Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
The Yellowstone Association Institute has opened registration for its 2016 Field Seminars.
Offered in spring, summer, and fall, the YA Field Seminars usually last two to three days and cover a gamut of topics centered on Yellowstone National Park, often blending together teaching with outdoor activities such as hiking and wildlife observation.
Indeed, this year’s Seminars are slated to be extra special, as the National Park Service prepares to celebrate its centennial.
“With so many people interested in Yellowstone because of this year’s centennial, we have created several new Field Seminars that will encourage our visitors to reflect on how far we’ve come and where we are going as stewards of the world’s first national park,” said Wendie Carr, marketing manager for the Yellowstone Association, in a YA press release.
Seminars have broad appeal for travelers looking for a safe, affordable and in-depth park experience. “Field Seminar leaders safely guide guests to places far beyond the typical tourist viewpoints, which allows for a much deeper – and more personal – park experience,” Carr said.
You can read the full list of Field Seminars here, which includes pricing for each class, but below is a quick sampling, courtesy of a YA press release.:
• Centennial Seminars: “Day Hiking Yellowstone’s Ancient Routes;” “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Facing Geological Challenges in Yellowstone;” “An Artist Retreat: Reconnecting with The Natural World;” “Journaling in the Spirit of Lewis and Clark;” “100 Ideas for Keeping a Travel Sketch Book;” “Yellowstone’s Geological Legacy;” and “Foundations of the National Park Service in Yellowstone.”
• Wildlife: “Spring Babies;” “Who’s There: Owls in Yellowstone;” “Bears, Bones, Signs and Stories;” and “Wolves: Reality and Myth.”
• Seminars for Artists: “Digital Photography Immersion;” “Painting the Fall Landscapes of Yellowstone;” and “The Art of the Illuminated Field Journal.”
• Natural World: “High Energy and Alpine Wildflowers;” “Naturalist Series: Thermal Geology and Biology;” and “Native American Plants and Their Uses.”
• History: “Ghost Hotels;” “Crow Tribal Culture and Yellowstone;” and “Old Times at Old Faithful.”
• Physically Fun and Challenging: “Big Hikes in Big Sky Country;” “Hiking Northern Yellowstone’s Geology;” and “Off-Trail Hiking on the Northern Range.”
• Just Plain Fun: “Backcountry Cooking;” “Fly Fishing for Beginners;” and “Roadside Geology of Yellowstone Country.”
For those interested, the YA offers lodging for participants at both the Lamar Buffalo Ranch Field Campus and the Yellowstone Overlook Field Campus. Lodging costs are separate from Field Seminar registration.
