Props to Sound Pro for that. Not like I have many readers that reside in the Bozeman area, but if anybody comes across this page that needs any sort of home theater, stereo installation, etc. done I recommend these fellows. They were speedy, and did superb work.

Yesterday evening I went down to the Tetons to catch the sunset. I was mildly disappointed by the fact that a few of the prescribed burns in the area created a smoky haze that took over the mountain tops, making it difficult to get any good pictures. Don't worry -- I didn't get too upset. I just chose to work with what was provided. I was provided with a great view of some fall foliage and along the river providing some great color. Even if the photos didn't turn out too great, it was still neat to watch, that's for sure. There were loads of people stopping their vehicles to snap a shot of the beauty that was taking place as well. I felt like a chump when all the professional photographers showed up with their lenses the size of Texas standing like tripods. I decided to depart a little sooner than I wanted in order to make most of the drive with some daylight remaining. It's a lot easier to dodge animals when it's light, rather than sneaking up on the rear end of a bison's brown fur in the pitch black Wyoming night. Trust me. Well, my plan didn't work out like I thought it would. Within about 30 minutes I had to slam on my brakes as a young deer darted across Grand Loop Road and had to dodge the speeding silver bullet that was coasting along at 40 miles per hour. I missed him. He missed me. Thankfully. My biggest worry was the fact that my camera flew off the passenger seat along with my water bottle. Don't worry -- no harm done.

I'm not sure I have much else to talk about at the moment. The weather here is glorious, it's been well over 70 degrees for high temperatures for about a week and a half now. Usually there is snow on the ground by this time of the year, so no complaints there. The park has almost no traffic due to the end of the season coming, so it's a bit easier to drive from location to location without the fear of rear-ending a tourist.

I suppose I shall be on my way. I have a bit of a trek to make back to Grant Village. The drive is about an hour longer than coming from Canyon. So, off I go with newly installed car stereo with a direct USB plug-in allowing me to jam comfortably for hours on end. Thanks to the 'rents.

Until next time...

One Year Away from 1/4th of a Century

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

I've been working in Lightroom for the past few days. I'm far from an expert, but this is what I've come up with. I worked on a couple of photos to see if I could "bring back the color" and make it a little more vibrant. This is probably rookie stuff for all of you photo editors out there, but hey, I do what I can.

Other than working on the photos as of late, I've been doing a bit more running in the Grant area, which is nice with the roads and stuff. I did a little trespassing work and went down a service road that is only for the National Park Service, but it was a nice little incline and added some good time and distance onto the run. I'm hoping this running at 7,700 feet will pay off at some point!

I drove down to Old Faithful tonight to retrieve my birthday gifts that were so graciously sent by my family members. Thank you all. It is much appreciated. Mom and Dad, I've already began looking for an appointment to install the stereo so I can ride out from Yellowstone in style. This leads me to my next topic -- many of you have asked where I will be riding out to. That, I do not know. I would imagine I'll land back in Kansas for at least a few days/weeks. I would enjoy relocating to Bozeman for a little while as well. I think it would be great to experience the spring and summer up here. Anyway, I still have about a week and a half to figure that out. That's plenty of time, ain't it?

Back to the birthday goods. Grandma Linda, thanks for the book. It's mighty slow down here at Grant Village, so I will have some literature to keep me occupied. Bill Bryson is actually quite popular up here amongst my co-workers, which is kind of cool. I believe when I arrived in Canyon there were a few of us all reading a Bryson book. Susan, the lens filters are magical. This may make my pictures stop sucking. I'll work on getting some posted to see what kind of magic can be worked. Grandma, the cookies must have a little Kansas dust in them because I've already eaten half of the box you sent. Did I mention I also gained 8.3 pounds tonight? Oops.

What else? Paula, I'm still waiting. Don't you rush one bit. Also, tell Joe I'm sorry I didn't make the trek down south to Salt Lake City while he is there. The vibe needs to rest up for a journey to Billings, Montana tomorrow. I'm headed to a Tech N9ne concert as soon as I'm off work. It should be great to have a little bit of KC flavor in Big Sky country.

