The thermal features of the park are remarkable! It was chilly when we started out and they seemed to be steaming a bit extra for us this morning. Dane and I would like to try an experiment, (of course we never would do this), take an egg, put it in a tea strainer, and dip it in the boiling spring and hard boil it! I bet it has been done before and I have read how occasionally large animals fall in and are scalded. I am especially annoyed to read some people go off the boardwalks and are hurt or killed. I hate to sound harsh, but they deserved it. I saw a couple a few days ago, deliberately walk off the path to have their photo taken. My sister, Gin yells at them when she sees them. I will also say something to those I see disobeying the park rules. You know me, I'm kinda bossy and not afraid to speak up. Fortunately, almost everyone complies because we understand how one little footprint could change things forever. You know...the butterfly effect kind of thing.Gorgeous waterfalls are on the agenda today too and I can't seem to ever fill my eyes enough with them. The sounds and splendor and the beauty of this place amazes me. I am so glad to have seen all of this up close and personal!
We saw a huge herd of elk today as well as an awful lot of bicyclists. Oh, to be young again and train to do this kind of thing. They are amazing up and down the hills.
The Artist's Pain Pots feature are beautiful. When you finally climb up to the top of the feature and look down, you see why exactly why it was named this. Bubbling pools of liquid in all colors, blue, turquoise, yellows, purples, oranges, it was fabulous! What must those early peoples to this continent have thought? It boggles the mind.
We ate a picnic lunch and headed to the Norris Ranger Museum. I found this quite interesting. In the old days, the soldiers kept outposts in different remote areas which were stocked and ready to hole up in if you happened to be in trouble and needed a place to stay during a blizzard or some other emergency. They were quite well-equipped with food, cooking utensils, a cot and blankets, snowshoes, skis, matches and many other items that would be needed to survive. I have heard of such a thing, but seeing it was great. There even was an itemized list of what a person was to do when they left the cabin so that it was ready for the next person. One of the instructions read to hang the mattress and blankets on a suspended wire so the mice would not get in it. Oh, and to empty and reset the mouse traps. Good idea!
Our next stop was Old Faithful and the Old Faithful Inn. This grand building is a sight to behold and it is easy to sit on one of the benches and imagine wealthy people in the early 1900's pulling up here for a stay in the wilderness. The Inn has retained much of the grandeur of that era while modernizing with quite nice bathrooms all tiled with modern plumbing as well as air conditioning in the shops and even an ice cream shop. A huckleberry ice cream cone was delicious! Huckleberries, looking a lot like a blueberry, are native to the area and are a favorite food source for birds, black bears, and grizzlies. Oh, and humans too!
Finally the time had come to see the infamous geyser, Old Faithful! We waited in the hot sun with many hundreds of other people, on benches surrounding the feature partially around it. The day was clear with beautiful blue skies and I was eager to see it! Gin was telling me that she had read that in years past, the army men would toss their dirty clothes down in the geyser hole and wait for it to erupt and spit their clothes back out, all perfectly steam cleaned! How fascinating!
Suddenly Old Faithful seemed to be starting to get ready to explode and she did! Steam and water shot out and the sight was breathtaking! A spectacular sight filling the sky and my heart! For some reason this sight really spoke to me! After it called down I continued to watch as finally the water trickled down in rivulets to near where I was sitting and made its way to a stream. What a sight! Please do not miss seeing this for yourself!!
Some of the group decided to take the long hike around some of the features. Because it was nearly a three mile hike and hot, Dan, Gin, and I decided to hang around the Old Faithful Inn and watch the people and the world go by. I am fascinated by how many languages I have heard spoken here from everywhere in the world. It seems to me that the Oriental nationalities especially, are here in force enjoying our National Park and spending lots of money. Wonderful!!It wasn't too much longer after some tine was spent in the gift shops and poking around the Inn waiting for the others that it was time for another eruption. We strategically places ourselves to watch it again and I was not disappointed in the second eruption one bit! It seemed to have more force this time and went higher and longer. Others agreed with me about this and I was pleased to catch some of it on video on my camera.
But finally it was time to head back to the campground to supper of leftovers we wanted to get eaten up; Italian beef, hotdogs, brats, and salad. What a great day in the American west!Dan and Tim went to their cabin and went to sleep so Dane was bored and came to hang out in the girls cabin with us. He is quite funny and smart and was able to very quickly convert my video so it would not have to be viewed sideways! I had filmed it with the camera longwise and so, of course it showed up on the screen sideways! I sure didn't know how to change it, (and still don't) but Dane had it fixed rather quickly. What a guy!
Off to sleep to prepare for another adventure tomorrow!
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