The Gulf oil scenario is beyond comprehension. Please take a moment and contemplate exactly what is happening to that extremely fragile ecosystem. You say you don’t care, but you love fresh oysters and shrimp. Well, you can kiss that goodbye. If you live or ever lived in the South, as I did for many years, you should be… pissed. If you live or lived anywhere else in the world you should be beyond pissed! Write or call your congressman. We’ve allowed big oil to be the boss too long! The dolphin put me over the edge.
No matter how many times you drive through the stone arches of Yellowstone National Park’s northern entrance, or how many times you drive the long winding road of the Lamar Valley, you are always reminded that you are stepping into something magical, something that has been set aside, just for you. Ol’ Teddy was on to something when he ensured that the Parks would be for the protection of the place as well as ” the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”
Even living 45 minutes from the Park and going as often as time and vacation days allow, I never leave disappointed. That’s not to say I get excited every single day to go. When you live in Paradise Valley, you get a lot of out of town visitors. Your “time off” and vacation days are usually taken to entertain Uncle Bob and the in-laws. And at the top of every visitors’ list of things to to while they visit is Yellowstone! Even with it’s proximity to our house, it is still an all day(s) production. Cleaning out the largest vehicle you can get your hands on, locating your binoculars, packing snacks and suits, hiking shoes and rain jackets, spotting scopes, and trail books.
It feels a bit forced sometimes,for me it starts out like any other task on the “to do list” when you have guests. It is something you have to do while the family invaders are here. But then, after the short and beautiful drive along the Yellowstone, as soon as you pass through Yankee Jim Canyon heading south, I start to get that tickle in my stomach. My ridiculously short memory kicks in and I start grinning at the thought of the yellow canyons, the raging waterfalls, the miles of endless meadows dotted with truly miraculous thermal features, bubbling from the earth.
Will we see a bear today? Wolves? Is even thinking about it going to jinx us? I find myself over excited and babbling on and on about the history, the geology, the tidbits of science that I have picked up from friends and experts in the field – regurgitating it all back to my captive audience. I realize that I long for them to “get it” to feel the love, the wonder, the passion that I have for this perfect dot in our Universe. Do they really understand what it takes to protect this? What has had to happen to 
ensure that the Park remains untouched, natural, real? Do they get the urgency that these animals feel every day just to survive? Do they see that there is no place like this – a place where predator – prey balance is as it should be, that research that can change our planet is going on RIGHT HERE?
Children walk the boardwalks at Old Faithful, Norris Geyser Basin, stand with a Biologist and share his spotting scope as they view the Druid Peak pack. Will that “kid,” that teenager up and move here so they can be a part of this miracle on a regular basis? Will their drive through the Hayden Valley, their walk to the falls at Canyon make them want to protect the Earth, even just a bit more?
I am that kid, that teen, and now I am that adult – giddy as ever, trying to share the love of a place. It’s impossible to describe being in love to someone else. It’s between you and that person , or for me, this place). My love affair with Yellowstone is real. Oh how I love to see others’ fall in love.
We are feeling cheery today. We have waited with baited breath for the completion of our improved (and much needed) new website. I don’t even want to tell you how long it has taken us to get this puppy up and launched, but alas, it’s done! The only changes you will see are MORE EAC trips being added to our impressive and extensive catalog.
We are proud to have a new look that better reflects the quality trip, service and adventure you have always come to rely on from Environmental Adventure Company.
We hope you will find it easier to browse our trips, learn more about Environmental Adventure Company, contact us, and book your next adventure.
Blah, blah, blah… I know the real reason you are still reading is so you can win a FREE vacation! We are calling it our “stimulus package” to you – our faithful travelers and fans.
Here’s how you can win a FREE trip with EAC:
{ go to www.eactours.com, click on the “Contact Us” on the top menu bar, and then the “Email” choice, enter your name, email and write “I want to Travel FREE with EAC!” in the subject line of your email. Then submit it to us }
You will automatically be entered in a drawing for ANY EAC trip of your choice for 2011. The drawing will be held on January 1, 2011. You can only enter once, but you CAN tell your friends, please tell your friends! This is no gimmick, someone will be going on a free trip and it might as well be YOU!
