Yes, I went out shooting tonight with a few of my new friends (we got a few bison, a northern flickr and watched an eagle soar)…and, once again, feel like I’m a babe in the woods.  We were talking about medical issues–and the altitude here can greatly aggravate existing conditions.  While we are charged $15/month for some very basic medical coverage it does NOT cover any diagnostic testing at all.  One of my friends needed to have some blood work and other tests done. The bill was right about $300.  The bottom line reality for him is that, if he has to have any more testing done, he will have to quit the job here and return home, where he will have VA medical coverage.

Having to make those kinds of choices is an obscene situation.  I take my medical coverage or granted.  I never have to put off anything because of the potential cost.  I am SO lucky.  Stories like this make it clear that something MUST change with the US health care system.  The current proposal may not be perfect but at least it’s a start…hopefully to a time when no one will be forced with these intolerable situations.

Today was a day with no photos (how sad) but one of the most fascinating things about the past few weeks has been the changing perspective I see in myself. I am working side by side with a much more diverse group of people than I have ever worked with.  A few are folks like myself, retirees who have another income–and this is the “frosting” on the cake.  Other folks can’t find work in their home town and come here both for rejuvenation and for survival.  Some folks are being very open about coming to escape and revitalize after divorce or other major life changes.  It has already been a great experience just for that reason.  I think I have a broader understanding of the issues that this country faces–even though it’s not nearly broad enough.

I think you might like another perspective on the work here in the park, so I’d like to introduce Judy  (she’s sitting across the table from me).  Judy is a former social worker, has owned her own small business and is the mother of two sons (who will both be working in the park this summer as well), and is a much more fluent writer than I am.  Tonight, I’m adding Judy’s blog to my blogroll and hope you will enjoy reading her view of this experience.

You will also notice a new page…..an “animal sightings” page which will be a place to see what we’ve seen and where we’ve seen it.

Today was supposed to be a “get to know the park” day….with a free version of the Yellowstone In a Day bus tour.  As we left Mammoth, there was a light snow falling.  We knew we wouldn’t get to see the entire park, but thought we’d get to  most of the northern locations….shall we say we clearly didn’t consult Mother Nature.  We got down to Old Faithful, the snow starting coming down at about an inch an hour–and the roads started closing.  The road back to Mammoth had an accident on it that kept us from just turning around and leaving….so we ended up coming back to Mammoth after a 2 hour stay at Old Faithful…with a park police escort.  The good thing was that by the time we got to  the the really curvy road close to Mammoth the roads were clear….and there was no snow….it’s snowing now, though, and who knows what it will look like tomorrow.

Along the way we also got to watch a bison take out a park sign–but none of us seem to have gotten a picture.

Here’s a variety of videos and images from today.  Qik Videos are linked here.  I’m becoming very fond of Qik.  From certain parts of the park it lets me stream live even though the quality is cruddy.

This is video that I shot out the bus window with the 7d….we did make 1 quick stop at “Fountain Paint Pots”–which is the gurgling stuff at the end of the video. April 28 snow

Here are a few still images.  The blue pool from fountain paint pots–a grizzly in the snow (shot from the bus)–the front of the Old Faithful Inn (where I’ll be working) a new friend, and some bison in the snow (as we whizzed by in the bus before the roads got worse–I could have spent an hour at this spot–or at least 5 minutes composing the shot)

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As an “east-coaster” I’ve always defined spring by the flora.    Spring is about daffodils and tulips and, of course, cherry blossoms.  I expected that, as we moved north and west that we would encounter spring multiple times, much like the “Journey North” activities for kids.  When we left DC spring was almost at an end.  The daffodils and cherry blossoms were gone, the tulips were collapsing in some unusually hot spring days.  The grass was growing at the “mow every 5 days” rate.  (Much to my son’s chagrin).

My initial expectations were met.  As we moved through Mansfield, Chicago, and then Milwaukee, these cities were quite predictably 2-3 weeks behind DC spring.  The tulip magnolias, which are some of the earliest bloomers, in DC were just unfolding.  I had watched that happen at the Philadelphia Zoo more than 3 weeks earlier.

What I did not expect, however, is that spring is not defined by flora at Yellowstone…it’s defined by the fauna…but still by color.  A quick flash of blue and you realize that the mountain bluebirds are back.  A bright orange color out in a field tells you that the baby bisons are starting to arrive.  The elk come up from the valley and begin to shed their coats; going from a fluffy cream color to a much darker brown-grey. And, of course, the bears come out in a rainbow of browns…from very golden grizzlies to very black bears.  It really brought home perspectives–and makes me wonder if, instead of asking students to follow tulips north, we shouln’t be first figuring out how they define spring.

We just drove through a huge wind farm outside of Rochester MN. A quick google provided an immediate one-sided perspective. I had no idea that wind farms were so controversial. I knew about the issues with birds, but there are, apparently other issues as well. This would be quite a search lesson for students. My search “wind farms in Rochester” yielded very differnt results than just searching “wind energy”. See this site for an example. http://www.wind-watch.org/.
I learn everyday the need for and power of perspective.
(This is my first post from my Droid?

This is a test of the NextGen slide show generator.  These are just a few of the new friends we hope to make in the upcoming months.

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