Young Folks (Ross Lynch AU)

twelve.

"Alright, everyone, we're here!" Mr. Danforth gleefully exclaimed after the hour long bus trip. Everyone sat up excitedly and grabbed their backpacks or string bags in anticipation.

We pulled up to what seemed to be an oversized, glorified log cabin. People were milling around the entrance of the building, reading different maps and brochures. We all stepped off the bus and crowded around Mr. Danforth.

"Welcome to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center!" He stated, holding out his arms like he was Jesus or something. We all looked around a bit, taking in the scenery.

"Alright let's head in to the visitor center so we can take a quick look around and then we can head back out," Mr. Danforth instructed, and we all filed into the building.

Professor Danforth approached the front desk and started speaking with the park ranger while some of the students hovered around the gift shop and others, like myself, went over to read more about the park and its animals.

There was a giant stuffed bear that stood on a pedestal in the middle of the room. Other animal heads lined the walls, such as moose, bison, elk, caribou, and lynx.

There were informational excerpts around the room as well that some students were reading, and towards the back of the room was a giant, glass window that gave a view of the park.

Grassy plains were all that could be for miles on end, but gave way to the treacherous mountains without a fight. Various animals could be seen grazing the grass, but I couldn't identify any, for they were all too far to see them as anything but a small brown dot.

After I stared at the view for quite some time, I made my way over to the gift shop. I quickly found what I was looking for, a keychain with the name of the park. I collected key chains from all the national parks and other state parks I had visited, and I had quite the stash if I do say so myself.

I purchased the small souvenir and then joined the small group of students who had gathered near the front desk. Several minutes later, everyone was present in that spot, and we all left the visitor center and climbed onto the bus once more.

"Alright everyone it will be about a 15 minute drive and then we will be stopping. We will be taking a short hike, around a mile round trip, so change into your tennis shoes or hiking boots if you already haven't," Mr. Danforth informed us. Most people already had on the proper footwear, but a few dug through their bags and grabbed their shoes.

There was a bit of chatter going on throughout the ride, but it seemed that most people were looking out their windows. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

About 5 minutes in, a few gasps were heard on the right side of the bus.

"Bear!" Harry exclaimed. "Grizzly, with two cubs!"

Everyone rushed over to the right side and tried to catch a glimpse of the bears. The bus driver slowed down as we all grabbed our cameras and snapped a couple of pictures.

The bears were standing by a river, the momma in front and the cubs behind. Suddenly, the mom stuck her paw into the river and in a flash, she scooped up a salmon. She set it down in front of her cubs and then turned back to the river.

A few of the girls aww-ed and sighed at the motherly gesture while others just took pictures and or video. But soon enough, the grizzlies were out of sight.

The journey ended ten minutes later, and everyone piled out of the bus once again, backpacks on shoulders and cameras around necks.

"Everyone ready?" Mr. Danforth asked. A chorus of yeses went up throughout the class and our professor smiled before leading us to the trailhead and the start of our first adventure.

We all hiked along the trail, everyone talking quietly amongst themselves and taking pictures every so often. We all stayed relatively quiet, though, so as not to disturb the peace, and so we could see wildlife.

And sure enough, within the first five minutes, we had already seen bison, an eagle, and elk. I hoped everyone brought at least five memory cards for their cameras because at this rate the cards would be full within a flash.

"It's amazing how much wildlife there is out here, isn't it?" Dani asked as we hiked along.

"Well, it is a wildlife conservation center," I joked, which caused her to slap my arm lightly.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Dani rolled her eyes. "But seriously, it's so different from Chicago. It's crazy."

"You don't get out much, do you Dani?" I teased. "I'm just messing with you. I agree. It is quite astounding how different other parts of the world are. It's hard to imagine anything other than the concrete jungle we live in sometimes, isn't it?"

Just as Dani was about to speak once more, we heard a harsh whisper from the front of the line.

"Everybody shut up!" Trevor hissed. Silence overcame the group and he whispered once more. "Moose!"

I stepped off of the trail and cautiously moved forward toward the front. I saw that there was a stream that cut through the grassy plain, and in it stood a moose.

It was a male, its rack reaching high into the sky. He was just drinking from the stream without a care in the world, ignoring all the sounds of shutters from our cameras.

I snapped a few pictures before featuring for everyone to turn around and walk the other way. Moose weren't violent creatures, but if approached, the will attack. It was better to turn around before it noticed us and be safe rather than sorry.

Once we got far enough away front the giant creature, we all were gushing about him. I had guessed that most, if not all, of the class had never seen a moose. They were rare, and seeing one in person is not something everyone in the world gets to experience.

When we got back to the bus, everyone was still buzzing about all the wildlife we saw. We all took our seats and waited patiently to start off to our next destination.

"Well," Mr. Danforth grinned, "that was exciting, wasn't it?"

filler chapter but shits gonna go down in the next chapter so watch out

picture I took of a bison when I was in Yellowstone earlier this summer

and just for the record, I saw three moose on that trip, too :)