How Lewis-Clark Welcomed Me to the U.S.!
Emrah Kazaz, Bosnia and Herzegovina
I’m one lucky guy. Why? I went camping for 5 days in Yellowstone and I had been in the U.S. only 11 days.
During my preparation for arrival to the U.S., I knew that I was going to spend one semester at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. I did some online research about this area. I read about the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. Yellowstone was one of the things I was amazed by, so I told myself “you need to visit it.”
Suddenly, I’m sitting in a classroom for the first time in the U.S. Before that I had registered for a field trip but didn’t know where we were going. I started a conversation with a girl next to me and then she told me it’s going to be in Yellowstone. Unbelievable!
I was really excited because it is the first national park in the U.S., and according to some resources, the first in the world. Famous for its beautiful nature, wild life, geysers, etc. I just couldn’t wait to start my trip. The drive was long but you can enjoy watching the landscape and sleep. Driving to the final destination I saw for the first time buffalo and other wonders of nature. If you are planning to camp in Yellowstone, then you should bring warm clothes. During the night time if you are sleeping in a tent it can be as cold as 30 F, and in the day time it is like summer. Crazy! Also, every time after a meal you need to hide the food and other kitchen stuff in a trailer or shelter because you don’t want a grizzly bear to wake you up. Once in the middle of the night, I woke up and went to the restroom and I thought there was a grizzly or some other animal, but that was just my friend snoring.
I had the chance to spend these 5 days with my geology professor and classmates. Thanks to this, I learned a lot of things about Yellowstone – the types of rocks, process of rock formation, geysers, etc. One of the biggest volcanoes is under Yellowstone. The whole area was created by volcanic eruptions more than 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 630,000 years ago.
One of my favorite places we visited there is Mesa Falls and you can see in the photo how beautiful it is. You can sit there all day beside the waterfall and enjoy it. Also, we visited Old Faithful. It is the oldest geyser and the most predictable. We went hiking to an observation point and observed it erupting. It erupts about every 90 min.
During this couple of days I learned a lot of new things from my classmates about their lives and culture. Every night after dinner we sat around the camp fire and talked. Also, it is really quiet and you can see the beauty of stars. I’m very thankful I had this opportunity and I will always remember it.
This was my first “Lewis and Clark” discovery but I won’t stop here. I hope to have similar luck again.
Old Faithful
Messa Falls