Good-bye Bob

This was the last summer for one of our favorite researchers, Bob Flather. A man who never married (though he seems to enjoy women... quite a bit), he has spent all but one of the last41 summers here in the Park. He has been in to the library every day since 2003, except for our move during th summer of 2004.
He's a crusty-old fart that took some time warming up to. Used to the loos manner in which the library and archives used to be run, he was offended when we started professionalizing the access to the books and papers in the library and archives. "Why can't it just stay th way it used to be?" was a frequent question in early years. Eventually, he realized that we weren't trying to bedevil him, only to ensure that the items in our collections would be around for years of researchers to come.
We will miss Bob. Even the days when we had to watch closely to determine that he was in fact just napping ("Oh, thank God! He's breathing). The past few years he's gotten more and more withdrawn while his hearing has gone downhil and it became harder for him to hear in restaurant situations.

Aren't I the best sister?

Bob Ross is the Chuck Norris of painting

October Ride to Chico

Biennial Science Conference

Every two years, Yellowstone hosts a science conference talking about major issues going on in the park. The first years dealt with elk management and then predators as well as fires ('88 of course being a big discussion. This was one of those years.
I was a volunteer again, thankfully not on the microphones this time (the runners who have to run microphones to people asking questions).  Twice I was a timer (keeping track of the speakers to make sure they were on time) and twice I turned on and off the lights (somebody's got to do it!)
There is so much going on in the park, so many studies so many ideas. It is really, really hard to keep track of them all. It's conferences like this one that help keep people connected and keep people in the loop.

Bike to Chico

Heidi and I hadn't yet done our annual (okay, so this was the second year, but still) trip to Chico for their excellent breakfast buffet. This was a beautiful day that started off chilly, but I eventually had to strip down. I couldn't change back into my top layer fast enough, so I ended up on the East River Road in my bottom layer. Yes, they are not supposed to be your only layer, but... it was hot out there!