More Yellowstone

What a treat it was to stay at this historic inn. On the final 2 days of the meetings, we had this place virtually to ourselves since the Inn closed to the public on Friday morning. Just hanging out in the lobby near the monstrous fireplace or in a comfortable couch on the 2nd level was really special.

The Old Faithful Inn

Yes. October in Yellowstone. You can have beautiful autumn colors and the first signs of winter too. Luckily we had packed our winter coats and so we were still able to enjoy hiking outside. Friday and Saturday it probably snowed at least 6 inches at the Inn. Some other neighboring areas were expecting up to 3 feet of the white stuff!!! (After returning home, I learned that Red Lodge, MT, just beyond the northeast corner of the park, received over 40 inches of snow!)

Many people may cringe at the thought of snow in October. Colin and I, however, were in heaven. Just look at this scene below. Despite the potential damaging effects of some storms, I have always enjoyed being in the midst of them, assuming you are prepared for it. There's nothing like skiing or snowshoeing when the snow is just dumping. Get in the trees so you can still see and all is good.

Colin and Chelsea had a chance to meet many people that work for the foundation, volunteer on the Advisory Council and Board, or even work for the park itself. Everyone was so nice and it was great to share this foundation with them so that they can see the passion and the importance of giving back to something you believe in.

Here is a huge example of how YPF is improving the park. Millions of dollars have been raised for the design and construction of the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center set to open in 2010. This will be a superb facility (LEED Certification - Gold I think) with much needed improvements for educating the public about this important place.

Construction Workers Continue to Build the New OFVEC in Difficult Weather Conditions

On Friday evening, Tom Murphy gave a slide show to Foundation members and guests. At the start of the slide show Tom gave a brief introduction to the show talking about his travels and his eco-philosophy. He mentioned that one of the things he really likes to do is teach. At the end of his introduction, he mentioned that he had the opportunity to teach a special 14-year old aspiring photographer this summer who he hoped one day could carry on some of his work. He mentioned Colin's name and we all were stunned that he would call out his name. I was a beaming proud father and it must have been one of the highlights of Colin's life. To hear such kind and inspiring words from someone you have looked up to for a while now?!?! Wow.

Tom proceeded to give a wonderful slide show of his photography showing great photos from Yellowstone, Antarctica, Africa and Alaska, to name just a few of the locales. It was also a good reminder to that aspiring photographer about how much more there is to learn and how hard you need to work at the craft to be this accomplished.