Training to Lead Jellystone

Today, I went on my first training session to lead Jellystone trips (aka Yellowstone National Park tours). I was able to observe Jody. I really enjoy observing him. He is pretty comical and knows so much about guiding and the parks. Below are some of the places that he took his guests. It's great to shadow a tour to get ideas on how to lead your own. Although I have a pretty good idea of where most things are in Jellystone, I am pretty sure I need to refresh myself with the history. Even after grad school, theChristyBel still has homework! I better get studying, since my first trip to Yellowstone is in a few days! Wish me luck!

TheChristyBel

FireHole Falls on Firehole Canyon Drive

It Hailed at the Fountain Paint Pots

BeeHive Geyser Eruption Before Old Faithful!

Hot Spring at Firehole Lake Drive

Iron Springs

Found a Gem at Canyon Village

Mt. Washburn Fire Tower From Hayden Valley

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Last Day Training in GTNP

Osprey on Moose-Wilson Road, near Teton Village

As of yesterday, I had my walkthrough with my Laramie landlord, packed up the last of my things in Little Blue, and travelled back on the five and half hour drive back to the Tetons. I'll be camping or staying with friends until Marc comes back with the van to live out of for the summer, but I'll be busy with Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris. I am beyond pumped for this job this summer season!

Today I finished up my training to lead tours in the Grand Teton National Park with Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris. It feels incredibly awesome that your co-workers have the confidence in you to take the lead and lead tours on your own. After my training session in the morning shadowing one of the leading senior guides, he told me that he feels I am ready to go solo! How awesome is that!

Training has been great to learn from experienced guides about the hidden gems and places to find things or to go for a good story. I feel really informed about the park. But I am incredibly thankful to have had Teton Science Schools under my belt, because they helped teach me the knowledge of this place. With that, I only needed three training days before I was given the check off to go SOLO!

Its great to feel this high level of confidence in knowledge of this place and support and faith from your co-workers. I am beyond pumped to get these tours up and rolling this summer! So, if you're in the area and want a tour of Grand Teton National Park...you know who to call!

Wish me luck, I have my first tour tomorrow!

TheChristyBel

Reflective Photos From Schwabacher's Landing

Female Barrow's Goldeneye

Peek-A-Boo, I See You, 610!
Near Oxbow Bend!

My First Sighting of a Great Grey Owl!
Moose-Wilson Road

Saying Goodbye to Laramie

Well the day has finally come: the day where I packed up my car and headed out of Laradise. Since I have successfully completed my second and final year of graduate school, graduated, received my masters, and have found a job elsewhere, it was time to say goodbye. Through this challenging last leg, I never thought the day would come. But I cannot also believe that it was only about 9-months before, that I was moving myself to this city to go through with my remainder of grad school. Time sure does fly by. As much as I am excited to leave and continue on with my next chapter in my life, it was pretty hard to say goodbye to a bunch of people, places, and things. The staff at SMTC have been so supportive, flexible, and people I have come to love personally and work professionally along side of. I have definitely learned a lot from the faculty I have worked alongside of. I am incredibly thankful for the guidance, flexibility, trust, and support they have all given me. As for the new friends I have made here, I know that we will all be in touch and that the distance will not be an issue. But with every ending, there is a new beginning to a new chapter. I am beyond excited to head back to Jackson and embrace that place without the stresses and pressures of graduate school, work for Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris for the summer, and adventure with some wonderful people I have waiting for me back in JHole. Beyond Excited. Here is to a new chapter!

Peace Out Laradise, Hello Tetons!

TheChristyBel

PS. Don't worry, this blog is still continuing! Keep on Following My Journey!

JoyB and Me - Gonna Miss My Jersey Girl Sister!

My WITS Graduate Assistantship Faculty, Dr. Jacqueline Leonard, & WITS Co-PI, Dr. Saman Aryana
I was awarded the Director's Excellence Award for an Outstanding Graduate Student of the SMTC

Saying goodbye to my GA Office - Wyo Hall 416!

Leaving my Favorite Cat: Gus
Hopefully We Can Find Our Own Cat
Gus, You Have Set the Bar High!

A Colorado Vacation

Summit Pose in Rocky Mountain National Park

For three days, my parents invited me to spend some time at their resort condo in Granby, Colorado before moving out of my Laramie Apartment and starting work with Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris. Granby is only about two and a half hours away south of Laramie, WY. It was a pretty decent scenic drive down, although I got caught in huge fog clouds and some rain. But when I got to Granby, I was greeted by my parents, a relaxing condo unit, a hot tub in the condo, and some opportunities to visit Rocky Mountain National Park and some hot springs! What a great mini-vacation! It was super nice to spend some more time with my parents before they travelled back to Delaware. They had only spent a few days with me in Laramie so having a few extra days with them was really nice before we had to split again. Here are some pictures from my trip south!

