8-23-19 West Yellowstone, MT I

I am turning into a huckleberry hound.  Everything is huckleberries up here, even huckleberry coffee, which we took for a test drive this morning.  Actually, this is also phyllo country.  Everything is wrapped in phyllo dough:  elk and bison (pasties), huckleberry strudel, you name it.  I don’t know about bears and mooses.  (Meese?)  I think people eat those, too, but I haven’t.  Yet.

Mister Buffalo, Sir!

This time of year, lookin' for Miss Right!

There are lots of warnings on the highway to be careful of wildlife.  Twelve bison collisions have occurred so far, this year.  When we arrived, we hooked up and a news story on TV featured a private video taken by a motorist showing a bison stampede slamming into cars that had stopped to look.  This had happened the evening before our arrival.  Final score:  buffalo – 5, cars – 0.

Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park lies just to the west of the entry gate into the park.  We passed through the gates of Yellowstone and the Tetons several times.  At $35 each, that would have racked up a few bucks but fortunately, years back, we purchased a permanent Senior Pass to all national parks for $10 and over the years, it has saved us a pantload.  So through the gates we go again, across the home where buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play and other critters just sort of stand around (unless they’re hungry or pissed off)… like bears, wolves and meese.

Excuse me, Mister Elk, she's right here!

The contrast between the two parks is notable.  It seems to me that the Tetons are known for breathtaking jagged peaks and deep blue lakes in all directions and Yellowstone is the land of mudpots, hot springs and geysers.  Yes, there are mountains but they are more rounded and covered with trees.  Many of the trees are fairly young now due to the fire 30 years ago that destroyed thousands of acres of Yellowstone, but the signs in many places indicate that the forests are “naturally reseeded by wildfire 1988.” 

Reseeded by wildfire

The majority of the world’s active geysers are in this area.  Old Faithful is not the tallest geyser in Yellowstone but it is one of the most regular.  She blows her top every 60-90 minutes.  The eruptions last between 1 and 5 minutes shooting 4-8,000 gallons of boiling water 185 feet into the air.  Simply astounding.  She is a phenomenon that must be seen more than once in a lifetime and we stayed to watch her again.  We picked a place as close as the rangers would allow, for safety sake and to protect the fragile ecosystem.  The curators of the land warn to stay on the designated boardwalks and paths.  The underground rivers and streams lie not so far below the surface and the upper crust of minerals is very thin in places.  So thin that, over time, a dozen foolhardy people have taken their chances, fallen through and hard-boiled themselves to death.

Old Faithful, step one

Old Faithful, step two

Old Faithful, step three

Old Faithful, step four.
Go for it, grand old lady!

Old geezers and an old geyser

Beehive geyser erupts only twice daily.  It is different than Old Faithful.  Its cone is shaped more like a nozzle and it jettisons gallons of boiling water 200 feet into the air.  Old Faithful is more fluffy.  Beehive erupted at the same time as Old Faithful.  A short time later, Lion erupted.  Lion geyser got its name from the sudden gush of steam that creates a roaring sound just before he blows.  All three of them before our bewildered eyes.  We couldn’t believe our incredible luck!

Beehive, blowing it's top!

Mudpots are another geological feature of this land.  Certain microorganisms (“thermophiles”) that have adapted to the hot, acidic environment modify the gasses that arise from deep down and alter the rocks into clay.  (It’s been awhile since I was in the Bugology business and I’m only 70 years old but I have never heard of “thermophiles.”)  Later, more hot gases rise to the surface of the soupy clay mud and cause it to bubble and make plopping noises like a big pot of boiling banana pudding.  It doesn’t look or smell as appetizing as banana pudding, trust me on this.

I believe, in my heart, that
this is where pickleballs are formed