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Posted by Ballpark Frank (64.79.35.96) on 13:20:43 03/07/21
Some Loons know some of what I am putting in this post. Some don't. I want to provide a link to the Meetup I created 3 years ago. It is simply a Yellowstone activity group that runs year-round. It does not cost a penny to join, and we have Members from all over the globe. Most of the time, we are doing day hikes in the warm months and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the cold months, but before the pandemic, we were also participating in educational opportunities centered on Yellowstone, mostly in Bozeman, at Montana State University or the Museum of the Rockies auditorium. We also occasionally concentrate on archaeology, geology, history, photography, or other topics. In 2018, we conducted an all-day commemoration of the Flight of the Nez Perce through Yellowstone, with General Howard's cavalry hot on their heels, in August, 1877. Yellowstone Loons beej (B.J. Earle: now departed) and KenT (Kent Morby) assisted in the orchestration of this event. We visited several sites of significance that even the National Park Service and most tour operators do not take park visitors to. More recently, shortly before the pandemic, we had an opportunity to attend a presentation by Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. We were able to ask him quite a few questions, including one about some rare blue cyanobacteria colonies we discovered on the upper terraces at Mammoth.
Some of you may be a bit long in the tooth to participate in some of the longer forays into the backcountry, but not everything we do is an all-day forced march. You might have kids, grandkids, or friends who have an interest in Yellowstone. I am following the tone set by John W. Uhler, who created these web pages. All are welcome!
I do hope to return to Gardiner some day as a resident. It is a great little town, filled with wonderful people.
In the meantime, I am living in Bozeman, working full-time, serving on the board of directors of Child Care Connections, a resource and referral non-profit, and a member of the Gallatin County DUI Task Force (we try to minimize drinking and driving through education).
With one foot in Facebook and the other on these chat pages, I rarely have time to produce lengthy posts. I am thrilled to see the recent "burst" of activity on this page, and see so many familiar page names show up. It's a breath of fresh air.
Ballpark
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