Good luck and enjoy the new site!
Get away from it all on a Womens Only Bargain Adventure to beautiful Costa Rica - offered by Environmental Adventure Company.
Read More Post a comment (3)The National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest conservation organization, just announced that FIVE of Environmental Adventure Company’s wildlife tours have been awarded spots in the “Top 15 Wildlife-Viewing Tours of 2011” Yes, EAC has FIVE in the Top 15 – the MOST awarded to any one Tour Company!
The EAC Trips that made the “Top 15” (which you can see complete descriptions of in our Catalog):
Wild Caribbean
Photographing Yellowstone
Wolves, Bears, Geysers
Whooping Cranes of Texas
Best of the Everglades
NWF works with more than 4 million members, partners and supporters in communities across the country to protect and restore wildlife habitat, confront global warming and connect with nature. The National Wildlife Federation has a travel program for it’s members called, NWF Expeditions. The goal of NWF Expeditions is to find extraordinary ways to connect you with nature, and travel is an outstanding way to do that. NWF can’t create the trips themselves, so they provide a service that is just as valuable.
Every year, NWF vets hundreds of tour companies, and reviews thousands of programs and itineraries, to find the best tour operators, the best destinations and the best values. How useful is this service? Consider this: If you type “wildlife tours” into an Internet search engine, you’ll find more than 650,000 entries. The choices can be overwhelming, so they’ve taken the guesswork out of the process.
They select what they consider to be the top wildlife viewing trips of 2011!
Congratulations to EAC!
We all start to get a bit antsy this time of year. This time when winter has been here for months and warmer weather teases us and gives us hope for warmth on our skin again. We have a few days of sunny weather and maybe, just maybe, it’s not even windy in our Windy City of Livingston. Even if Old Man Winter returns next week and brings with Him 20 inches of snow, we get SPRING FEVER!
We like to break up the winter doldrums with TRAVEL! Here are a few of the places we like to go in the Spring. We hope you can join us! Here’s a little sampling for a mountain getaway … or is the beach more your style?
Wolves, Bears and Geysers – A Yellowstone Expedition
May 15, 2010 – May 21, 2010 SOLD OUT!
May 22, 2010 – May 28, 2010 Reserve Now
Join us on the premiere wildlife viewing adventure of the Rockies! You will be amazed as you witness the abundant wildlife and natural wonders of Yellowstone National Park. Whether you are a professional photographer, amateur naturalist or just someone who loves the beauty of nature – this ultimate wildlife extravaganza is for you! We hope you will join us in the Serengeti of North America! PRICE REDUCED – Only $2995 $2195 per person
April 5-14, 2010 Reserve Now
Yellowstone National Park has the largest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48 states. No wonder it’s called “The Serengeti of North America.” Many Americans don’t realize what a treasure Yellowstone National Park is, yet it is in their own backyard. Nearly all of the wildlife species that inhabited the park when it was first explored over 100 years ago still survive today. In fact, Yellowstone National Park is the only place on earth where a wild, free-ranging bison herd has survived continuously since prehistoric times.
One of the most frequently asked questions to Park experts and personnel is “when is the best time to view wildlife?”
You can join the 3.3 million visitors that passed through Yellowstone’s gates this year and viewed the occasional bison or coyote from their car, or you can join us on an EAC National Park adventure where you have access to the backroads and prime wildlife viewing locations of the park. EAC’s Yellowstone National Park tours are designed to put you in the midst of wildlife. Whether you are a professional photographer, amateur naturalist or someone who just loves the beauty of nature – our EAC Yellowstone National Park Tours are the ultimate wildlife viewing trips for you. We travel into Yellowstone’s premiere locations for wildlife viewing. A local expert naturalist always accompanies you, you as you witness the awesome power of the magnificent grizzly and listen to the unmistakable howl of the gray wolf.
