July 31 - Mammoth Hot Springs and More!

Wow, I can't believe that as I write this - it's already August, and actually, very nearly September!  Yikes!  Where does the time go?  Well, to Yellowstone and then to Glacier - but in the meantime, to San Diego!  What?  Yup, I needed to make a quick flight home to take care of some rental business...  It was great to see my mom and a few friends, but mostly it was a "working" trip and time flew by so quickly, I didn't get to check in with everyone I'd hoped to. 

But, for now, let's get back to Aug. and finish up our Yellowstone visit...

 On the 31st, Bill and I drove the upper Yellowstone loop, going through Mammoth Hot Springs along the way.   First stop however - gotta grab shots of these lazy elkesses, lounging along the river.

 The clouds really made this already pretty valley that much more scenic.

 And there was a section (still enroute from Madison Junction to the hot springs) that surprised us, a jumble of giant light-colored rocks just popping up out of nowhere and then disappearing back into nowhere.  Just a 1/2 mile's worth or so.

 Here is a view from the upper terrace, looking down at the "town" of Mammoth Hot Springs.

 Such vibrant colors and interesting patterns to be found in the hot springs terraces!

For the first part of our drive, we were very grateful for our AC - it was in the 90s.  And let me tell you, walking on those boardwalks through the hot springs - with the whitish deposits reflecting back all that sunshine - was like strolling through an oven.  While it was easy trotting downhill (from the upper terrace, where we had parked), it did give me pause to see so many people coming back up, tongues hanging down to the ground and panting like dogs...!  But I'm not that bright and too determined not to miss a potential photo op!  So down I went - and paid the price, just like everyone else, on the way back up!

 But those clouds kept on coming, and finally they won!  Things cooled off pleasantly, and on the way back, it even rained a bit!  Loved it!!!

 I think this is called the Orange Spring Mound - pretty well-named, actually.

 And a word to the wise:  if you want to see wildlife in any national park, go to the visitor center!  At Glacier, it was bighorn sheep and a mountain goat.  And someone there told me they saw the most wildlife in the Badlands at the visitor center there.  And in Yellowstone, it's elk!  Right in town - all over the place.  Adults, babies, eating, sleeping, whatever!  They take little notice of all the people on foot and in cars, oogling and photographing them.  Except for one, who I guess allegedly got a bit too aggressive at times, trying to mooch snacks off of tourists (BAD tourists for feeding the wildlife!!!!!!  People who do this are very ignorant!  These critters often end up dead in the long run - esp. the bears but others as well).  This we heard from a cranky ranger, who was at least equally aggressive...!

 After lunch, I made a quick pass by the lower terrace.  I loved the quilt-like coloration/patterns.

 The Calcite Springs Overlook was one I'd passed by a couple times.  Bill and I were both really glad we decided to stop this time.  If you enlarge this photo and look down near the water's edge, you will see wisps of steam coming up!

Looking the other direction...

 Fireweed.  Just as the name indicates, it's one of the "first responders" in an area that's burned.  These beautiful wildflowers were pretty thick along a few hillsides littered with downed trees.  Bill was so excited by this 412th photo stop of the day that I found him napping upon my return to the truck...

 A stop for the view on our way up to Dunraven Pass.  As with so many photo subjects, so much prettier with some clouds!  (in this case, total overcast - but it was much nicer than full blazing sun!)

 Another recent (at least it looked recent to me!) burn area.

 Another scene that caught my eye.  But it was growing dark - and I paid the price for this stop too...  Paid it in blood!!!  Plenty o' mosquitoes!!!

One last photo on the way home.  Mr. Bison at riverside. 

July 30 - More of Yellowstone

 Another early start.  To get to one of the most promising areas for critter sightings, I needed to get myself over to Lamar Valley, but that was about 2 hours away from our campground...  I couldn't quite bring myself to a 4am alarm, but I did get up at 5:30am, and turns out, that worked pretty well.  A lot of animals were in position and ready for me by the time I arrived in the valley...!  This was an early sighting, before it was really even light out - an elkling.

 The other car and I weren't the only ones crossing over this Yellowstone River bridge!

 It was funny watching this guy swing his head back and forth, with very exaggerated motions.  Here, he wasn't really looking at me so much as I caught his head swing in my direction!

 It was just a few minutes later that I (and a bunch of other people!) came across this herd of bison.  You can see how some of them are still in transition to their summer coats.

 Baby bison.

 Nothing like a good roll!  Kick up those heels and throw some dust around!  Mmm, good!

The most impressive part of hanging out near the bison were the big potent males, trying their best to convince the ladies of their superiority.  Huffing and puffing, swaggering, thrashing any trees who dared be in their way - as this one dared.  Maybe it's just because I'm a female, but I was impressed!

 One of the best parts of this morning was the patch of antelope I spotted in the sagebrush, very close to the road. 

 Most of them were laying down so no one else had discovered them yet. 

 A little head-butting practice...

 Given the chance to see them more up-close, you might say they are a little funny-looking...

