ECOEE 2015

10/05/15 Josh Samuels

20151005

Waking up at 04:00 AM after going to sleep at 11:30 PM from the night before was a challenge. Trying to stay awake on a two-hour drive to try and see the wolves of Yellowstone. Arriving, and awakening in Lamar Valley I got out of the van looking for any signs of wildlife. Only after being waved down that something was to be seen did I believe we would see any wolf today. Seeing a mass of something run down from the hills with great speed across the plains. I believed it was a huge pack of timber wolves. Under closer inspection I realized that their was no wolves, but a heard of bison.

Something had to have spooked them, or was chasing them as a few of the bison were looking behind them. While this excitement came quick, it left me just the same. Crawling back into the van and driving away from the parking lot I thought to myself, “Nice try. Maybe next time you will see some wolves here at Yellowstone.” Miles down the road it appeared to have a traffic jam of great numbers. Getting out, again the adrenaline racing threw my mind. Communicating with those who have spotting scopes that they have been watching a lone timber wolf.

Going from cluster to cluster I finally find a sweet woman who let me view through her spotting scope. Wow, I was stunned. Looking directly at this huge black wolf. This was an image that would be ingrained into my mind until I could not remember anything anymore. Hours later ECOEE 2015 hiked the Grand Canyon. Now we are not in Arizona hiking the real Grand Canyon, but in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. First hiking the 300+ stairs down (and up) Uncle Tom’s Trail that took us almost to the waters edge. This was another challenge that most of us had, especially myself with a hip replacement.

After seeing the wolf (plus two more later in the day), the falls in the Grand Canyon, I know that this course is worth it. I know I choose to be here. I choose to be challenged.

Joshua M. Samuels

10/10/15 Meahgan Mason

10/10/15

Sometimes when I get a minute to step back and look at everything that I have experienced in a matter of months, I get a little overwhelmed. In the last week alone we have traveled from Red Lodge, MT to Yellowstone N.P. to the Grand Tetons to the Cache National Forest and now we are in Bryce N.P. The last week alone is hard to process. Everything I have experienced in the last week has contributed in some way or another to my growth as both a leader and a person. These are moments and sights I won’t be able to forget if I live to be a 100. The mist rising over the mountains in Red Lodge, a sow and her cub in Yellowstone, a herd of bison running over the hills, wolves, the Grand Tetons, walking down the switchbacks and into the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon N.P. All the while I am learning more about myself and the people around me. This truly is the best classroom someone could ask for.

Meaghan Mason

10/13/15 Bobby Liston

10/13/15

I wake up in a strange place as I look around the southwest desert of Nevada I awe. I slept straight through the night like a baby for the first time in a while. Maybe it was from exhaustion from doing Angel’s landing, the Narrows, or going on a night hike near Area 51. IT is hard for my mind to adjust to how diverse the west can be. Within a few hours, one can be in a completely different ecosystem in the west. The only thing common with the actual parks we visit, is the long white socks with sandals, RVs with bald tires, and foreigners taking pictures of things that are irrelevant to the park. The drive from Nevada to California is an experience all its own. It’s so hard for the virgin Midwest mind to process these purple mountain majesties, when all I see back home is the waves of grain. When I look out of this moving window that is the Ford van, I feel like a kid in a candy store. I love that van, even though the serpentine belt got a little frayed today and needed repairs, it didn’t drop our spirits. It’s one thing to break down in Iowa or Nebraska, but in California it’s priceless. We made it to Yosemite in the dark and everything we missed on the way here in the dark is like the covering of your eyes for a surprise that you can’t wait to see. I know this is the place I have always dreamed of, guess that’s why they call it California love.

10/1/2015 Meahgan Mason

10/1/15

Today was a day full of new sights, sounds and experiences. I woke up this morning to the sound of bugling elk and the sound of my fellow ECOEE members cooking breakfast. Following breakfast we headed to Wind Cave National Park where we attended a tour exploring a cave whose system of tunnels and branches covers 144 sq. mi. in a sq. mile area. After our tour was over we once again packed ourselves into the van and headed to our next destination, Lander City Park. Along the way we saw Pronghorns, desert cottontails, and prairie dogs among other things. We also saw several state historic sites like Independence Rock, Split Rock, and Devil’s Gate. All of which were sites that early settlers and travelers along the Oregon Trail would have passed on their way west. Seeing these sights made me think about those who came before; the settlers who were moving west in the 19^th century with none of the modern comforts and conveniences. It was incredible to be able to see national monuments that were there over 200 years ago.

Meaghan Mason

9/27/2015 Josh Samuels

Today was the second time I awoke in a hotel while on ECOEE. Though this time it was the because of the tribes day off, and I was in Macomb and not Canada. The morning was spent trying to enjoy the free time back in society, if Macomb can be called society. I stopped at Farm King and Wal-Mart to resupply on gear and food for myself in the next half of the expedition. Wandering over to Sesame Garden, choosing to enjoy some Chinese food that I did not get to eat while on ECOEE thus far. Thinking about where I wanted to eat my newly received food, I contemplated a decision between the air-conditioned restaurant, or to drive out to spring lake to see another familiar sigh. I chose the later.

When taking a day off, attempting to enjoy the day in a small concrete jungle, I wandered away. This stuck me with a strange humor. On the one and only day that I receive to do what I please, go where ever I want, and almost complete freedom I chose to do exactly what I was already doing. Finding myself leaving the town and university behind, and venturing out to the woods even on the day that I had the freedom to choose the city life.

This makes me feel like I am making the right choice with not only this semester but in my career. If I can do anything I want, complete freedom, and I end up right where I started, that says something. Lying in the grass, eating chines food, enjoying good company, and teaching some of the skills that I have been learning this first half of the semester made today a wonderful day.

My last guilty desire while my day off was coming to a close was ice cream. Having grown up with it twice a day, a month without it and I was craving it a lot. Dairy queen was my last stop, before returning to Horn Field campus around seven this evening. After this I rejoined with the rest of the tribe. We made a last stop of gear and educational materials in Horrabin and Currens Halls we as a tribe was greeted with a pleasant surprise by Jeff, our instructor. He purchased everyone, at least those that wanted it, a medium cone of your choice from dairy queen on the way back from Horn Field Campus. Finally, having my ice cream twice a day again I was full of the dairy that I have craved. Maybe for dairy, twice a day would satisfy my craving for ice cream, but nothing compares to my craving for the outdoor adventure. As even on my day off, I found myself wandering through the woods of Spring Lake just to satisfy the urge to not be in society again. Another reminder to get lost in the only place you cannot lose yourself, the outdoors.