Bison are common in Yellowstone National Park and can be viewed in many locations during most of the year. However, if you visit Yellowstone in August your best chance of viewing them will be at Hayden Valley. Bison travel from all over Yellowstone in late July to Hayden Valley for their annual mating season. They are usually seen in early morning while they are located in Hayden Valley. Bison can also be viewed in the Lamar Valley each month of year.
Research has found that the average adult grizzly bear will avoid an active road up to 2.4 miles. During spring and mid summer, a few visitors do get lucky and have the opportunity to see a grizzly bear. In early spring (May and June) bears can be viewed just about anywhere in the park. In late summer (Aug.) visitors report seeing grizzly bears at Canyon and Mount Washburn.
The mystical wolf can be viewed in Yellowstone park today, but most visitors spot coyotes thinking they are viewing wolves. Winter is the best time for viewing wolves, and can be viewed from the northern boundary of Yellowstone Park to as far south as Jackson, Wyoming. The most popular area to view wolves is in the northern range of Yellowstone between Mammoth and Cooke City, Montana.
We KNOW Yellowstone, we live in the area and are passionate about the preservation and conservation of all the resources found in Yellowstone. We have worked with Yellowstone and the World’s leading researchers and scientists for years. Our National Park adventures are more than an exciting vacation (which they are). They are once-in-a-lifetime wildlife safaris and learning experiences. You will feel the wildness that embodies Yellowstone.
We hope you join us on one of our affordable and unique National Park adventures in 2010. We have Family Adventures, Photo Expeditions, and other exclusive tour opportunities in the Park.
Let’s GO WILD this year!
To sum it up, Environmental Adventure Company wants to engage travelers in meaningful adventures that enhance quality of life.
That might mean different things to different people. To some it’s hiking on a trail and not seeing other people – for the first time. To others it means getting a first hand look at the Polar Bear that they have been trying to protect – understanding for the first time what their life’s work is about. To some it is taking the time to spend an entire week with their family – teaching their child how to appreciate a bird, fish, or tree. For me its the thrill of the unknown – never knowing where the next bend, peak, or plane ride has at the next corner. The surprise of life is the spice of life and there’s no better place to discover what is meaningful to you, to add to your quality of life – than through travel.
We only use the best of the best for our adventures. People who love to travel, who love a place, who love a people. We work with some of the leading scientists and experts in their fields. People who have chosen a life of serving others so they can understand a deeper connection to the World around them.
Come see why those who travel with EAC come back again and again. Why we are more than tour guides – we are quality of life experts – we show you how to have adventure in your lifetime.
EAC was recently featured in International Lifestyle Magazine, Issue 17 page 39.
The article, “Wander World” eloquently describes the purpose and goals of EAC’s Adventures throughout the world.
Check it out HERE in International Lifestyle Magazine, go to page 39
It’s worth a look!
“I have wandered all my life,
and I have also traveled;
the difference between the two being this,
that we wander for distraction,
but we travel for fulfillment”
Hilaire Belloc
Just Dance
Ah, how true this is. Sometimes it’s good to remember why we started this business, this lifestyle in the first place. To see a myriad of new sights – yes. To understand how others live – definitely. To see with our own eyes the movement of an illusive and mystical animal that exists in our dreams…
But to feel fulfilled. To know that traveling is part of our soul. Part of our responsibility to understand the larger world around us. It is a calling, a gentle pull of a bigger force than us. Learn, feel, experience, UNDERSTAND.
At EAC we have seen the life changing moments in so many. When they “get it, they see and hear what they have always known in their minds. They go back to a daily grind, sure, but they are left with an indeterminable conviction and understanding for the places and things they saw, smelled, tasted, felt.
Our trips are meant to change each individual. Meant to collectively change this world. Change the way we interact with each other, with our neighbors (both furry, with fins, and human).
We have passion to help you find FULFILLMENT. Are you ready to GO WILD and change your life?