Jake, I've received a copy of NCAA Football 11. Don't practice too much, or else playing online won't be fun at all when I return to the world of high speed internet and flat screen, high-definition televisions. I appreciate your sportsmanship.

Oh yes, Sarah, I enjoyed the novel. I'm glad mom will cook any meal I desire upon my return. I will think of a glorious concoction that I can treat myself, as well as my siblings to. Noah, I have to be honest, I have no clue what I'm going to do with a zip lock bag full of coloring supplies. When I figure something out, you'll be the first to know! I am glad you were thinking of me and my artistic talents!

Alright, I really must head back to Grant so I am able to awaken from my deep slumber that now takes over my body at the ripe old age of 24. I will also then need to get my sweet Air Jordan's properly prepped in order to represent Kansas the right way when there is an insane amount of rap music taking over Billings, Montana tomorrow evening.

Until next time...

Death Canyon and Static Peak Divide

Top of Static Peak Pass (10, 790 feet)

Phelps Lake (7200 feet)


Static Peak Divide (if you couldn't read that)

Luke looking at some sort of fire. I still haven't figured out if it's a forest fire or something else...
Overlooking Phelps Lake

Autumn, have you arrived?

Death Canyon

Yesterday I had the day off and decided to go down to the Tetons to do some hiking. I don't know a lot of hikes down there, so I asked around the workplace and found that Death Canyon was supposed to be a pretty tough one. Needless to say, that's what I did. Luke, a co-worker from Canyon, also had the day off, so he met me down here at Grant early in the morning. We drove down to find Death Canyon not knowing much about it, other than we could hit up Static Peak Divide once we reached the ranger station located at the end of the Death Canyon trail. Were we rather under prepared as far looking at a map is concerned? Yes. But, we figured we could stay on the trail, and as long as we got back to the car by dark, we'd be a-ok. We were (otherwise I wouldn't be writing this...).

It is a 3.7 mile hike to the end of the Death Canyon trail, and then 3.7 back, obviously. I'd heard this hike was quite strenous, as I mentioned above, but I was surprised with the difficulty. It definitely wasn't a strenuous hike as all the websites I'd seen had ranked it. You start with a nice view over Phelps Lake before you head down into the Canyon to start coming back out. My photos probably do a poor job at portraying the beauty of the color changes of the trees and plants on the sides of the trails, but I did my best.

We reached the ranger station in 1 hour and 23 minutes, which was decent time, I thought. We figured we'd hike hard, to make sure we could at least attempt to get to Static Peak. Since we ended up not starting until 11:45am, we didn't know if we'd have enough time to make it that far. We packed our headlamps just in case it was after dark on the way back down. The ranger station had a sign next to it that said the divide was only 4 miles away, so we were feeling good about our chances to make it. What we didn't know was that it was 4 miles up hill, the entire way. Nothing like a little challenge, right?

It was a nice workout to get up the side of the mountain, and very challenging to say the least. We kept a decent pace for most of the way up. Once we had reached tree line it was getting a little tough to stay focused on getting to the pass because it felt like it was going on forever (kind of like my run-on sentences. Sorry to all the teachers in the family for that one!). At one point, right after realizing we were past the tree line, we stopped to overlook Phelps Lake again, and we were actually higher than the planes that were flying into the Jackson, Wyoming airport. We could see all of them below us flying in to land on the runway. That was a neat view.

Long story short, we made it to Static Peak Divide in just over 3 hours and made it back down in 2 hours and 45 minutes. The trail guides had said it would be a 10 hour hike, so we definitely made good time. It ended up being about 17.4 miles round trip because we parked 1 mile away from the actual trailhead. So, that comes out to just under 20 minutes per mile. Not bad considering most of the trail wasn't even on flat ground. I'd like to go back again and get to the stop of Static Peak which is over 11,000 feet. I think that'd be a great view from the top. The strenous rating I would say applied much more to the Static Peak Divide than the Death Canyon. The views and experience were definitley worth the struggle to get up the mountian/canyon.

Sorry this is a bit of short description of a great day of hiking, but as I've preached all season, the internet here is shaky, so I want to get this posted before something happens and I have to wait another week!

