It’s September and fall has finally come to Idaho! It really surprised me how colorful the foliage gets out here and how distinct the change in seasons is. We don’t have a lot of trees out here, but the willows and aspens are changing and if you go further north in Idaho towards Stanley there are many more trees changing to shades of red and gold.

And speaking of gold, a spectacular change has come over our field office. The green grasses have given way to the steady sunshine, turning into a sweet gold that is swept around by the whims of the crisp autumn wind. Makes me smile to walk through it as we do Lepa surveys and reminds me of the Eva Cassidy song “Fields of Gold” (that reference was for you, my dear Emily).

This month, I was able to experience fall in the most unique of ways—visiting Yellowstone National Park for the first time! Ricecake, Avery and I went on this adventure and had a blast. This was my first time and although I grew up reading about it, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We spent the first day looking at geysers around the western side of the park near Old Faithful. The geysers were so cool! While exploring the paths around the geysers, we even saw a coyote. Later that night in our campsite, as I curled up in my sleeping bag against the cold night air, I heard the unmistakable bugle of an elk. There was some commotion near our campsite, and it seemed that the elk was very close-by. It was so thrilling to hear it bugle as it continued on and off throughout the time I was awake…the sound was ghostly, almost ethereal…yet mournful at the same time, I’d never heard anything like it.

Throughout the time of our stay, we saw bison, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, elk, mule deer, a badger, hot springs and an endless array of lovely landscapes.

My favorite part was Lamar Valley, which is where the wolves are most populous. I knew it was a long shot to actually see one, but I was most excited to wander around their territory and imagine them watching us from the shadows. We found some wolf scat and prints, which I was rather shamelessly excited about.

The Lamar River was a beautiful place to eat lunch! Later we climbed down to the riverside to become children again, scrambling around the shore rocks yelping in delight at each colorful rock or piece of petrified wood we found (and of course did not collect). We kept finding the coolest rock ever, and then someone would find one even cooler and then someone else would a find a green one…no this white one! No! This piece of petrified wood! Look how pretty it shines in the stream water! Look at mine! And it went on until we chose the best ones to photograph. Truth is, I could have spent the whole day along the Lamar River making all these awesome finds. I can’t tell you what part of the visit was my favorite, but this riverside romp comes pretty close!