Discovering the Wild

I really insist on writing the Wild with a capital "W".

It is a personal thing. I wanted to keep this blog as neutral as possible, but I cannot help writing about this experience. It simply is too strong.

When I came to the Rockies 9 years ago, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the scenery. We visited several national parks, and all have their own typicality and they compete in grandeur and magnificence. Glacier National Park was my husband's favourite, but I felt dwarfened by the giant mountains around me and an uncomfortable feeling nibbled at my stomach. Peaks too high, canyons too deep for the small human being in me. Yellowstone, on the other hand, had enchanted me. I was curious to find out how this second encounter would work.

Well, I cannot begin to describe it. My English vocabulary is far too limited and even in my mothertongue I would be short of words. The same fantastic feeling grabbed hold of me. The space, the neverending horizon, the mountains, the river, the trees, the flowers, they seemed to embrace me, to call me, to invite me in.

Bruce would go on a morning hike and agreed for me to join him. Jose Luis, Sengly and Dave came along too. We decided to take the Beaver Pond trail. We had hardly left the buildings behind us and there appeared the first elk. I didn't count them, there were many and they didn't seem bothered by our intrusion. Meeting an animal at daybreak in its own habitat is a special privilege. It is as if nature gives you a bonus. It makes you wonder how you deserve this. It makes you realise you can be part of it. It makes you feel humble and grateful.

After an hour we realised that the loop would be too long to finish this morning and we headed back to the hotel. My heart was singing. Yellowstone was opening its arms to me again.

Arrival at Yellowstone National Park

After a quick swim in the hot spring pool at Fairmont Hotel, a short walk through the fields, which was cut short due to an unexpected attack by swallows - hard to believe but oh so true - I had breakfast with Victor, from Russia. We talked about many things and a.o. about the longlasting correspondence he has kept with people he has never met and is about to meet for the first time here in the US. Fascinating!

Our bus was ready for us at 10 o'clock and we drove to the Stack. This is the remainder of a huge copper smelter which belonged to the Anaconda corporation. Its chimney stands alone in the wide landscape as a token of an industrial era that has forever disappeared.

The road took us to Livingstone, a typical western town where we had time for lunch. The group split up and Sandra and I found a nice bar and split a hamburger, whih is a wise thing to do for Europeans who are still not quite accustomed to American food standards.

From here, we drove to Gardiner and through the North Entrance we entered Yellowstone Park.

As if to welcome us, a pronghorn antilope was grazing nearby and we got excited about what was waiting for us.

We arrived at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and checked into our rooms. This hotel is quite basic, but with all the commodities needed. Dave drew our attention to the architecture of the buildings in the park, which he calls "Parkitecture". The architects followed the Arts and Craft movement and tried to let the buildings blend in with nature. They wanted to set the houses, hotels, etc. in the National Parks apart from the ones in the cities.

I simply couldn't wait to get my walking shoes on and set off to the Mammoth Hot Springs just next to the hotel. I remembered them from 9 years ago, when I was here with my husband and three daughters. Somehow I felt transported in time, it looked the same and different. Maybe because this place keeps moving: hot water spurts out off the ground and changes the surface continually. It was very windy and a steep climb to the top of the boardwalk, but very rewarding indeed.

For our evening meal, we could take the coach back to Gardiner, but some of us decided to walk the 8 km. We thought there was a trail all along the river. However, this wasn't quite the case.

First we took a short cut and went down the slope to the river bank. A beautiful trail followed the winding river. Suddenly, we saw a big yellow and brown snake crawling between the rocks.

Then, we came to hot springs in the river where lots of people were bathing. We continued our walk but had to follow the road because the trail had stopped. When the coach finally caught up with us, the driver saw a rainstorm coming and decided to give us a lift for the rest of the way.

I shared a bison steak with Beatrice and really enjoyed it. While we were eating, an enormous rainbow spanned the sky above Yellow Stone. It was an omen of good luck for the days to come.

A glimpse of the Wild

Jan Dizard, Professor of Sociology and American Studies at Amherst College, sharpened our appetite for next week's trip.

First of all, he sketched the background of the American land as it was found by the first Europeans, how they exploited it and moved west to conquer more, how they cut the forest, the land eroded, rivers flooded, dams were built, animals were hunted and consequently species disappeared. In the first week of our stay at Amherst, we visited Frost library and saw an example of a beautiful book by Audubon, with paintings and drawings of American natural history. Just as some other early environmentalists such as George Marsh and John Muir, he realised something needed to be done to stop the devastation and preserve nature for the future generations.
In 1872, J.D. Rockefeller bought the valley of Yellowstone and gave it to the American people. It became the first National Park of the USA. Thanks to this - often called the best American invention ever - most species, that were on the brink of extinction, rebounded. John Muir's efforts eventually led to the Wilderness Act, which in time, led to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, all signed into law by President Nixon. They can be called landmark pieces in legislation.
At the same time, environmentalism has become a "special interest" as opposed to a "common interest". This might be why it has been so ineffectual on matters such as global warming, where the USA are not taking on a leading role.
The debate was opened and many questions were launched at our lecturer, unfortunately a lot of them were left unanswered, for this is a matter of global scale and many interests are at stake.

After the break, we made a virtual trip to several National Parks, as we were offered a pre-screening of a documentary series "The National Parks - America's Best Ideas".
The overwhelming scenery of the wild, mountains, rivers, forests, bisons, and a handy bear catching a salmon flying upstream, simply took our breath away.
One of the interviewees put it in a nutshell: " A single moment in a site like Yellowstone can last forever".

In the afternoon, we drove to Springfield and visited the local newspaper "The Republican". This newspaper is published 7 days a week and has a distribution of 80.000 on weekdays and 120.000 at the weekend. We visited the site, saw the press, and talked to the staff.

The newspaper was established in 1824 by Samuel Bowles (II) and turned into a daily paper by Samuel Bowles (III) in 1844. Emily Dickinson was an acquaintance of the family and they published a few of her poems during her lifetime. Until today, the newspaper is still family-owned.

At present, all newspapers all over the world are struggling to survive due to the harsh competition with new media such as the internet and local TV stations. It isn't any different here in Springfield. Only last week, some of the staff were laid off.

Although they have very busy jobs and deadlines to respect, the staff were willing to give us some feedback on their jobs. We really appreciated this and found it most interesting : the bi-lingual local reporter, the business reporter, the editorial writer, the new media editor, the educational editor, the photographers told us what their average working day looks like.

A special mention should go to the fact that The Republican has a special Tuesday page for and by teenagers. These youngsters are invited to a roundtable meeting once a month and decide on the topics they will cover. These topics can vary from "The legacy of Michael Jackson" to "Should supreme court judges be elected or appointed". They also write book and film reviews and there is a Heritage section. The education editor reviews these articles and some must be re-written before they go into print. The students are paid for their articles. Schools use this newspaper section, called Unlisted Teens for projects and they can be used for ESL lessons.

And after this, for some of us, believe it or not: another visit to the Mall ... some last minute shopping before we head West: walking shoes, rain gear, a warm jumper, a telephone, a battery recharger, a bag to transport the lot, ... you name it, we (probably) bought it!