| The drive from Rapid City to Yellowstone marked the beginning of our trip through the Rocky Mountains. It was slow driving and as we were told by a few Wyoming locals, "There are 2 seasons here, winter and construction." We also had to get to Yellowstone before our entrance closed at 8pm. If we missed it, we would have had to tack another 100 miles in the mountains onto our trip. Lucily we made it and got our camp pitched with no trouble. In the morning, we drove out to see the geysers. On the way, we stopped at Kepler Falls, seen here. |  |
| Most homes have welcome mats or mats warning about the resident's gun or wildlife ownership. Old faithful has a bacteria mat near its doorstep. These fields of bacteria thrive on the heat and highly mineralized water which comes out of the geysers. I had to pee really bad, but marking the mats was strictly prohibited. |  |
| After finding a more civilized location for relief, we waited for Old Faithful. It is usually about 94 minutes between eruptions. A double row of benches surround the geyser and fills up quickly as the eruption time approaches. Here you can see the heavy-metal-concert-like pandamonium that is an Old Faithful eruption. |  |
| A geezer at the geyser. |  |
| Out luck was amazing for our visit to the geyser basin. We were able to see five geysers erupt, Old Faithful, Daisy, Castle, Grotto and the highest spouting, Grand, which is pictured here. We are getting the hang of these self protraits, no? |  |
| Cindy at the Giant Geyser. The clouds are part steam and part gasses from the geysers. They say some of the geysers get up to 199 degrees Farenheit. |  |
| In addition to geysers, there are also springs in the geyser basin. These hot pools resemble jacuzzis except you'd scald all your skin off and be sucked into the molten center of the earth if you jumped in. But otherwise, they are the same. |  |
| Throughout the park, the wildlife is allowed to roam free. Here, Cindy is being chased by a herd of elk. |  |
| The wildlife is also allowed to get selected in the park. This unfortunate bison met an untimely ending near a path near one of the geysers. Ahh, nature... |  |
| Here is the castle geyser doing its thing. You can also see the boardwalks they have built around the geyser basin so visitors can walk around and not have to tread on the bacteria mats or disrupt the natrual flow of things. |  |
| If you choose to ride a bike around the geyser basin, they make you wear a tracking device like these. They help other visitors avoid weary bikers and help the park rangers know where these oft-times vicious species are roaming. Leaving the trail sends a subtle electric shock to the animal. |  |
| There are 3 main geyser basins in Yellowstone. The second site we visited had a very strong smell. It was either the 2 boys on my left or the gasses from the pools. |  |
| Cindy has an ariel picture of this pool on her wall. The Grand Prismatice Pool is the largest pool in the park and we stopped for a self portrait. |  |
| A rain front was moving in over the park. Cindy caught the Grand Prismatic Pool with this great lighting. |  |
| The rain did come, all night long. Here I am at camp, cooking beans and franks with one of our favorite camp beerverages. |  |
| It rained all night, our tent stayed dry but sleep was a bit tough. En route to Jackson, we stopped in at the Grand Teton National Park. Here's Cindy looking a bit tired but content. |  |
| Us at the Tetons. This picture is taken on the patio of the Grand Teton Lodge which offers 4 star hotel service for those travellers not too keen on camping. |  |
| One last look before hitting the road south to Jackson! |  |
| All aboard for Jackson, WY :: << prev trip :: blog :: next trip >> | |