the old faithful (& then some)

as we were venturing into the wilds, i stashed food accordingly.

only the essentials made the cut.

purloined hotel fruit was added along the way.

the haul.

it was a short driving day (which allowed the boys to sleep in, me to jump on the internet one last time, & Mike to finish his tour of the Cody Museum).  in a flash, we were flaunting our prestigious park pass (yours, too, for the annual joining fee of eighty dollars.  once we are seniors, it's a mere ten bucks!), collecting the map and park newspaper from the cheery ranger, and cruising into what is one of the most beloved national parks in our country.

photo by Mike

you would almost think this was staged,

but we were immediately greeted by a bison!

in retrospect, he really was one of the best ones we saw.

most of them were in a stage of half-moult, with chunks of winter pelt clinging

in mangy fashion to various parts of their backs and sides.

this guy seems so well-groomed.

i think he knows it.

photo by Mike

 we entered Yellowstone from the east entrance,

which brings you in near Lake Yellowstone.

at the edges of the lake, there are steam vents and mudpots!

this was our first look at the volatile yellowstone caldera

that is creeping northeast two centimeters every year.

(actually, it's more that the North American plate is creeping southwest,

but you get the idea.  it is moving.  don't buy land in southern Montana.)

one of the mudpots at a rolling boil.

 we stopped at a couple of bubbling cauldrons on our way

to the Old Faithful area - amazing!

a natural terrarium

 Yellowstone is Bison Country!

photo by Mike

another animal we saw almost right away was this impressive elk.  at the time, we didn't realize how fortunate we were to see it!  we only saw one other elk with antlers the entire time in the park.

there are several forks in the road at Yellowstone, and i knew we were probably not going to take this particular fork again - so we hiked!  we chose the South Rim Trail of the Yellowstone River and were better for it.  this area is also called 'the grand canyon of yellowstone,' and it is impressive.  the water was high and fast and loud.

i set up the selfie, then didn't know how much to lean in...

 

photo by Mike

trying to capture the moment (photo by Mike)

&, then, we were there.

the most amusing parts of these eruptions, of course, involved my fellow humans.  oooooh.  oh.  aaaaah.  hm.  oh! there it goes!  click-click-click-click go the cameras.  mine included.

Old Faithful is well-known for its punctuality & height, but i found many of the other water&steam features in this area of the park far more mesmerizing.  we went on a ranger-led hike (if you can call a stroll on boardwalks a hike) in the Norris Geyser Basin one morning, another ranger-led hike around the other geysers in the old faithful area (though we ditched the group because it was so slow-moving), and a self-guided tour around geyser hill near the lodge.  it was hypnotic, fascinating, and (occasionally) stinky.

 Vixen Geyser, with ranger commentary

the evergreens in this area of the country are, primarily, Lodgepole Pine.  as the name suggests, they were used by Native Americans as the center pole of a tepee.  we saw entire hillsides in the Black Hills decimated by the pine beetle.  not a tree left.  (interestingly, the pine beetle will feature more positively in a separate post that i'm working on about the Old Faithful Inn.)

pollen-laden & ready.

there are different kinds of beauty, and i find this kind of slimy, mucky, oozing mud to be not quite as appealing as the iridescent, rainbow-hued pools.  but it is beautiful in its own base kind of way.  primeval & elemental, for sure.  kind of makes you want to grunt in a cavewoman-like way.  or is that just me?

a little splutter is all that's left.

Norris Geyser Basin

we had our own wheels, but i liked the look of this yellow(stone) bus.