Sat. - Mon 9/18

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Headed up to Yellowstone this morning after getting up at 5:00 AM to see the sunrise. Long story but I was in the wrong place at the right time. Oh well- I did see the the sun light up the Tetons and that was nice. I also caught a huge buck elk running across the meadow – got a photo of him too! I headed for a hot shower ($3.50 buys you an unlimited amount of hot water…I’ll never look at a Mocha Frap the same again). After talking to the Ranger in Yellowstone I decided to take an 11 mile hike around part of one of the back country lakes – it took me about 4 ½ hours. The first part was beautiful, lots of color around the canal areas and not a sole on the trail the entire time. The second part of the hike was through the area that had a lightening fire about 10 years ago – it’s still littered with dead trees but – there are thousands of new trees growing. Apparently the fire is actually good for the ecosystem. It purges the old trees, makes room for new trees, and the ash allows new flowers to grow and adds food to the water which brings in more fish. So they don’t rush to put out natural fires here anymore. They normally let them run their course. After the hike I was beat – I found a camp site, cleaned up and headed out for another walk to dinner and the sunset. (Why I think I had to walk another 2 miles, I have no idea!) Anyway, the pasta and salad was worth it – walked back along the lake when the sun was setting and creating nice pink clouds – my favorite. Getting to bed early tonight – finally I think I’m tired enough to crash quickly.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Well I haven’t updated my log in a few days – hopefully I can remember what went on since Saturday. I spent all day Sunday in Yellowstone looking for wildlife and doing small hikes around the geysers! I say Old Faithful erupt twice and an even more impressive Bee Hive geyser went off for about 12 minutes later in the day. This geyser hadn’t erupted in two days so it had lots of pressure to release. There are hundreds of thermals in the area. I drove to the eastern part of the park and spent the night at Fishing Bridge along the lake. Another beautiful sunset graced the end of my day.

Monday I headed out early to look for more animals. I checked in with the ranger station and plotted my course for the day – I was going to head north through Hayen Valley then Lamar Valley toward Mammoth Lakes. As soon as I left the campground, I spotted about 9 buffalo grazing alongside the road! Great photo opp! Thought my day was made but it had just begun. After that, I saw elk and goats then a HUGE heard of buffalo- at least a hundred of them in a big meadow. I pulled over and had lunch while watching these mammoth beasts from the roadside. Very impressive. After driving a while longer, there was a bit of a traffic back up (3 cars!). Someone had spotted a black bear!! I took two shots before I had to move on. I pulled over about ½ mile down the road because I wanted to go back for a closer look but after remembering all the warnings about Beware Of Bears, I decided against it. Thought my parents would appreciate knowing I used common sense in the wild! I was considering staying another night in Yellowstone but after seeing the bear, my day was complete. Oh, I forgot to mention that I saw the most amazing river too – I fell in love with Yellowstone today! I was at Yellowstone River just north of the Lower Falls and man was it awesome. I sat for half an hour and just stared at the water. It was beautiful. Between the river, the sky and the wildlife, this place is like a slice of heaven! After that experience, I was convinced that it couldn’t get any better. I headed for the north exit and saw more buffalo and lots of rams on the way out. (It did get better!) Then I headed for Massoula. My goal was to get ½ way to Glacier before stopping. Well – I was awake and on a roll so I kept driving – past Butte, past Massoula and in to Polson, MT. about 60 miles from Glacier. I spent the night at my first Walmart parking lot – they allow RVs to park overnight – and found (God Bless ‘Em) a wi-fi internet café. Fresh coffee, an egg burrito (in MT???) and wi-fi – life is good!