Sunday, September 28, 2014
Somewhere in Montana before we hit the park we saw this double rainbow. It sparked a great debate over what the end of the rainbow was like. I hold that there is indeed an end to a rainbow. I have seen it myself, a rainbow ending in a field. Mom (aka Grandmom) insists that rainbows don't end, they are a continuous arc in the sky that had no beginning and no end; rainbows are a circle. Now, for all you smarty pants out there who want to tell us the truth, we will pass...we are very well aware that we can go onto the internet and find the answer in about 30 seconds. We prefer to live with our illusions. What we all agreed on was that it was a real treat to see a double rainbow over Montana.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
We saw this lovely lady very close to the road.
This bull elk was bedded down about 20 yards from the road. We stopped and got the best pictures we could without disturbing him.
This herd of females was nestled in for the evening in a wood between the main road and one of the pullouts. There were a number of the female elk and young but no males. The only male we saw all week is the one pictured above.
These "close ups" were all taken from our car while we were stopped on the road. At no point did we approach any of the animals on foot any closer than was recommended by the signage throughout the park.YNP
Midway Geyser Basin
Josh and I did this hike while Grandmom, Daniel and Macey waited in the car. On the one hand if I dragged them halfway across the country I felt like I should make them "enjoy" every minute of it. On the other hand, we were half way through the trip, they had seen more than enough "hot things" with no complaints and if they wanted to wait in the car while I amped up my own take on hot things, why not? Everyone was better off. Some things I made them do even though they were resistant (swimming in the Hot Springs and in Firehole Canyon come immediately to mind...two of our best experiences that I nearly had to drag the older two to) but I tried to be flexible and let them chose where and when they wanted to do things, within the overall framework of our trip. Honestly, I was even sick of the geysers by the time we finished this particular day, I am sure they were done, done, done long before me. Grandmom was more than happy to have company while Josh and I did our thing. Note, however, that had I known then what I know now, I probably would have had them do this one and pass on some of the other ones...Opal Pool (quite the prettiest of the hot pools, in my opinion) was one of the things here, along with the pool where the drone crashed into YNP a couple of weeks before we were there. The kids would have found both of these things fascinating. Even so, in that time and that place with those kids, I made the right call.
My partner in crime all week.
My new cowboy hat!!
This walk through Midway Geyser Basin had so many colors and interesting spots...Josh and I really enjoyed it.
Opal Pool...lovely.
This is Josh-he was a trooper the whole trip.
This was the walk where I lost Daniel...well, not really, but I did not realize the walk was a complete circle beginning and ending at the parking lot. I came around a bend where it appeared the path ended...and there was no Daniel. Momentary panic. But just for a second. 
Day 6: Geyser Basin and Old Faithful
On Tuesday August 26 we headed into the park for a day viewing geysers including the iconic Old Faithful. There were geysers, hot springs, mud pots and other interesting "hot things" to check out. We picked up sandwiches in West Yellowstone, dropped off some postcards at the post office and then hit the Park. The lines to get in were obnoxious but because we had already been in the park and just had to flash our "creds" we cruised right through the line. Once in the park, this was the one day when it was more crowded. We had to wait for a parking spot once or twice and one time got blocked in by some inconsiderate tourists. For the most part, though, the people at YNP were inordinately friendly and kind. There was a spirit of camaraderie amongst the people, a sense of awe and responsibility. There were the non-American tourists too, identifiable by their foreign languages, but they seemed to share the wonder as well. As a touristy place goes, YNP was one of the most tame I have been too. Not that commercialism was not alive and well in every souvenir shop we saw, but they do a good job of keeping it isolated to the shops.
Here are some samples of the various geologic things we saw...no idea of names as I was far more interested in making sure my children did not stray off the paths than I was in learning the names.
Here are some samples of the various geologic things we saw...no idea of names as I was far more interested in making sure my children did not stray off the paths than I was in learning the names.
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