Articles by rdnationalparks

We started our day with a 6:15 a.m. wake up call and a Happy Birthday shout out to Alanna! We headed to breakfast before beginning our trip to Mount Rainier. While we were driving there, we observed the scab land left behind by the Spokane Flood. During the last ice age, Lake Missoula, a large lake occupying the western part of Montana and the northern part of Idaho, was held back by an ice dam near Spokane, Washington. When the ice dam broke 10 to 12,000 years ago, it sent westward five cubic miles of water that formed the scab land.

Our first stop was at a scenic view called  “Dead Horse” overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. We carefully walked down the path being cautious for rattlesnakes (but we did not see any).

We had a picnic at White River in Mount Rainier National Park. We then moved on to the Visitors Center and saw a beautiful view of the landscape at Sunrise Point. We learned about the 26 glaciers found on this volcano and how they sculpted the landscape into what we see today. Though this park attracts thousands each year, only a few realize that it is still an active volcano with steam eruptions as recent as  1963.

We headed towards Mount St Helens, however due to road closures we were unable to enter the park and were forced to detour. With an addition of 3-4 hours ride to our hotel, we had to forfeit our prepaid hotel reservation to cut our drive time substantially and get a chance to see Mount St Helens from the west entrance of the park.  Wish us luck!

Amanda H. and Lauren

Today was a relaxing and fun filled day. We drove all morning. After our asphalt conquering excursion we went to a water park. Some of our peers did not want to go (aka. Van 2 minus one). Van 1 plus one was more than excited to attend. The water park was filled with fourth of July celebrators. We spent some time in the lazy river and then played volley ball. After some trips down the slide we went out to a fancy dinner. Following our succulent dinner, which we consumed with much vigor we watched fireworks from the balcony with our lovely friends. What a culmination to a fantastic day to watch multiple clusters of fireworks along the skyline. We wished our dear friend Alanna a happy birthday at midnight sharp and hit the hay like a fat horse on a diet.

Da nah dun,

His excellency, Zachary A. C. Kiss
And
Erich Walter Harris Moen esquire.

Yeah our wake-up call was 7 a.m. We ate breakfast at the Gaynor’s Ranch and were on the road by 8:30 a.m. Temperature was in the 50s from Whitefish to Eureka, Montana. We have traveled 3200 miles so far in the last two weeks. We stopped to take pictures of an osprey in her nest.

Purple lupine, white aspens, and Ponderosa pines line the winding mountain roads as we traveled through the Montana forests to Yaak River Lodge.

Today is our day off only traveling 100 miles.  We arrived at noon , and lunch at the lodge and went canoeing, kayaking, and fishing on the Yaak River whilst ran behind the lodge. George caught is first speckled trout! Dinner, hot tub, and campfire completed our day! Wonderful…

Allen, Allen, Allen

Rock bocce ball rules…

Happy 4th of July!

Debbie and George

Today we visited Glacier National Park. This park is home to a diverse population of animals and plants. The trails here are a combined 100 miles long, and the landscape has been carved over thousands of years by the glaciers that give the park its name. We visited one of the trails and were astounded by the turquoise lakes and waterfalls. The mountains were made of beautiful green and red shale, and we were able to take pictures of a few black bears. After a picnic lunch, we traveled around the park to our next destination. The park is only open for a limited time due to the tremendous amount of snow they receive . Even today in July, the main road was closed due to this.

Next we were able to horseback ride along Montana’s woodsy trails. All of us were nervous but the horses and staff were knowledgeable and accommodating. We then had a barbecue at the ranch and retired to our cabin suites in the woods.

Samantha and Lana

Today was not much of a national park day, however we did see the effects of tectonic activity that occurred on August 17, 1959. This earthquake that reached 7.5 on the Richter scale was, at the time, the largest earthquake recorded in the United States. The Alaska earthquake of 1964 reached 9.2 on the Richter scale. The Hebgen Lake earthquake that we studied today ranks 4th nowadays. The extensive damage we observed was due to the fact that people had no knowledge of the fault line that existed in the area.

When we made a stop at the Earthquake Lake Visitors Center we were informed that a landslide of 80 million tons fell in the valley of the Madison River. Due to the extensive displacement of the Madison River, a near campground was fully submerged killing 28 people and creating Earthquake Lake.

After the visit we stopped in the town of Ennis to check out the variety of shops and talking to the friendly locals. We then stopped in Virginia City, a place that was founded through the discovery of gold. During the time of the Gold Rush, the population of Virginia City reached about 30,000 people but today it has a mere 200 residents. We had lunch at the Virginia City Cafe and an ice cream at the Virginia Creamery which were both original buildings from the Gold Rush. We then had a 3 and a half drive to the town of Choteau, near Glacier National Parks, where we had a delicious dinner at John Henry’s Restaurant where we played a fabulous game of telephone with the entire group.

Amanda I. and Alanna

We started day 10 of our trip by heading back to Grand Teton to get to Yellowstone National Park. Our first stop was a mountain landscape shaped by glaciers where lateral moraines were extensive. Rivers carved valleys in these mountains and reworked the glacial deposits.

We entered Yellowstone National Parks, and traveled over the calderas formed when the successive volcanoes collapsed when their magma chambers underneath their cones were empty. We saw several majestic waterfalls and streams flowing around the snow covered mountains, a change of scenery and climate compared to the more than 100 F weather we started out with.