On a side note: I have to say, it seems like the Chiefs did well last week, but now they're trailing Cleveland at half time. They better get this figured out, because when I get back to having cable, I need to at least be in good spirits while watching them.

KU? Well, I don't think I'm going to talk about them. I do have a joke though!

Question: How many batteries does it take to beat KU's football team?

Answer: 1 double A. (A little crack at the loss to North Dakota State... and you might as well

throw Southern Miss into that mix as well...)

On another side note: The beard is making a comeback. Since my move down here to Grant the managers are less strict apparently on enforcing the "no beard rule". Thanks to the managers that I'll only know for two weeks, you have allowed me to continue to scare the ladies off with my mountain man apperance. I do appreciate it!

Until next time...

Welcome to Grant Village

Not much to post about today, but I'm going to post a few photos of my current living situation here at Grant Village. For those of you who aren't aware, I was told a week or so ago that I'd be leaving Canyon Village and finishing my contract (October 3rd) at the southernmost junction of Yellowstone in Grant. It seems alright so far. From what I hear it's very laid back for a combination of reasons. Here there are only about 300 rooms, where as Canyon had over 500 so the foot traffic is cut down from that alone. Also, the employee living quarters are well removed from the way the guests travel. The layout of the area is very spread out compared to Canyon, so it will take a little longer than two minutes to walk to work like I did at Canyon. Another reason it's much slower down here is just because it's not a central location. Being at Canyon, you are passed by all of the folks going around the upper loop, or even all the way around the park. Here at Grant, you'll only be passed by people who make an effort to come in to the area, even if they use the south entrance. You have to turn off of the main road in order to actually see anything.


My manager up at Canyon was down here last year and from what I've gathered it's 100 percent enjoyable. They have constructed boardwalks from the dorms/cabins for employees that go directly through the woods, so seeing elk and such on the way to work is not uncommon. We are only about half a mile from the lake, which is kind of neat. And as I mentioned above, the fact that we're so spread out makes it so guests aren't constantly around.

I'll be posting pictures of the cabin I've been assigned to, which they're actually trying to close. They were trying to put me in the actual dorm that is next door, but they're packed for the next few days while people leave as their contracts expire. Let me just say that the dorms here are luxurious compared to Canyon. Plenty of space, your own bathroom, own sink, two very large closets, no bunk beds, a wide open area on the floor to do your yoga, somersaults or pushups... It goes on and on. Anyway, they're wanting to close the cabins so they can shut off the water and all that before it gets too cold out here. The temps drop below freezing just about everynight, so I can see why they're in a rush, especially with these quality cabins they have provided! I know a girl through a couple of friends from up at Canyon and she also works at the front desk and she's leaving on Thursday. I've already created a plan to sneak into her room pretty much the instant she checks out so I'll get into the dorm. It's not really a huge deal, as I can easily survive in this rustic cabin, but if they're going to make me move, I might as well get in there sooner rather than later so I don't have to live out of my bags for the next 7-10 days.


They have an outdoor basketball court here. So beware, I'll be practicing my long ranger jumper to hopefully become a force in whatever pickup basketball game I decide to participate in. They've got an elliptical machine, I have yet to spot a treadmill, yet I haven't investigated fully. The running seems like it will be much easier around these parts because there are plenty of roads going around the village with limited traffic, so that's kind of exciting. I haven't done much running at all, so hopefully I can whip myself into shape here in the next couple of weeks and take advantage of the fact that I'm living at 7,700+ feet. That will make me a tough whippersnapper to beat come races down at elevation... if I can find some the weekend I come home. Alright, well, I think that's about all I've got to write home about. So, until next time...

Winter Wonderland

I haven't had any outrageous demands for blog updates, therefore I scaled back for a few days. Actually, that's not the case at all. I had some issues with my photos, and have been having trouble getting them onto the computer and in the correct format to post them here for you, my lovely followers. I apologize for that.