 "Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play..."

 It's a family thing...

 At another stop, where there was a guy with a serious video camera (turns out he shoots for Nat. Geo.), I tried to see the wolf he had seen just before I got there.  I never did see his wolf, but I did see this antelope crossing the river, who seemed to also be seeing the invisible wolf!

 OK, here's the "dot picture."  See that brown dot just above and to the right of the bushes?  Well that's a griz!  There were three or four of them out that morning, but this was as good a photo as any I got of them!  Just too far away to pull in with my 400mm!

 Nice backdrop though, eh?

 Bison and Rock.

 Bison and Tree.

 The Yellowstone River.

 Flowers on the way back, enroute to Dunraven Pass.

 Up on Chittenden Rd to Washburn Mt.

 The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

 Falls at the Grand Canyon.

 "On the way" back, I went to the Fairy Falls parking area and took the trail to the hill where you can clamber up and get as close to an aerial view of the Grand Prismatic Springs as possible, lacking an airplane or helicopter.

 Pretty cool look-out, yeah?  That hill's a dusty, straight-up adventure.  If you ask me, they should put in a formal trail as practically everyone knows about it and does it, but since there's no established path, they thrash the whole hill.  But then, you didn't ask me (and neither did "they"), so...

Back at the campground, the lake was swarming with ospreys, busy fishing.  The light was good (well, occasionally it was - between clouds!), and sometimes the ospreys got kind of close.  So it was a good time to try a little bird photography.  I need a lot more practice and a longer lens, but it was fun trying!  

July 29 - Disappeared into The Annals of Vacation History

I have no idea and no record of this day.  I believe, however, that it was (nearly completely) spent vacuuming the RV...!  (no photos enclosed!)

July 28 - W. Yellowstone & The Park

 On our first full day, we went into town, picked up our general delivery mail, and visited the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center.  At the latter, we watched "Spirit" enjoy the nicely-done exhibit and entertain the guests with occasional close-ups and various antics such as...

 scratching one's hiney on a tree...

 or searching for goodies (looked like a tangerine had escaped its hiding spot and rolled out into the open by the rocks on the right - Spirit soon found it and ate it!) as part of the habitat enrichment the keepers do.  This guy was obviously living the good life and had adapted to his new settings.  Most of the bears at this place have, unfortunately, become "trouble bears."  Because of ignorant, careless humans, they have accessed easy, tasty human food one too many times.  And rather than be killed, these lucky few at least get to live out their years in comfort and ease - thanks to entry fees/donations by visitors - so go visit:  http://www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.com/!  (they have wolves there too, but you know, a CarrieBearie's bias would be towards the bears!)

 I heard a few bear bells on fellow hikers, but mostly what I found was no noisemakers were necessary on the popular trails (I did go on one lesser-used trail outside of The Park, and I made occasional noises, just in case - but no bells)!!  The endless chatter of hiking groups on these crowded paths was more than enough to warn any wildlife away well in advance!!

 One exhibit at the center featured...trash cans!  Their bears participate in design testing!  Especially smelly goodies are placed in the various trash containers and the bears do their part and try to break in.  If, after 90 minutes, the bear has not succeeded, the container is certified as bear-resistant, and you probably have a grumpy, frustrated bear!  Otherwise, the bear is happy, but the trash can is not a good one for bear country!

 A Carrie and A Bearie!

Man, this guy is a real animal lover, eh?!  Some of you might recall a certain photo from our Carlsbad, NM, visit last year - where he was caught kissing a bat statue!

 OK, now to the good stuff!  Here's our first real stop in The Park.  This is the run-off from one of the little pools (Silex Spring, I believe) by the boardwalk around the Fountain Paint Pot area in the Lower Geyser Basin.

 A pretty little geyser (that fount is only a few feet tall) in the same area - I'm not sure what this one's name was (OK, I think I figured it out - Clepsydra Geyser).  Hard to keep them all straight - there are reportedly over 10,000 geothermal features in Yellowstone!!!  And I believe it!  There are pools, springs, vents, fumaroles, geysers, and other steaming, spitting, and stinking things all over the place here!  It's wonderful!

 And I thought this was the Celestine Pool (when looking up this stuff on-line, I found that this was one of the pools that someone dove into - to save a dog - and died hours later as a result...).  Like in a Nathaniel Hawthorne story, beautiful but deadly!  But now I realize I don't know what pool this is!  I can't find a matching photo and can't figure it out!  Oh well, blame it on the next vision of greatness - this next one eclipses all the others - even on-line!

 Folks appreciating the Grand of the Grand - the Grand Prismatic Spring (in the Midway Geyser Basin), undoubtedly one of the most amazing and beautiful sights in all of Yellowstone.  Thus, all the photos that follow!

 No saturation required!  These colors pop on their own - they are realistically unreal/naturally unnatural!  (but a polarizer was used)

 Check out all the foot/hoof?prints in the orange part, probably bison?

Excelsior Glacier - another awesome sight, near the Grand Prismatic.