Adventures

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The final two weeks in Yellowstone were a continuation of the pace and intensity of the season. Our work in the clinic only slightly slowed down, but the acuity of patients increased. Our EMS calls kept coming but our staffing had started to be limited due to commitments elsewhere for the seasonal staff, as people headed off to school, other assignments, or attended to family matters. This was a time of stepping up for those…

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First of all…where has the summer gone? WOW! Everyday I have loved being here at Yellowstone and participating in all the region has to offer. I am entering my last two weeks of this great adventure, and as I do I find myself already missing the people, the places and the experiences unique to Yellowstone. I am so very grateful for the new friends, the people I was honored to serve, the joyful times with…

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Part One…The past few weeks have been super busy with family visits to Yellowstone! I have had so much fun sharing what I learned over the past 4 months with my family. We have been on major tours around the park, exploring the sights and enjoying the beauty together. Heather along with Ashley, BJ, Lucy and Simon visited in mid-August. We had a grand time with the kids and got in some great hiking. While…

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As the month of August arrived I marked 3 full months here at Yellowstone. I am appreciating the many lessons learned, the enjoyable adventures and remain ever grateful for the many new friends. This has been an exceptional time! The past couple of weeks has had me working stretches of days in the clinic and then having a stretch of days off. Not to waste anytime while here, I have done my best to be…

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Yellowstone continues to be a place of unexpected incidents making national news. Two notable ones include the car that crashed into a thermal pond, and the unrelated steam explosion at Biscuit Bay. While I was not directly involved in either of those responses, as I was working in the clinic both times, my colleagues responded and we reviewed them during our weekly emergency services training. Fortunately, the injuries from the vehicle crash were relatively minor and thank…

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Off the hook…is the only phrase that adequately describes the first two weeks of July in Yellowstone. The weather has been amazing and very comfortable. Visitors arrived by the car-load, the truck-load, and the RV-load for the 4th of July week. As temps started to climb, the animals stared to become scarcer as they made their way to higher elevations and shady locations to escape the mid-day sunshine. As you know from my previous post,…

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Dear friends and family…this past week was a challenging week at Yellowstone. Unfortunately the first active shooting incident in the history of Yellowstone National Park took place on the morning of July 4th. I was never in harms way and I was not a part of the initial response. It has changed the vibe in the park to one of contemplation, skepticism and serious reflection by most. I was called into service several times over…

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After two full months working in Yellowstone, it appears we have reached peak season. The clinic has been crazy busy with patients and we are breaking records each week. Our busiest day we saw 31 patients, which is about 10 over what we see on a “normal day”. Nearly all the numbers being reported from the National Park Service indicate that Yellowstone is on track to have a record season for visitors –about 6 million…

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The past week was a mix of seemingly unrelated events. First of all, we got snow. Real snow…on the mountain tops and on the grass in front of the clinic. The freeze line was very distinct at about 6000 feet. Then just two days later we celebrated the first day of Summer…according to the calendar. The temps quickly aligned with the calendar and by the end of the week we were in the 90’s. Go…

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Happy Father’s Day to my Dad and all the Dad’s! The past two weeks have been quite fun playing part-time tourist with Heather and Zachary. Yellowstone is a big park and we’ve seen a good portion of the front country places. We also took two days to visit the Grand Teton National Park to enjoy the spectacular mountains. Our adventures brought about many visits to scenic views and provided ample opportunities for wildlife spotting. Zach…

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Happy June 2024 y’all! It’s a little crazy to think that I have been at Yellowstone for a month. Quick look back at all the things I’ve experienced and done is a shadow of what the summer season has ahead. Overall, this experience is down-right fantastic! The people are so welcoming and engaging, the landscape is ever-changing and new, and the opportunity to practice my clinical skills in such an environment is just incredible! The…

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Happy Memorial Day weekend all! The past week was a good warm up for YNP busy season. I worked 4 days at the clinic finishing my orientation. We saw a good bump in patient volume for routine as well as urgent care walk in patients. Vehicle traffic in and around the park is getting more constant and people are starting to be everywhere. Temps are slowly starting to climb during the day to the mid-60’s…

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Howdy y’all! It’s been another busy week here at Yellowstone National Park…a good bit of work, a little bit of training, and some fun taking the 4Runner out on the trails. I spent a good part of the week getting oriented to the core work at Mammoth Clinic. The clinic is located at the headquarters of YNP known as Mammoth Hot Springs, so there are many activities that take place in the vicinity much akin to any…