What has been going on? Well, I'll try to recall what all I've done that is noteworthy. I finally took a visit down to Grand Teton National Park. It was glorious. The only drawback was the fact that it was raining almost the entire time I was there. Welcome to late August/early September in the mountains, I guess. I was able to get a few photos, but it is a bit of a bummer because I wasn't able to see the actual peaks of many mountains due to the low cloud cover. I did one very short hike. I hiked Taggart Lake which is located in the southern portion of the park, and it was only about 3.5-4 miles round-trip. It did provide a spectacular view. I do have photos of the lake, but unfortunately they have fallen victim to my image transferring troubles. I promise, once I figure out that situation, you will see them!

A few days ago I was up in Bozeman and experienced the Bozeman Farmer's Market. That was a good time. I ran in to a guy I work with at the Market and he was up there trying to "hustle" his photos. He takes great shots and they really portray this area of the country well. I'll link to his page when I can find it... It seems like you can't go too long around here without a trip into town, being that things are a bit more expensive in the park it just makes sense (or cent$?) to go outside of the park to gather new things. Bozeman is usually the city of choice because it's the quickest drive. Cody is closer in terms of mileage, but the time it takes to get there is much longer.

Two days ago I hiked Little Gibbon Falls. It was a very short hike out to a 25 foot waterfall. I stopped to take a few photos of the Falls, and continued on the trail behind it which leads to Ice Lake, Grebe Lake and even Cascade Lake. I was a bit strapped for time, so I stopped at the junction and decided to come back after a short rest.

Last night it began getting very chilly, and the forecast was saying rain and/or snow. I woke up this morning to probably an inch of snow on the ground. Not a lot, but enough to make the trees look great. I headed out to snap some photos, but Dunraven Pass was closed. Dunraven Pass is the road from Canyon Village up to Tower-Roosevelt, which is the next junction north. It is a stretch of 19 miles that takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour to drive. The road has a lot of turns and curves and spinny-type action that make you have to be a cautious driver. It passes Mount Washburn and travels above Amphitheater Valley where many different types of wildlife can be seen. It's probably one of my favorite drives in the park. I headed out to a different trailhead than I usually take for Cascade Lake and took some pictures there. I hiked a little ways in, but I hadn't packed gloves, so my phalanges were a bit chilled and I decided to head back to the Pontiac Vibe for warmth.

I have yet to mention that it is now rut season for the elk in the park. Many of the bull elks have "claimed" their females for the rut season, so while driving around the park you will see a male with up to 20 females nearby which he will mate with throughout the season, which ensures that he will pass his genes on to another generation. This is different than the bison rut where each male pairs up with a single female to pro-create. Just some differences that are noticed throughout the park when it comes to the mating of the many types of animals that live here.

Anyway, I've posted some pictures from the snowfall last night. I also attached two pictures from Little Gibbon Falls. The one with me balancing my way across the log is just past the Falls. I set my self timer on the 'ol Nikon and scampered my way to the log about 15-20 feet away and jumped on hoping I made it in time for the snap of the photo. I did. My arms were out because I was about to fall off, but don't worry, I caught myself. I may not be able to hear with my ears, but at least they can still keep me upright!

Is Wilderness Safe?

I was browsing the 'net today and came across this article and thought it pertained to my current situation. I can say that you can see some of the things the author is discussing in the article. Trail signage here in Yellowstone is very limited. The heavy trafficked trails here in the park have decent signage, as well as being easy to navigate. In the trail book that many of my co-workers and I use they have each trail rated by difficulty, as well as by the amount of hikers classified by "seldom, moderate, or heavy". I have noticed once the traffic level is below heavy the signs and blazes on the trails are few and far between. Trail maintenance varies depending on the trail and the condition of the trail. If there was a massive tree that had fallen down and was blocking the trail, it would likely be cut to clear the path for hikers. However, a couple of weeks ago while I was hiking the Bechler River Trail we came to a situation where we needed to cross a stream and there had been a log that was set up to assist in the crossing for hikers, but it had been broken and was laying in the water.

Why wouldn't that be fixed? Wouldn't it much more logical to have people crawl over a tree trunk rather than wading through flowing water that may or may not be very cool temperatures? At least, I think it seems safer for people to jump the fallen trunk...