TheChristyBel

The Resort Condo Unit - Top Floor

Enjoying the Hot Springs in Sulphur Hot Springs

Moose in the Riparian Area of RMNP

Mom Saw Her First Moose Ever on This Trip!

Mom & Dad in One of the 19-Hot Spring Pools Open
Sulphur Hot Springs, CO

Fuzzy Flowers?

Marc and I went to Beehive Buttress in Vedauwoo for some climbing. Along the way to the routes, of course, I had to stop and look at some flowers. They are really pretty...fuzzy...and purple! I had been seeing them pop up all over the Medicine Bow National Forest along the trails I hiked and was not sure what they were. It was not until Ana, one of my SMTC faculty, gave me one of her photos as a graduation present. The photo was a great shot of the same purple, fuzzy flowers I was so curious about. To my learning, they are called Pasqueflowers. These flowers are one of the first flowers to bloom in dry grasslands and hillsides in the National Forest. The large pruple blooms have a central cluster of golden stamens and feathers leaves...LEAVES! So I thought the purple parts were petals, but I learned they are sepals that are masquerading to be petals! How cool is that?! In fact, they do not have any petals! WHAT?!?!!? Part of the Ranunculacae family, the literature I had been reading tells me that all the parts of this flower are toxic and that if I tried to transplant it...aka place one in a pot, it would not survive. Oh well. In other words, they are really beautiful to look at and remember, but not for keeping in a pot of pressing in a book. 

TheChristyBel

PasqueFlower

Cat Creepin'

I've been walking Odin for Ana while she is out of town and guess who has started to join our walks: Gus the Cat! It's so funny. I think he follows Odin's collar jingling! Gus literally followed us for a few blocks before doing his own thing. But it was incredibly adorable! Everyday, Gus, I want to steal you more and more. Do not worry, I won't.

TheChristyBel

A Graduate School Journey's End

My Science Methods Family!

Some of the Teton Science Schools Graduates

It is crazy to believe that after deciding to give up the complacency of having a job, having some feeling of settlement, and a huge family and community of friends surrounding you, the decision of journeying back to school for graduate school has come to an end. For the past two years, I have learned so much about myself on so many intimate, personal, emotional, and physical levels. I have met a variety of people, co-workers, faculty, fellow grads, classmates, and students that have helped shape who I am, what I want to be, where I want to be, and what I want to be doing with my life. The feelings I have experienced  to go back to school has been all across the spectrum, but I think no matter the outcome of situations, opportunities, and encounters, I believe they were all incredibly beneficial on the growth I have had within myself.

This morning, my parents and Marc were able to watch me cross the stage at UWyoming's College of Education and be hooded for my successes and hard work for my Masters of Science in Natural Science Education. I have never felt so proud of myself for biting the bullet and completely focusing on this goal (even when there were days I would sit on my couch in tears thinking this would not be possible). And when I thought that my year with the Teton Science Schools had gone by fast, the past 9-months in Laramie, WY have gone by much faster. 

I am incredibly excited and slightly terrified about what my future has in store for me. But I am confident that I can take what I have learned and experienced the past two years and morph and adapt to whatever comes my way. 

TheChristyBel

Being Hooded By My Chair, Dr. Andrea Burrows!

Some of the Most Wonderful Friends
to Have During Your Graduate School Journey!

Marc & I
Incredibly Happy to Finally Be a Master!

I Wouldn't Be Here Without Her
My Chair, Dr. Andrea Burrows

One of My Strong Support Systems
Dr. Ana Houseal

Of Course, a Graduation Summit Pose!
In Front of the Dinosaur!

I am soooooo Thankful for My Parents to be Here!

A Hawaiian Vacation

I wish I could say that we took a trip to Hawaii right before my graduate school graduation! The Thursday before the big commencement, we took a trip down to Fort Collins. 1) for a haircut for Marc; 2) an attempt to try some climbing; and 3) to escape the bitter cold and rain that has been covering Laramie for the past few weeks. Only one goal was not met during our adventure - climbing. After the haircut, we sort of became side tracked with visiting a Cat Animal Shelter and then came upon a Mini-Golf place! So....that is what we ended up doing. Turns out, a Fort Collins Mini Golf area also resembles a Hawaiian Vacation...minus the whole being in Hawaii part.

I had not played mini golf in sooooo long! It was super fun! Almost got a hole-in-one, but had a blast goofing off, embracing the sun and warmth, and relaxing for the first time since I started this whole graduate school journey!

Next entry: Graduation! SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!

