Living & Working in Great Places

Bill Berg's Blog (33)

Harold C. Berg ~ August 17, 1916 to October 31, 2009

The World lost a good man Saturday night but we had him for 93 good years. Harold was born on the Berg farm west of Atwater Minnesota and left us a few hours ago, with Helen and Bill at his side, in Englewood Florida. He said the town doctor used to say that “if you live long enough something will kill you”. Even Harold couldn’t buck those odds but he loved life, he lived long and well, and he lives… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on October 31, 2009 at 11:00pm — 11 Comments

A Ruby Dazzler Weekend in Yellowstone

The weather is spectacular in Yellowstone and the locals are out taking advantage of it. Great day with great friends in Yellowstone on Saturday. BPC - Sept 26, 2009 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: Share GPS Tracks Then watched the first segment of Ken Burns National Parks documentary on the National Parks just a few yards from the Roosevelt Arch in Gardiner Sunday n… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on September 28, 2009 at 7:00am — No Comments

Great Country, Great Friends & Dinner with a Nobel Prize Winner

Sitting in this ridiculously gorgeous lobby at Jackson Lake Lodge - the sun has faded and so, too, the peaks.

It was a very good day, full of the things that brought me back to this Yellowstone-Teton area to stay after misguided attempts, years ago, to find a real job. Delivered a Cool Works sweatshirt to Scott a… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on May 18, 2009 at 10:30pm — 1 Comment

Cycling Around the World - 6 Years, 50,000 Miles, 1 Year to Go...

A great Friday evening kicked off a fantastic weekend. A local tribe got together for an Indoor/Outdoor, Hello/Good-bye, Potluck Party for those Parkies that are leaving to go elsewhere for the summer and for those returning to Yellowstone for another season.

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Added by Bill Berg on April 26, 2009 at 4:00pm — 2 Comments

Keep Your Balance, Hang On, Know How to Let Go - 9 Lessons from Rock Climbing

Matthew Childs: Hang in there! 9 life lessons from rock climbing

More about Matthew. Continue

Added by Bill Berg on April 17, 2009 at 8:57am — 1 Comment

Yellowstone Friend Heads to Everest Base Camp for 7th Straight Season

Dr. Luanne Freer is a fixture around Yellowstone and at Everest Base Camp. She spends her summers working with the medical services in Yellowstone Park but every spring heads… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on March 27, 2009 at 8:20am — No Comments

50 Jobs in 50 States in a Year

There's a little something to admire here. Daniel Seddiqui is halfway through his plan to work at 50 jobs in 50 states within a year. His gigs have so far included bartender in New Orleans, Limo Driver in Vegas and cheesemaker in Wisconsin. Read up on him here and track him on his website at http://www.livingthemap.com.

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Added by Bill Berg on February 24, 2009 at 10:08am — No Comments

A Winter Week in Yellowstone

The sun came back this week and now we could use some more snow. But it was a great week around here. A few shots from Old Faithful to Mammoth to Tower.

Find more photos like this on My CoolWorks
… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on January 18, 2009 at 7:57am — No Comments

Snow Cave in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness

Four folks and two good dogs had a great 2 night / 3 day trip into the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Area near the north entrance of Yellowstone Park. We started up in the slush on Thursday but got high enough to leave that behind. We built a snowcave in some gnarly weather, then woke up to a sweet day and great snow conditions on Friday, January 9th. Called it a day under clear skies and a gorgeous moon to wake up to more… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on January 11, 2009 at 1:18pm — 3 Comments

Yellowstone Rangers

I started Cool Workin' with a summer job in Yellowstone in 1972. My wife, Colette, started in 1974. We both worked for YPSS for our first jobs in the park. We hooked up out at Old Faithful in the winters of the late 70's and early 80's when I was a Winterkeeper at Old Faithful and she was a Ranger. Then I was a Winterkeeper at Lake and Colette worked construction through the winter. Along with work as a NOLS instructor and backcountry ranger work in A… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on August 17, 2008 at 8:28am — 2 Comments

Spring Skiing in Yellowstone - Up Avalanche Peak on May 3rd

Sylvan Pass and Avalanche Peak, in Yellowstone, can be a spring treat. The road over Sylvan Pass and out to Cody opened up on May 2nd and we got up early to take a look at Avalanche Peak on the 3rd. We left Gardiner at 6ish, found PLENTY of snow at the trailhead (about 6 feet), started up at about 8:30, grunted to the summit in 3 hours and enjoyed some recreational gravity on the way back.

… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on May 4, 2008 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

Bears, Birth, Dreams and Death

The interior roads of Yellowstone started to open up for the 2008 summer season on Friday -- April 18. The roads from Mammoth to Canyon to West Yellowstone and into Old Faithful are now open to the public. Stay tuned though, it’s snowing pretty hard in Gardiner right now, on April 20th. I was in West Yellowstone Friday night and drove out for a look around on Saturday and – well – Yellowstone does not disappoint. I headed to Old Faithful and parked over towards the Lodge then walked by Old Fai… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on April 20, 2008 at 5:00pm — 4 Comments

The Bicycling Sweet Spot in Yellowstone - Springtime!

There's a window of opportunity each spring when some of the roads have been mostly plowed out but they aren't open for cars yet but they ARE open for bikes. No cars, great roads, lots of snow, scenery and the occasional wildlife-obstacle. Four of us rode from Mammoth to Obsidian Cliff and back on April 12 - 20ish miles with a CRUISIN' downhill at the end. The road from Mammoth over to West, over to Canyon and down to Old Faithful opens to cars on the 18th.

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Added by Bill Berg on April 12, 2008 at 7:34pm — No Comments

Contemplating Life's Persistent Questions...

Stephen Hawking - Asking Big Questions about the Universe:

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Added by Bill Berg on April 4, 2008 at 4:06pm — 1 Comment

A Stroke of Insight

Watch this video - really. It's remarkable. "Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another."

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Added by Bill Berg on March 16, 2008 at 8:00am — 5 Comments

-50 in Fairbanks

Even colder today. We were ready to go at 8:30 but it wasn't to be. Took another look at 10:30 and it was worse. We're looking at some other options but basically everything is sketchy at 50 below. The mushers are moving out there but we haven't found a way, yet, to get out to warm up that Roadhouse for them. We figure the first mushers will get there on the 12th. We'll take another look tomorrow. Keep up with the race at http://www.yukonquest.com/site/race-updates/ Continue

Added by Bill Berg on February 10, 2008 at 1:38pm — 1 Comment

Start of the Yukon Quest

We didn't make it to the Yukon today - too cold to fly. So we got to watch a few racers start off. We missed Julie because we had to check in to see if we might still fly out to the river but it wasn't to be. We hope to get in tomorrow - if not it will be tight to have things ready for the first mushers that are likely to get to Slaven's Cabin on the 12th. Saw some GREAT Northern Lights tonight. Check out the video of 4 mushers starting the race today. The third one is Lance Mackey, who has w… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on February 10, 2008 at 1:57am — No Comments

Way Up North - Volunteering for the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race Next Week

My wife and I worked as backcountry rangers in what was then a new National Park Service area in Alaska called Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve in the early 80's. We thought we'd be living in a wall tent but ended up working out of an old roadhouse called the Slaven Cabin during the summers of 1982 and 1983.

The cabin is out t… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on February 7, 2008 at 8:04am — 3 Comments

WolfQuest - Be a Wolf in a Video Game

A video game called WolfQuest was funded by a National Science Foundation grant. The game is free for download at WolfQuest.org. The game was released on December 20 and it was downloaded 13,500 times by the day after Christmas.

The Minnesota Zoo, the National Zoo, the Phoenix Zoo, Yellowstone and the International Wolf Center collaborated on the game.

Here… Continue

Added by Bill Berg on January 3, 2008 at 8:37am — No Comments