birthday on the prairie

Yesterday was my 25th birthday and I spent it exploring the prairie.  Emily does her graduate research out here in the eastern block of Grasslands National Park, so we are able to stay in the field station for a couple days.  When we arrived on Saturday night it was late and we were tired, so I didn't see the park until the next day.  I awoke to a land I had imagined so many times and yet my visions never came close to its real beauty.  Emily and I went out on a 4-wheeler and she brought me to some of her favorite places.  As we drove down the dirt paths birds often flew up around us and ahead of us.  It was like we were in an old Disney movie.


This park is one of the most pristine mixed-grass prairies in the world, and aside from some cattle, dirt roads, and fences, it looks and functions much like it has for thousands of years.  There are some differences for sure, like the eradication of the bison and the loss or diminished populations of other animal species.  But even though the spirit of the prairie has been scarred with these loses, it still shines with beauty and life.  In one day I saw cattle, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, rabbits, hawks, a prairie dog, and some tiny frogs.

Last night we had a delicious home cooked meal at the house of a very nice family of ranchers that live up the street.  Emily became friends with them this last summer when her car got stuck in the mud near their place.  We are heading out of this part of the park today, but when we come back in a week or so, I will try to get some photos of them.

Emily and I stopped on the side of this hill to relax and take in the view.