Saint Cloud State University Takes on Yellowstone National Park

On Wednesday, September 25th, we rented a Ford Transit and drove through the night to Yellowstone National Park, arriving just as the sun rose to the East. This was our Outdoor Recreation outing, and we spent the four-day trip hiking, climbing, sightseeing, and enjoying camp!

Eight students came on our trip, one from America, but all the others call different countries their home. We had exchange students from India, Japan, and Germany join us. We chose Yellowstone for many reasons, one being how iconic the park is considering that it was the first national park. We knew there would be so much park to explore and many opportunities to see wildlife.

Melissa and I loved this trip so much! Our participants expressed their appreciation and love for the trip as well. Some favorite moments include seeing the Grand Prismatic Spring, hiking the Beaver Pond trail, seeing bison, elks, and grizzly bears up close, and bouldering at The Hoodoos! We played Uno late by the fire, went on a stargazing hike to Madison River, had delicious tacos for dinner cooked over the fire, and even considered stopping to collect snow on the side of the road while we passed through Wyoming to bring it back home to Minnesota! Saturday night, after a day of packing up camp, climbing, and some more sights, we drove 15 hours back home with amazing photos, new friends, and great memories!