The Park is beautiful. I am glad I decided to visit it.
We entered the west gate at 1:43pm and were paid up and on our way eastward by 1:49pm. The Honda CRV ahead of me was also from Arizona.
The booth attendant was friendly. "Oh, what a beautiful name!" he said when he saw my photo ID. I ended up buying the $80 annual pass and almost immediately saw my money at work: after the raging wildfire that swept through the western part of the park a few years ago that left dead tree stumps across the hills and a few landslides that took out the Gibbon Falls bridge, I came across what people talk about for years after visiting the park: its extreme beauty.
Shortly after getting on the road I had to stop and photograph a bull elk chewing on some low-lying tree branches. So did a few thousand others who stopped to photograph the wildlife with the Canons and Nikons.
I pulled over into every turn-off: artist's paint pots, wildlife exhibits, rock formations. It was in the low 70sF and I didn't worry about Sadie overheating as she had wanted to rest anyway after the hikes we did before entering the park.
I turned northward at the first major intersection and viewed the Norris Geyser Basin. A thunderstomr aborted plans to hike the entire trail network, but I took gorgeous photographs of aqualine hot pools against a darkened sky.
I heard a lot of languages. Besides Hindu, there was German, Russian and French. There were also the stereotypical comments I overheard from the American tourists:
"I hate trails!"
"Mom, this is a mile long!"
Yes, there were plenty of grossly overweight Americans but at least they were out hiking the trails.
One woman, despite clear signs prohibiting dogs on trails and boardwalks, carried her Shit-Poo dog across a boardwalk and then let that thing walk the trail.
There were plenty of license plates from Illinois and California, and a few more from Arizona.
I drove north now, toward Mammoth Hot Springs, with the plan od driving the perimeter of the park at a leisurely pace. But once I got to the Hot Springs and walked the gargantuan mound of silicite, I knew that I wasn't going to get much further than this place and would have to look for a campsite. It was 6:30pm when I got to the village of Fort Yellowstone.
Sadie was allowed to walk the streets here, and when I saw the sign for "Gardiner, 5 miles" I decided to drive down into the canyon and camp in the national forest overnight.
This was a wonderful decision, once I found the Eagle Creek campground, 1.8 miles north off Fourth Street in town which gave me a direct view of the Mammoth Hot Springs. For $7 the night I got to meet my camp neighbors: two men from Mesa, AZ who were carcamping in their fullsized pick-up, three college students next to me in a 10x10 tent. A small RV pulled in across from me after I was bunked down for the night.
This morning I was up at 5:30am to see the pastel pink and orange sky open up to a rising sun. Soon thereafter a herd of elk sauntered through the campsite, stopping right outside the tent with the college boys in it. They claimed later they didn't even notice the elusive and silent animals walk on by.
I was washing my hair behind my van when Sadie took off barking: she had spotted the elk come back later to our site. With wet and wild hair I ran after her with my hands frantically trying to dry my hair while yelling at Sadie. Anyone who was awake at 7am and saw me would have enjoyed the comedic sight of a woman chasing her dog that was herding three elk who was drying her hair at the same time with a small hand towel. Perhaps someone WILL post that video on YouTube later. I will not claim any responsibility.
What a breath-taking view from the campsite. Once the sun was over the mountains the true colors came out: bright greens, blues, yellows and reds. I walked Sadie for 45 minutes before leaving the campsite at 8:30am. The three college boys had already left for another day in the park, the two older men were just getting up, and I waved at them as I drove past, heading for the town of Gardiner for a quick breakfast and another day in the park.
Today we will resume our drive along the northern and eastern side of the park, explore the "Canyon" and see how far I will make. Old Faithful may have to wait until tomorrow. I will not rush through this park, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
We entered the west gate at 1:43pm and were paid up and on our way eastward by 1:49pm. The Honda CRV ahead of me was also from Arizona.
The booth attendant was friendly. "Oh, what a beautiful name!" he said when he saw my photo ID. I ended up buying the $80 annual pass and almost immediately saw my money at work: after the raging wildfire that swept through the western part of the park a few years ago that left dead tree stumps across the hills and a few landslides that took out the Gibbon Falls bridge, I came across what people talk about for years after visiting the park: its extreme beauty.
Shortly after getting on the road I had to stop and photograph a bull elk chewing on some low-lying tree branches. So did a few thousand others who stopped to photograph the wildlife with the Canons and Nikons.
I pulled over into every turn-off: artist's paint pots, wildlife exhibits, rock formations. It was in the low 70sF and I didn't worry about Sadie overheating as she had wanted to rest anyway after the hikes we did before entering the park.
I turned northward at the first major intersection and viewed the Norris Geyser Basin. A thunderstomr aborted plans to hike the entire trail network, but I took gorgeous photographs of aqualine hot pools against a darkened sky.
I heard a lot of languages. Besides Hindu, there was German, Russian and French. There were also the stereotypical comments I overheard from the American tourists:
"I hate trails!"
"Mom, this is a mile long!"
Yes, there were plenty of grossly overweight Americans but at least they were out hiking the trails.
One woman, despite clear signs prohibiting dogs on trails and boardwalks, carried her Shit-Poo dog across a boardwalk and then let that thing walk the trail.
There were plenty of license plates from Illinois and California, and a few more from Arizona.
I drove north now, toward Mammoth Hot Springs, with the plan od driving the perimeter of the park at a leisurely pace. But once I got to the Hot Springs and walked the gargantuan mound of silicite, I knew that I wasn't going to get much further than this place and would have to look for a campsite. It was 6:30pm when I got to the village of Fort Yellowstone.
Sadie was allowed to walk the streets here, and when I saw the sign for "Gardiner, 5 miles" I decided to drive down into the canyon and camp in the national forest overnight.
This was a wonderful decision, once I found the Eagle Creek campground, 1.8 miles north off Fourth Street in town which gave me a direct view of the Mammoth Hot Springs. For $7 the night I got to meet my camp neighbors: two men from Mesa, AZ who were carcamping in their fullsized pick-up, three college students next to me in a 10x10 tent. A small RV pulled in across from me after I was bunked down for the night.
This morning I was up at 5:30am to see the pastel pink and orange sky open up to a rising sun. Soon thereafter a herd of elk sauntered through the campsite, stopping right outside the tent with the college boys in it. They claimed later they didn't even notice the elusive and silent animals walk on by.
I was washing my hair behind my van when Sadie took off barking: she had spotted the elk come back later to our site. With wet and wild hair I ran after her with my hands frantically trying to dry my hair while yelling at Sadie. Anyone who was awake at 7am and saw me would have enjoyed the comedic sight of a woman chasing her dog that was herding three elk who was drying her hair at the same time with a small hand towel. Perhaps someone WILL post that video on YouTube later. I will not claim any responsibility.
What a breath-taking view from the campsite. Once the sun was over the mountains the true colors came out: bright greens, blues, yellows and reds. I walked Sadie for 45 minutes before leaving the campsite at 8:30am. The three college boys had already left for another day in the park, the two older men were just getting up, and I waved at them as I drove past, heading for the town of Gardiner for a quick breakfast and another day in the park.
Today we will resume our drive along the northern and eastern side of the park, explore the "Canyon" and see how far I will make. Old Faithful may have to wait until tomorrow. I will not rush through this park, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
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