WEEK 3 (click here to go to the next week)

September 28 - October 4, 2009

Who's Leading? The 5th Graders lead by 74¼ miles!

MILEAGE THIS WEEK: 5TH GRADE = 61 MILES  /  4TH GRADE = 13 MILES

TOTAL MILEAGE TO DATE: 5TH GRADE = 162½ MILES  /  4TH GRADE = 88¼ MILES

This week the 5th graders widened their lead over the forth grade. Currently, the 5th graders are in Butte City, Idaho - a tiny town of only about 76 people. Butte City lies in the Snake River Plain. It has mostly a flat desert landscape, with not a lot to see. You won't find businesses in Butte City, but rather a cluster of irrigated farms. The 4th graders are near Rexburg, Idaho - a town much larger than Butte City. Rexburg has about 17,000 residents and plenty of businesses. Rexburg hosts the annual International Folk Dance Festival, the city's largest and most well-known attraction. Each summer, dancers are invited from all over the world to perform dances and share other aspects of their cultures.

Since we're still not too far away from our starting point at Yellowstone National Park, we thought it would be good to tell you that a hoped-for cold front blew through Yellowstone National Park this week, bringing rain, snow and a welcome break for firefighters - who have been battling a lightning-sparked blaze for more than two weeks. After scorching more than 9,000 acres, the so-called "Arnica Fire" appeared to be retreating (allowing fire-fighting efforts that have involved more than 200 firefighters to be scaled down).

With the much cooler temperatures and now snow coming to Yellowstone National Park, it appears that the fire season has come to an end!

Also, the state of Wyoming has asked a federal appeals court to give a judge authority to block a proposal reducing the number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park. The National Park Service has said it intends to release a plan that could limit snowmobile traffic into Yellowstone and neighboring federal lands to 318 trips a day during the winter months — less than half of last season's daily limit of 720. So, why are there people who want to limit the number of snowmobiles that can go into the park each winter day? Mainly because they don't want the animals disturbed, the beautiful park landscape damaged in any way, and because some people say that the snowmobiles pollute the park's air with their engines.

So, what do you think? Do you think that allowing lots of snowmobiles into Yellowstone National Park each day scare and are a danger to wildlife there, hurt the landscape, or pollute the air? Or, do you think it's just fine that 720 snowmobiles can go into the park daily to view wildlife up close, take pictures, and cruise around in the park? This has been a big debate for many years.

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