Checklist

A week from today I will have left this natural theme park they call Yellowstone. I'm a little sad about it. There's so much left for me to do here: climb Electric Peak, backpack to "Mr. Bubble," hike to Osprey Falls, see the Grand Prismatic spring, go on the cookout ride that Roosevelt is famous for. Oh--go to Glacier National Park! Eight hours away, but so out of the way from everything else, you practically have to go through Yellowstone to see it. And it sounds so pristine. People love it even more than here. But Monday I got to check off a lot of things from my "to-do list" here! My friend Rick, who cooks and serves with me (and has ridden a bike across the country, been a school bus driver, and a white water rafting guide--he's done a lot) took me white water kayaking in the morning. He first taught me how to get out of a kayak if it flips: tap your helmet twice (just to calm yourself down), pull your skirt, then push yourself out of the kayak while holding onto you paddle the whole time. He flipped me once and made me practice, then I flipped myself the second time. It was kind of scary, but I survived that part. Then he took me down the Yellowstone River--which has some pretty sweet rapids! You have to watch out for "holes" in the river, where you can get sucked in and flipped over pretty easily. I didn't flip the whole time. Oh--and it started hailing as we kayaked down the river (about five miles). Rick said I was good for a first-timer (thanks to practicing kayaking at Robin Buiter's lake house!), and the course we ran was fairly challenging. We went to Helen's for lunch--it's this burger shack in Gardener. Having a 1/2 lb. burger there is a must for Yellowstone employees! I had an elk burger but took a bite of Rick's bison and bacon burger. Good stuff! Then we soaked our weary limbs in the Boiling River--probably one of my new favorite spots in the world! Hot waterfalls flow into the river and you can sit and relax there for hours. It was pretty crowded, but so nice. We both worked dinner shift that night. I'd call it a pretty productive day! I will try to post pictures soon! The Wi-fi in Mammoth is pretty slow, so every time I try to post one, it takes about 15 minutes. But I'll try again soon! :) I miss everyone and am excited to be back home soon.