So to start this blog…. The 2019 REU orientation was different from the one I attended back in 2016 and I am happy it was held in my favorite park, Glacier. Monday of the orientation was a little rough as we sat in a classroom most of the day, I am an outdoor girl so I find classrooms stifling to say the least. For me, it was pretty much a repeat from what I can remember so I rather not linger on that part. I really enjoyed the talk held by Tabitha Graves from the USGS on the grizzly bear, that is one of my favorite animals to study. Some of what she said I had learned about in my Ecology class. The little classes held by the Glacier Institute there was okay, they just seemed pretty much geared to a younger crowd though, not really something for non traditional students in college, more like K-12. One thing that bothered me was the fact that when the Glacier Institute instructors did the walks, they would get so far ahead that I was constantly left behind, but I really appreciated my fellow interns who stayed behind to walked with me, and I made sure I had my bear spray on my hip everywhere I went. Two of the days in the early morning hours a group of us went exploring the park before classes and some of my photos will reflect this as they were taken in the light of dawn. On the last day I drove another intern over to the Saint Marys side of the park to see the contrasting beauty of the park from east to west, as well as the disappearing glaciers. This is something that hit home as I was a Geology major before moving to Montana and he is a current Geology major. So for this post only I will load y’all down with pictures of the orientation week. Photography is my hobby so enjoy.