One of the exercises that we (Shauna and myself) do usually on day 2 is to take the students to the Confluence where the Lamar River meets the Yellowstone River.  Students are instructed to find a private spot to reflect and take in this special place without talking with each other.  I feel that so many times we don’t take the time to sit and process all the interactions and special experiences.  We have received good feedback on having this special time.  Following is a reflection writing I made today, my tenth journey in taking students to Yellowstone.

October Migration

A long journey across the prairie to the mountains and to the arrival spot of Yellowstone National Park, (this my 10th year.) where one gets a mire glimpse of nature at its best where issues are survival and one of constant interactions.  It has been 10 years since that early morning retreat to the Buffalo Field Ranch to study wolves with Doug Smith (author of Decade of the Wolf).  The early morning darkness and heavy fog makes driving difficult and in the shadows of the mist I see an elk crossing the road.  I stop,roll down the window and listen as a huge herd begins to cross with a large elk bugeling in the distance.
This moment in time was the beginning of my new way of viewing and understanding Yellowstone.  This October migration near the river I listen to the absence sound of man but gifted by nature to sounds of wind,bird and rushing water.  These sounds and silence stay within my soul until the next October Migration.