Today, we woke up at 7:00 am to Nick’s alarm. The boys of room 302 left the hotel and crossed the street to eat breakfast. I’d rate the breakfast 6/10 and highly enjoyed the pancakes. After breakfast, the group got dressed and met at the parking lot to meet Tour Guide Mike. We made quick introductions and Tour Guide Mike explained the plan for the day. In the distance, I saw five antelope and four elk munching on some grass. The group piled into the short bus and Tour Guide Mike drove us to Mammoth Hot Springs. Upon arriving to the headquarters, Nick Kramer pointed out a young bull elk napping on the lawn. The group took pictures while Tour Guide Mike explained elk safety and the elk rut. We slowly made our way to a classroom where we met Travis Wyman, the bear expert. Wyman explained how Yellowstone’s bison and elk were overhunted by the settlers for hides, meat, bison tongues, and for sport. He also said how Yellowstone helped these populations recovery by winter feeding and providing a safe place for herds to thrive. The next topic Wyman discussed was the population of bears and wolves. He said the introduction of wolves helped the genetic diversity of the elk which made the herd healthy. With the elk population healthy, bears benefit from this health increase. After Wyman’s discussion, the group made their way to way to the Hot Springs and passed by elk, magpie, and clark’s nutcracker. We had a brief discussion about the geology of the area and how it effects the plants and animals. I took a pH level sample in the spring and discovered the water was a 7 (neutral). The group made their way back to the bus and traveled to the Roaring Mountains. Here, I got off the bus with Tour Guide Mike and took another pH sample at a small creek. The level measured a 3 which is consistent with battery acid. The bus slowly made their way through road construction towards Canyon to hike and view the waterfall. Tour Guide Mike gave a quick discussion about bear safety and handed out bear repellent. Once the hike was over, the group pilled back into the bus and headed back to Gardiner where we had a two hour rest. Then we traveled to a classroom where we met Mike and his wife. They discussed climate change and how it effects Yellowstone. Finally, we made our way back to the hotel where we watch Carson Wentz beat the Panthers 28-23.