Old Faithful

Today was too full to remember! We are feeling overwhelmed with one spectacular  sight after another. We woke up early to beat the rush into the park and were cruising along when there was suddenly a trio of bison heading along the side of the road towards us. We took don't photos and kept going. Next thing we saw was a coyote looking for breakfast a little into the woods off the road. Next was Old Faithful.  We arrived about 15 minutes before a spectacular eruption,  just perfect. The rest of the day we spent in the area. We saw every kind of volcanic feature,  from mud puts to geysers,  all in the same little area.

Bears and Wolves

Today we broke camp and headed to Canyon to return yesterday's rented bear spray. What a difference a day makes.  Massive herds of bison are suddenly in the Hayden Valley! Where were they hiding? But we aren't stopping, we have to drive through all of Wyoming today. Until we passed a huge crowd of onlookers,  and I caught sight of something. Bears,  clearly,  but something else. ..wolves! Two bears fighting two wolves over an elk carcass! We learned later that the wolves brought the elk down,  but a male grizzly chased them off.  When he left,  the wolves returned,  only to be chased off by a mama and two cubs.  Afterthatexcitement,  three bison walked in front of the car,  two snorting at us. ..farewell,  Yellowstone!

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Today we slept in and got a slower start to the day.  We bought an app that uses the car's GPS to play recorded audio information. ..it is like having a tour guide in the car.  It tells us when things are coming up and a little about what we are seeing it the window. Pretty cool! We let that lead us and so we saw the mud volcano and various views of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I don't know what to say about the Canyon. The power of water,  the magnitude of these natural features,  the tiny size of people. ..words like "awesome " and "amazing" and "fantastic" and"majestic" were made for the canyon,  not whatever we use them for today.

We also saw a lot of wildlife: bison,  a grizzly juvenile, a bald eagle, an Osprey  nest, a grizzly mom and cubs,  and Phil saw a marten. Again,  I am overwhelmed.

We did two short hikes around the canyon,  but they were pretty crowded. Today we have done about 16000 steps so far today,  but 27600 yesterday. Previous days in the parks have ranged between 12000 and 23000. That is something like 4-7 miles.

The Gloaming

Jeremiah and I went out after dinner to look for wildlife. We drove 2 miles to West Thumb and went out on the lake boardwalk.  Within minutes we saw a herd of elk. Mothers and babies all around us. There were about 20. The mothers and babies called to each other with high pitched cries. No males in sight. We also saw two rabbits, and a whatwethoughtwasa pica,  a small, cute - looking rodent that is actually a monster: it scavenges dead birds after a storm and buries them in a hole,  then later digs them up and pierces their skulls with his sharp vampire teeth and eats their brains. Unfortunately it turned out to be a vole We also heard a coyote howl. All in the space of an hour. This place is incredible.

Whirlwind Travel

We are having a blast.  There are challenges.  We are out of our element in every way -- novice campers, new to the west, first-time national park visitors.  I know from my other adventures that what I'm experiencing is culture shock -- intense delight punctuated with moments of frustration and embarrassment.  We are making so many mistakes!  But we are also wowed by the scenery and amazed by the glory of the landscape in this country.  On one of our hikes, I met a couple who introduced themselves as being "from Europe" so I asked them where.  She was Hungarian and he was English, but they were living in Switzerland.  I was so struck seeing European visitors on my trip at home -- we always go to Europe!  Who are these people who live in the Alps but choose to come to the Grand Tetons?  Well, they don't have bison in the Swiss Alps, or marmots, or elk, or moose, and especially not bear.  They also don't have the Grand Canyon and the Tetons and Yellowstone.  There is no supervolcano caldera in Switzerland.  

I've driven across country as a kid, but wasn't old enough to have the sense of wonder I have now.  Seriously, Yellowstone IS a supervolcano?  The entire park?  THAT is a bison?  It is huge!  It feels prehistoric, or like an exotic elephant...what is it doing here, in my home country?  And the Tetons -- a new mountain range, not yet eroded to smooth mountains, still "sharp"?  New?  Still growing?  The mountains rise AND the "hole" sinks at the same time?  This stuff just amazes me.  This  country is truly amazing.  At one point, faced with the Purple Mountain in Yellowstone, we burst into "America the Beautiful."  On this drive we crossed the fruited plain and there, right in front of us is the purple mountain's majesty.  Seriously.

But there are challenges.  The moments of feeling like an idiot are coming thick and fast.  Parked illegally as everyone else did, and then heard a relayed call from below -- who has a Sienna with Florida plates that is causing a traffic jam?  Well, that is us yokels (though in our defense, it isn't like we parked thoughtlessly.  Just didn't think an RV the size of a Greyhound bus was going to try to navigate the overcrowded parking lot!). I accidentally cut in a line waiting for an electricity plug -- everyone wanted to charge an ipad or a phone, and I got yelled at.  Our tent leaks.  We didn't have the right clothing.  What strikes me is how we are all learning to shake it off.  Even the kids agree vehemently that we should get out of the car in the rain to see the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs.  We missed out on our extra day of Yellowstone camping because leaving the Tetons at 7am wasn't early enough, but everyone was fine with the extra several hours of driving to stay in West Yellowstone.  Phil and I understand culture shock enough to know that there is a learning curve, and that once we get through it, we will gain the experience to do this right the next time (which we hope is tomorrow), and that we cant take frustration too seriously.  But these kids, they just roll with the punches and cheerfully walk the miles and deal with the cold and wet.  

Yellowstone

Last night we did laundry and took showers,  and prepared for a fast getaway in the morning.  Ellie payed with the gang of kids across the way. ..she played Jackpot and football with the boys.

We woke up and were on the road by 8am, hoping to get one of the first come,  first served camping spots. No dice. We stopped at one site,  discovered we were playing a losing game,  and cut out losses and headed out of the park for West Yellowstone,  Montana,  hoping to snag a hotel room or camp site.  60 prevent chance of rain. ..we opted for civilization. But on our way out,  we hit slow traffic,  aggravating us until the car in front moved and we saw the cause. ...a bison strolling down the road.  My photo is incomplete because I couldn't hold the camera back any further to widen the shot and had only seconds to get it.  I could have touched him,  he was so close to the car! 

After getting a room and resupplying at a clothing store (hats, shirts,  sweatshirts,  gloves) and general store (containers,  tent sealer, camp stools,  a colander, batteries,  a nerf football), we grabbed sandwiches and headed back into the park.  With the road-bison gone and morning park rush hour over,  we easily returned to the Grand Loop. Stopping for bison,  elk,  marmots,  Mule deer, fumeroles, paint pots,  spitting mud holes, and steam vents,  we drove to Mammoth Springs and saw the incredible mineral rich hot springs that  are described as an inside out cave,  where instead of stalactites and stalagmites from water dropping down,  the spring makes terraces from water bubbling up. At the visitor center where Ellie started another Junior Ranger adventure,  there was an elk grazing on the town lawn!

Junior Ranger

Ellie is a Junior Ranger! She did a bunch of activities,  including a hike and a ranger program.