I’m sitting in Wyoming Inn in Jackson,Wyoming about to head into Yellowstone National Park for five days. I’ve packed my long thermal undies and my wool socks — it gets c-o-l-d at 7,000 feet! I’m here on assignment for NBC travel editor Peter’s Greenberg’s site (www.petergreenberg.com), for whom I write a sustainable travel initiatives (see my Virtuous Traveler page on this site).
It’s – so far – a spectacular place. Across from the airport is an elk preserve, where dozens and dozens roamed — except for one unfortunate guy whose carcass was being picked at by three ravens and the most enormous bald eagle I’ve ever seen. A lone coyote – again, they seem to grow them big in these parts – wandered looking for food. And this is before even getting into the park, which boasts a large population of wolves, thanks to a protected status which has let their population thrive once again. Bison, once numbered in the tens of millions, dwindled to about two dozen before their population also bounced back. Today Yellowstone boasts about 3,000 of the hairy giants.
The purpose of this trip is to take a first-hand look at why it’s so important for countries to protect their natural resources. Documentary film-maker Ken Burns (Civil War, History of Baseball, Jazz, etc.) has spent six years filming America’s national parks and will be unveiling clips in a few days, something I’m thrilled to be able to preview.
In the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep warm and keep my camera ready.