Yellowstone National Park is known to many as a place for scenic views, new and unseen wildlife, and a chance to reconnect with the parts of the world that are naturally beautiful and mysterious.
My crew and I worked there for three weeks. We can possibly relate to the appealing attractions I just spoke of, however, our experience was completely different because it was part of a job. Do not misunderstand; I loved every minute of it.
During those three weeks I learned about the people I have grown to respect for who they are (and whom I will probably continue to respect, always). Our crew gained more experience, more confidence, more cohesiveness, and yet somehow we remained ourselves, individual people. It is really hard to comprehend the fact that when a person sets their mind to something they can do great things, but when a group sets their mind to something (and this is with anything) the "great things" are on a scale that at one point was the unthinkable, the impossible. At the end of the day, I think that we truly felt fulfilled, simply happy. I do not see how you could feel any other way when at the end of the day you have accomplished something that holds depth and meaning, and you have attained that feeling not just from yourself, but with other people.
The projects that we had to tackle were of course physically and mentally demanding as well (it is a part of the job). When we arrived at the Artist Paint Pots in Yellowstone all I could remember thinking was "Wow, this is going to be hard." But then I stopped myself and remembered to take the project day by day. Everyday is after all, a new day right?
The first week was full of moving materials that were a necessary to complete our projects. We moved what seemed like an endless supply of logs and rocks. The logs were needed to build check steps to prevent erosion of the trail. They were also needed for a bumper wall to keep people within the safe boundaries of the trail (after all, curiosity can easily lead you astray in a beautiful place). The logs were also needed to provide new strong and aesthetically pleasing railways for all the people who come to visit the Paint Pots. New fencing was also needed in several different spots (I now know how to build a jack link fence).
Week two was a short and sweet word that can be bittersweet, and that word is crazy. This week really marked our crew's ability to tackle different projects separately to not only try to keep cohesiveness but also to be more efficient ( as it is not time that is always important, it is what you make of the time you have). Two rock staircases were needed on either side of the trail loop. The people in my crew who worked on this spent long hours learning to place rocks in a way that made a perfect, even, and beautiful staircase(yes, a staircase can be beautiful). I truly believe that these were the most significant projects.
It is funny because when I try to logically sort out what we did together, I can't. There was so much more that we did in between the huge projects to make them possible. There was also so much more to the whole experience. Logically, it is a job, a different experience. But really at the end of the day it is simply a good feeling.
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