Our travel went great, and everything was seamless. All of the participants made it, along with all of our luggage. The weather was also very cooperative. Brittany enjoyed her first plane flights ever.

Once we arrived in Bozeman and started driving toward Yellowstone, we started seeing wildlife almost immediately. The list includes: magpie, raven, elk, mule deer (and maybe white tailed deer), bald eagle, pronghorn, bison, and duck.

The geology is also amazing! We saw all three rock types on our drive (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic), and the mountains are very beautiful. There is also evidence of past glacial activity and landslides.

It is really exciting to see the biology and geology here, especially since it is so different from what we are used to in North Carolina. We had our first team meeting to share our first impressions and goals, and we started to form bonds with each other before breaking for dinner. We have settled in to the Mammoth Hot Springs area and are eagerly awaiting our first full day in the field tomorrow.