We had another picnic lunch before heading off to see the Old Faithful geyser that erupts about every 93 minutes. The eruption we viewed lasted about 5 minutes and was quite a sight. We continued on to see several smaller geysers and hot water springs that showed white and orange colors due to the mineral deposits. We then went to the Mammoth Hot Springs that are large mounds and basins of travertine produced by the flow of calcium carbonate rich spring water.

Also throughout the day we saw plenty of wildlife including one bear, dozens of elk, dozens of bisons, one ostrey, 3 picas, and many ravens. Even one bison interrupted traffic when it decided to walk on the yellow line dividing the main road of the park. The bison was followed by a ranger car telling the visitors on a loud speaker “move on, move on” there is nothing to see here!

We ended the day in Montana with an Italian style dinner preparing ourselves for another full day ahead.

Erin and Lauren

Today we woke up bright and early again and enjoyed a light but delicious continental breakfast at Country Inn and Suites in Bountiful, Utah. We departed at 7:50 with a temperature of 82 degrees. On our way to Grand Teton National Park we took a scenic route that allowed us to see more examples of fossil beaches. While driving through the water gap of the fast flowing Logan River we also saw some beaver dams.
We stopped at Rick Spring which is a reappearing river that comes from a water source further north. It looks like the water is coming right out of the rock. We were instructed not to ingest any of the water flowing from the spring because it is contaminated with Giardia which is a bacteria that nests in the stomach for months.
We then stopped to see an amazing view of Bear Lake which borders Utah and Idaho. This spot became even more spectacular when we witnessed the acrobatic hummingbirds flying and feeding. During our journey we also stopped at Salt River Pass, elevation 7630 and gazed out on the gorgeous view of the Wyoming Range, a section of the Rocky Mountains. We cut through many small towns including Smoot which has a population of 100.
For lunch we stopped at a small rest stop and enjoyed a picnic lunch prepared by the wonderful Dr. Lemaire. Everyone enjoyed the delicious spread of meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and other goodies. We took another quick stop along the side of the road where wildlife is very abundant. We saw various types of birds. Our luck was minimal though because we did not see the Osprey despite seeing its nest 20 feet away. We arrived in the area of Grand Teton around 2:30 p.m. Dr. Lemaire discussed how the Grand Teton Mountains were formed and shaped by glaciers, the forming of horns . We took a 40 minute hike around Jenny Lake and we were able to see four moose at 3 different locations. Our final stop was at Gros Ventre Landslide. This mass wasting event occurred on June 23, 1925 and displaced material at such a rate that geologists say it could have carved the Panama Canal in 54 minutes. On our way to the log cabins for the night we saw 4 buffalos and 3 antilopes. We concluded our day at O’Rourke which was an Irish restaurant in Driggs, Idaho.
Eric Schenk and Bill Sihr

Welcome to Rowan University Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Tonight we will be in Driggs, Idaho and I don’t believe we will have a wireless Internet connection. I may have to wait until West Yellowstone to post today’s blog.

Dr. Lemaire

Today we enjoyed a continental breakfast at our hotel and then headed to our first geologic stop–”book cliffs” which are aptly named for their joints and strands that resemble a bookshelf.    The grey material here is oil sands, but unfortunately the oil would be too expensive and cumbersome to extract from the sand.  We then stopped at an active underground coal mine, where a layer of coal was exposed along the rock near the road. We noticed that the underlying rocks were orange. Dr. lemaire explained that this was because a fire somehow got started and began to burn the coal, turning other rocks in the area to metamorphic through heat.

After a few more hours in the car and a big change of scenery ( from barren terrain to green forests) we arrived in Salt Lake City. The group enjoyed lunch at a food court in Temple Square, where many of us dined on Chinese food.  Then, we were first given a tour of the Temple Square Visitor Center by two informative Latter-day Saints missionaries.  The two women led us to a beautiful statue of Jesus Christ in the center of a surreal mural of the universe.  Next, we went to the original Salt Lake Temple, a magnificent feat of acoustic artistry built in 1853.  The missionaries talked briefly about the history of their religion and read an excerpt from their sacred text, The Book of Mormon.  We were given an impressive demonstration of the powerful acoustics when a missionary ripped a piece of newspaper, dropped a pin, and spoke briefly, all of which we could hear perfectly from our seats in the back.  Then we entered the smaller nearby tabernacle, where we learned that the pioneers were so dedicated in their determination to make a place of worship that they painted the pews to look like oak and the columns to look like marble; had we not been told this, we’d never have known!  Though there was definitely an attempt at conversion on their part, the beauty of the architecture made it well worth it.

Finally, we went to the Conference Center, which boasts one of the world’s largest pipe organs and holds over 20,000 people.

We were fortunate enough to enjoy a brief recital, which was absolutely breathtaking and made even more impressive as the colored lights on the wall behind the organ changed from blue to orange to red with each song.  We were all impressed by the organist’s ability to master such a complex and grand instrument.

We then spent a few hours relaxing at the hotel, where some of us enjoyed the pool and hot tub and others simply a chance to lie down and relax for a while.    Before dinner, we had one more geologic stop–Great Salt Lake, of course!  We could see the shore lines of where the massive, prehistoric Lake Bonneville once existed.  Seeing clouds in the sky for the first time in 7 days was another notable part of the day.  Though it was full of  bugs near the water we were able to see how high the water level used to be over 10,000 years ago by the vegetation growing on the high fossil beaches.

Then we had dinner at Sizzler, which has a great buffet salad bar.We eventually headed back to our hotel to prepare for the day ahead in Wyoming and Idaho.
Amanda and Drew