Fieldwork in Yellowstone National Park

Where's Waldo?

Hi friends, it's Flashback Friday again

Yellowstone National Park

    Being married to an ecologist has its perks. While we were driving from Alaska to Wisconsin we drove through Montana and Yellowstone. We needed a break and we also needed to check in on some of Ws fieldwork. Both W and I do research about fire, me in Alaska and he in Yellowstone, or jellystone as we sometimes call it. As always when me and W go somewhere, I fall behind because I just can not get enough of all the tiny little things I see, or all the awesome views. 

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Dalahäst    

    Before I moved to Alaska one of my best friends gave me a little miniature "dalahäst" which is a painted horse. Of course that one was with us this day too. Fires can be really destructive, but I think it's beautiful to see what can grow out of a fire. 

Dalahäst in the burned forest

Old and new

New seedlings

Lodgepole pine

After the burn

Coniferous Trees

    Coniferous trees are either serotinous, not serotinous, semi-serotinous or a mixture between the two first. In Yellowstone National Park the Lodgepole pine is a mixture between the two first examples and the fire can benefit the reproduction of the forest. Serotinous species are dependent on fire to open up the cones and "activate" the seed, and the opposite is true for species that are not serotinous. 

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt - John Muir

 Hiking in Yellowstone

    I love being able to walk away from the road system and feel like we are in the middle of nowhere. Yellowstone is so huge, and so beautiful, and if you haven't been there yet, its definitely a place to see. Just remember that walking off the main road will show you extraordinary places. I would definitely recommend to do a backpacking trip. However, please don't walk off the road in areas of hot springs...use a map and consult the backcountry office for permits and current conditions, carry bear spray and know your bear safety!

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  Leaving Yellowstone

    When we left the park we used a new (to me) exit, the city of Cody, and the landscape changed drastically. I asked W if he still thought this was grizzly country, because I surely did not think it looked anything like it. Literally 5 minutes later, we see this grizzly below getting up on its hind legs as we approached with the car. He started to cross, before he changed his mind and we could see his friend in the bushes. One of the coolest things I ever seen. Didn't capture him/her getting up on the hind legs, but man that was so cool!

    Have you ever seen anything cool on a roadtrip, or any other time for that matter?

Wilder

Flashback Friday

There are more women than men in Alaska, and the saying goes:

"The odds are good, but the goods are odd"

Wilder

    About five years ago I moved into a dry cabin for the very first time in my life. Across the driveway lived this guy from Montana, a bearded man with a love for ecology and kombucha. Our very first interaction was when he came over to my cabin and offered me some homemade kombucha, and maybe you could say that the rest is history. So, I guess both the odds and the goods were good for me!

Match Made in Heaven?

    Both me and W are interested in fire ecology, mountains, adventure and everything else in between. We enjoy the outdoors, hate crowded places and need our precious adventurous cocktails and homemade 4 course dinners from time to time. W is a foodie, and I am too, so we try to find awesome restaurants as soon as we travel somewhere. We strive to make as much as we can from scratch, and I think we do a good job!

Traveling kind?

    We like to travel to our destinations off season, because we can't handle crowded places. When we drove from Alaska to Wisconsin, and stopped in Banff, we drove into the huge parking lot by Lake Louise. We stopped the car and looked at each other and said, no way, let's leave. We made a quick sandwich with our food and were on the road again within 5 minutes. People might call us crazy but that was just too much for us, we went to another parking lot, and hiked a short distance and had the whole world to ourselves. That is how most of the National Parks work, both in Canada and the US. Fewer people actually venture off the main road. I get that, people are busy, and really don't have time to go somewhere off  the main road, but we do!

How do you feel about crowded and touristy places?

Beautiful Creatures in Yellowstone National Park

As every other christmas (well except last) I spend my holiday around Bozeman, Montana. We also follow the tradition to go to Yellowstone while we are there, go skiing or just watching the animals. Yellowstone is such a beautiful place, the mix with their animals, hotsprings and fire scars.

Bison, Buffalo, Many names for one Animal

Bison to me is exactly as Moose are to me, I am completely terrified of them. These huge and sometimes very stupid creatures. They are completely unpredictable, and their size make them extremely dangerous if you get in their way.