For many years now, it’s been our tradition to spend New Year’s Eve at the Buffalo Ranch in the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. George teaches an annual class for the Yellowstone Forever Institute called “New Year’s Wildlife Watching”, three days and four nights watching and learning about animals great and small in the wild heart of the park. It’s such a delightful time to be in the park—many animals, like wolves, are more visible in the winter as they congregate in the low areas where there is less snow and more food for elk and other ungulates. It’s a wonderful time of reunion—seeing the animals we love and the students who come back and take the class year after year—as well as a time of new beginnings—meeting new students in the class, and turning the corner from one year to the next.
On New Year’s Eve, the last night of the class, everyone gathers in the “Bunkhouse” for food, drink, singing, and games to ring in the New Year. Some years, the snow is deep enough for little George to build caves in the snow-plow berms.
It’s rare we make it to midnight, after early mornings and long days in the field. After much laughter and good cheer, we make our way through the pitch black night to our cabins, carrying flashlights to avoid any bison lingering on the paths. If we’re lucky, there will be a moon to light the way. Standing on the porch of the cabin, we place our hands on the doorknob, but pause before going in. The silence and depth of the winter night envelops us. The air is so cold it burns our lungs if we breathe too deep. Glancing heavenward, we witness the impossible kaleidoscope of stars overhead, filled with awe and the feeling of insignifigance. Finally, we nestle into our sleeping bags in the cozy cabin, and dream of the new year and all our many blessings.
Places like the Buffalo Ranch, and classes like the ones offered by Yellowstone Forever, give us the opportunity to step back from the mundane and the bustle of our lives, and enter something magical. We are filled with gratitude. Happy New Year.
Photos: ©Jenny Golding (top and bottom), Maria Bisso (middle).