Peter Collins
October 5th, 2009 Day 50

Today was ECOEE’s first morning in the hotel. We arose to a breakfast that we didn’t have to cook for the first time in a long time. Everyone was very well rested as we met for our latest morning meeting of the trip at 10 am. We had the morning off for everyone to work on lesson plans that they had to work on before we were to leave the Rocky Mountains. Everyone was very busy in their rooms trying to get as many resources and lesson plans completed before we were to meet at 3 pm to head to the Elk Preserve so that we could get lessons done. Christine started the lessons talking about the predator and prey relationships with wolves, Ron spoke on wildflowers with emphasis on the sage brush and rabbit brush. Sean then talked about the endangered species of Yellowstone and the different levels involved with ranking endangered species. After a short walk across the street and up the hill Shane talked to us about the migration patterns of the Elk in the region and why they keep moving. Jake then talked about the local bison and how the Indians used to use every part of the animal without wasting a piece of it. Grant then finished the day off teaching us about how Chief World Wide Web would use his surroundings to build a shelter in the snow. We returned to the hotel to debrief the day and give feedback to everyone that presented today. For dinner everyone went out on their own to satisfy their own taste buds. When we returned some of us went for a nice soak in the hot tub to rest and relax in the jets, then it was off to bed.