TheChristyBel

Goofing Off in Mini Golf

In Search of a Furry Friend

Carlos, an ADHD FluffBall!

Since Marc has been in town, we have been visiting a variety of animal shelters around the state and in Colorado for a furry companion: a kitten! We are really hoping to adopt Ana's cat, Gus, however, we are pretty sure that may not happen. :) So, we are looking for the next best thing: a kitten that we can train to live with us in the van and go on hikes and climbs with us. Let me tell you, kitten searching is incredibly adorable and also heart-breaking. Once we find a kitten, we leave the shelter, and then call back and it is already adopted! You really have to go in with a mind set to actually adopting a kitten that day instead of saying, 'We will be back!' Below are some of the kittens we have looked at. Incredibly adorable, but sadly all are adopted right now. But this has given us hope there are kittens out there that meet our expectations of what type of cat we want to have. Hopefully when we head back to Jackson, there will be some better successful searches and hopefully an adoption!

TheChristyBel

Oli, The Loveable and Adventurous Climber

Milly, the Timid but Incredibly Sweet Lap Cat

Odin Tries to Fly

For the past few weeks I have been borrowing Ana's dog, Odin. Well, I have been helping her out and taking him on walks while she is still in the office. Odin is this less than two-year old Boxer-Black Lab mix that has tremendous amounts of energy, lots of love, and incredible strength. This afternoon, we took Odin up to Vedauwoo for a hike. Boy....did he love this adventure. Not only did he enjoy the hike at Vedauwoo, but absolutely loved the car ride. He attempted to fly as he tried to squeeze his face out of the back passenger window! It was super funny, I had to share a snapshot of what we saw! Hilarious! Do not worry, I was not driving!

Enjoy!
TheChristyBel

More Wildlife Safaring

Cathedral Turnout

Right before I left to go back to Laramie, I shadowed one more time before to gain more knowledge of the land, park, and history. This time around, I went with Jody. He is the true definition of a local - born and raised in Jackson Hole and has been guiding ever since high school. He has soooo much knowledge about this place. It was kind of intimidating. But he was able to show me some of his ways that he engages with his guests and more history and information about more places that we can go to in the area. I am really loving this job. It has given me more opportunities to explore, get to know the parks, and be outside (as well as be in a 15-passenger van).

Below are some snapshots of a few things we saw and went to on a sunset tour. Enjoy!

TheChristyBel

Otter Party at the Oxbow! So Fun!

I am Loving the Wildflower Season!
Spring Beauties & Yellowbells!

I Cannot Wait for This Sunset Every Day Again!

Training With Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris

Overlook at the Grand Teton Lodge Company
at Willow Flats

Well, I guess since I have been posting images on my Instagram (which you should follow @thechristybel), I will be moving back to Jackson Hole following the University of Wyoming (at least for now). I have found a seasonal summer job with Jackson Hole Wildlife Safaris as a summer wildlife and tour guide. I am beyond super excited for this opportunity. I wanted to try something different from what I am used to (environmental education) and try out the eco-tourism path. I am spending my weekend here in Jackson in some training before I have to head back to Laramie for the LAST TIME! Training has been wonderful; despite the cold, cloudy and rainy weather conditions, it has been perfect for finding wildlife and refreshing my knowledge on the GYE and Jackson Hole. It's been great!

Day One of training consisted a lot of the normal 'Welcome to the Company' and paperwork logistics, but come afternoon, we were in the van being shown some of the secret spots to go to for wildlife, special moments, scenic photo areas, and the routes in which we can go. It was super fun and soooooo great being back in the park. I am really stoked for this because I'll be back in the park everyday, capturing and sharing moments with people.

Day Two and Three (today) are where I have in shadow-mode. I join tours with some really experienced guides where I can observe how they go about their tours, what they talk about, how they approach their groups, and what they decide to show or take our clients to. It's been awesome. I have been even allowed to chime in and talk as well (which is great practice for what I want to do) and give my guide opportunities to watch me for instant feedback. Yesterday (Day Two), I observed one of our guides, Dave, in two sunrise and sunset tours. It was great, we found and saw a lot of really awesome things to show our clients, and I was also able to chat and guide a smidge as well. It was great practice and a great way to see what I needed to work on before I start leading my own tours. The clients were also incredibly helpful too! They had great feedback and comments too (not to mention we got along great since the entire van was filled with people from back east - super close connections).

Below are some snapshots of some of the wonderful things we saw yesterday. More photos to come!

TheChristyBel

Morning With My Moose!

Mormon Row

Lunch Companion: A Red-Shafted Northern Flicker
One of My Favorite Birds

Stella's Marina

And The Icing to the Evening Cake:
Grizzly 610 (Daughter of 399) and Her Two New Cubs!
My Heart Exploded!