Here’s a fun party trick: tell someone that you are moving to Wyoming and wait for their reaction. There is a 95% guarantee that your proclamation will be met with a dropped jaw, an uncomprehending sneer, and a single word: “why?” After a week here, I can now tell you why. So far I have gone out in the field every day and have learned how to map springs, seeps, and reservoirs on a $6,200 GPS, fixed a fence, seen beautiful country, and tried to track my very first moose. As soon as I finish this blog, I will walk across the street and fly fish for a couple hours.

I haven’t been in Kemmerer for long but I am looking forward to learning about a familiar ecosystem from a new perspective. As this is my second CLM internship, I will be looking at wildlife habitat instead of range. It’s a whole new world; just going out with my boss and coworker (an ex-CLMer himself) proves to be a lesson in animal systematics and identification. I am having a great time so far and really believe that this internship will help me pin down a field for graduate school. I’m sure to collect some great information, pictures, and fossils to include in my next blog!