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Posted by Ballpark Frank (66.58.238.35) on 13:12:10 09/02/12
In Reply to: A couple of points posted by Bison
I'll just springboard from what Bison and others have posted, although I'm not sure I have seen any crabs in thermal features (LOL).
I'm not addressing this to any one or two individuals in particular, but rather, to any interested parties who might read this.
I just might be on the verge of a rant, and some of you know how that sometimes goes.
I want to utilize my own personal history with the White Creek Group to illustrate the point many of us are trying to make.
Let's go back to the 1970s. (I know, some of you were not even treading this planet in that era, but I was, and I had a wife and kids.) We were relatively new to Yellowstone, but we stumbled onto the valuable interpretive programs, including evening programs in campground amphitheaters and walks/talks run from the visitor centers. In 1978, we participated in two specific interpretive walks. One was the "Mud Pot Special", which toured the Pocket Basin area. The other was a geyser gazing walk, which started from the area across the road from the Biscuit Basin parking lot, and went up the old road, past Artemisia Geyser and Morning Glory Pool, back to the visitor center at Old Faithful. Through these two interpretive ranger-led activities, we learned much about safely traveling through thermal areas outside the boardwalk areas.
In 1982, we returned to Yellowstone, armed with a copy of T. Scott Bryan's authoritative book, and a hunger for seeing more backcountry thermal areas. The White Creek Group made sense for an initial, unescorted foray, because of its proximity to the road. We spent close to a half day wandering up the creek and watching the diverse features in amazement.
Over the years, I returned to that area repeatedly. After moving to the Greater Yellowstone area, I found myself taking advantage of the White Creek Group as a "prop" for schooling family and friends on the geology of thermal features in general, and backcountry thermal features specifically. I eventually worked as an interpretive ranger, subsequently formed a Yellowstone-centric tour business, and brought groups of Loons back there during Loonions.
Part of what made the White Creek Group so special to me was the proximity of Octopus Pool, which played an important role in the early microbiology of thermophyllic bacteria, the days when humans first discovered life in the hot springs. It was a perfect "prop" for discussing the broad array of benefits and resource protection issues surrounding bioprospecting, including the legal actions and CRADA's (Cooperative Research and Development Agreements).
(Continued in Part 2)
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