I know I haven't really organized this post too well, so I apologize for that. Basically, as you can see from the article (in hopes that you've actually read it), the Park Service wants to collect your money as visitors to all of the parks across the country, yet they don't necessarily want us using their trails and taking advantage of the beauty that is offered. This doesn't make sense to me if they want people to continue to donate money towards parks and be supportive of wilderness protection.

I can see where the Park Service is coming from in hopes of keeping wilderness as pristine as possible, but that can be achieved by helping people be safe. Hikers, for the most part, prepare adequately for their adventures by scoping out maps, preparing for the weather and packing proper gear but it is inevitable that occasionally there are mishaps on the trail such as following a game trail rather than the trail that was designated.

I guess my stance on the article/situation is this: I like the idea of keeping wilderness preserved and pristine, but in order to guarantee safety which ensures more support and visitors trail safety needs to be on the front burner for the Park Service.

Your Scent is Sweet Like Betty Crocker Bakes

Just a quick update. I haven't been doing too much hiking. I have to admit that. It seems like everyone I usually hike with (mostly work folks), and myself, have been in a bit of a rut. We were going and hiking all over creation, so the past week has kind of been a slow one in terms of more hiking. Which is a-ok with me, because I'm coming up on about one month remaining. This will hopefully give me a bit of a rest to get back on my game to get the rest of the hikes I want to accomplish done by the time I leave here.

Last week we went back down to Moose Falls to celebreate the birthday of a co-worker. It was definitley a bit more chilly that last time I was there! I only took one plunge off of the falls, and just waded in the river waters after that.

Today, August 25, is Christmas in the Park here at Yellowstone. There are Christmas decorations up everywhere, including the employee dining room. I went down to breakfast this morning and was impressed to see a Christmas Tree, lights and garland gracing the walls. We're only four months away. Get your lists ready! I have yet to be up to my place of work to see what kind of decorations are up there, and since I've been off for the past two days I was unable to assist in the decorating.
More information can be found here.



I think that's about all I've got for now. I'm currently trying to teach myself how to use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. If you have any pointers, you should let me know. I'm not familair with this like I am with Photoshop CS(insert version here). Ok, talk to you all later.

Union Falls

(Union Falls)

(Stream crossing... I was standing in the middle snapping a few photos)

Howdy.

The internet has been slow and uncooperative the past few days so I've been unable to update my faithful following on my trip backcountry. First off, it was great. The highlight of the trip was Union Falls, which I'll post a few photos of.

But, leading up to that trip I did Observation Peak (actually finishing it this time). It was probably 10.5 (out and back) miles and we hiked it in a rapid manner. We were to the top in 1 hour and 19 minutes, and finished in 2 hours and 36 minutes. My legs were feeling it the next day. Why so fast? Because we had to make it back in time for dinner! I can't help but get my priorities straight.

A friend of mine that I trained with had a friend of hers coming in to the park to visit for four or five days and since she had a few days off we decided it'd be a good time to go backpacking. Thus, we (they) decided on the Bechler River Trail out to Union Falls. We were feasted on by mosquitoes (Aaron, the lovely visitor, counted roughly 75 mosquitoe bites after our one night stay in the backcountry).

The hike itself actually wasn't too difficult other than the distance. It was very flat and fast. We had a couple of river fordings that got in the way so that took a little bit of time to change shoes and such, but it was pretty fun. The water was chilly, but not freezing. The water was deep enough to come up to my mid thigh, but not enough to get the bottom of my pack wet or anything.

Our campsite, 9U3, was the only one in the area that hadn't been reserved so we were forced to take it. It was difficult finding a spot near the place the hang our packs, but we got it taken care of. It was nice putting the Zolo 2 to use for the first time. It got a little dirty so it'll need a bath after another use or two.





Well, in other recent news, I shaved off my beard. It was getting a bit gnarly so I figured I'd start fresh. It took me approximately two days to upload these select photos, so I'm tired of looking at this Blogger page now. If you want to see other photos I took, feel free to check out my Facebook page. Until next time...