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Busy week was had for sure! I started off with my trek through the north entrance of Yellowstone NP and traveled to Lake Village Clinic near the center of the park. Due to visitor traffic, wildlife on roadways and changing winter weather patterns it took just under 2 hours to travel the distance. The current Lake Clinic is the former Lake Village Hospital built in 1963, when there was a push to move YNP HQ…

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I was fortunate to be able to spend Holy Week in Manhattan and the Bozeman area while attending services at St. Anthony’s Orthodox Church from Vespers on the eve of Palm Sunday until Royal Hours of Great and Holy Friday. After which I made the short journey from Bozeman southeast to the town of Gardiner, MT. Gardiner is the gateway town for the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. This is where I have my apartment for…

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The time arrived to pack up and head west. After two months of prep and planning, the day arrived to put the check-lists into action. Four seasons of clothing and plenty of adventure gear were loaded up. The journey west was 2045 miles, completed over 4 days, driving an average of 500 miles per day. Nightly camp stops were preplanned in Rockford, IL, Sioux Falls, SD, and Brooklyn, WY with the final destination of Manhattan,…

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I will be working in Yellowstone National Park, May – October 2024 at the Mammoth Clinic as a RN. In addition, I’ll be volunteering for the National Park Service as a paramedic in and around Yellowstone. All adventures have to start somewhere and mine started with a trip Looking Westward. May 2022 – Heather and I took a trip to visit Yellowstone and Teton National Parks. After a week of exploring, we realized that we…

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After eight weeks of travel, the final days to reach home were fairly easy. After the stop in Minneapolis I made my way to Chicago, staying in the Addison area which put me in close proximity for church the next day. I found an amazing South American restaurant within walking distance of the hotel…and had a fantastic Peruvian chicken-basil soup with a Brazilian mixed grill. The flavors were spectacular! Now I’m wondering about a South American adventure…just for the…

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Week seven started off with a ferry ride across Puget Sound to visit the All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island. I was able to visit with one of the monks (there are 5 in total). He took me on a personal tour of the monastery, shared the history and I was able to light a candle in the chapel. Afterwards I took a ferry to West Seattle to enjoy the views along the waterfront of Puget Sound and downtown Seattle.…

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After saying goodbye to my overlanding friends, I began to explore the western coast of northern California. A brief stop in Trinidad, CA which is one of the smallest incorporated cities with an amazing coastline. After a hike around the coast, I continued north to find a scenic camp spot for the night…which was not difficult to find along Highway 101. Continuing north the next day I made my way to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park in Oregon. The state…

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Week Four on the TransAmerica Trail started in Pueblo, Colorado. Unfortunately, one of our travel friends had his vehicle broken into and several essential items stolen during an overnight stop at a local hotel. The team swarmed to help, solved the challenges, pressed forward with new gear, shared gear and a lighter load.Highlights from week four: We continued west as we could see the end of the trail in sight. We remained overland bound. Week…

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Week Three on the TransAmerica Trail took us through Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and into Colorado. The weather was hot and humid, with several fascinating storms to watch along the way. We collectively decided to move quickly through Oklahoma and avoid the dusty roads through various farm fields to get to the more interesting places in the western desert. We arrived to New Mexico and explored the town of Santa Fe. After two nights, we…

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Week Two has started off with us missing the tropical storm but we ended up with a split in our group. We had different objectives and interests. Having nearly 10 vehicles in our group was a challenge for fuel stations & during times where we needed to be more nimble to explore a trail that ended up being closed or a tight turn-around scenario. So we wished each other well & moved onward. My team…

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The start of the Overland Bound TransAmerica Trail (TAT) group met up in Ripley, WV on Sat, June 12. A variety of people, vehicles and capabilities were introduced to each other. Before we set off a briefing was held by our Team Leader (Tango Lima). Each vehicle has a radio for communication, coordination and most importantly safety. Everyone was assigned an operating call sign (Vehicle number). We also had Leader, Scout, and Tail Gunner as…

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The TransAmerica Trail is a mixed on/off road adventure. Starting in WV and aiming for the OR coast six weeks later. A team has assembled and joined over the past 6 months. We have a core group going the full distance, and others who will be joining for portions of the route. Stay tuned here for updates on progress, stories, photos and locations.

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MARCH 2: After several weeks the trip plan was completed. I expected there would be a few changes along the way as there are always unforeseen events…and that certainly was the case on the last part of the trip. MARCH 3: Pittsburgh, PA > Richmond, VA. Travel easy, no issues. Aiming for the 1pm Hatteras to Ocracoke Ferry crossing tomorrow. Booked crossing from Ocracoke to Cedar Island on 3/5 for 730a sailing, must arrive at…

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