Wednesday August 6, 2008 about 11pm
Tonight’s post is coming to you from Fruita, Colorado. We can all give a hearty thank you to the King Family, whoever they are, for having a highly convenient unsecured network that I can hop on. (Post script: this network did not work for posting which is why this is being posted so late.)
As was the plan in the last post, we did spend the day hanging out at Townsend/Canyon Ferry Lake in Townsend MT. The wind died down and we put the canoe in the water. The kids also did some fishing but nobody actually caught anything. It was a very fun day for all of us. After leaving Townsend, we headed down to Yellowstone.
We camped the night in Yellowstone right across from Mammoth Hot Springs. In the morning we ate breakfast across from the old Fort Yellowstone Buildings at a picnic table. After breakfast we headed over to Mammoth and to our shock, there was almost no water. We learned from someone on the trail that there had been an earthquake this past winter and the passage for the water is now blocked. The springs are not totally dry, but they are pretty close to totally dry. Minerva Terrace, which is the big attraction at Mammoth is dry and the terrace has completely bleached out from sitting dry in the sun. They park people say that it is not unusual for water to come and go in the springs, but my personal thought is that if it is being blocked, wouldn’t that mean pressure is building up somewhere under there? I would not think that building pressure in a live volcanic caldera is a good idea. Not that anyone can actually do anything about it, but it kind of makes you uneasy walking in an area where logic dictates that incredible pressure is building up beneath you.
After leaving Mammoth we headed out to Norris Geyser Basin—another area we had not seen previously. It was totally amazing. We also went swimming in one of the rivers we came across with a shallow kid-friendly swimming area. Lastly we went to see Old Faithful, which never fails to amaze—80,000 g
allons of boiling water shooting up over the course of 4 minutes. Old Faithful, true to its name, has to be the most reliable geyser on earth; it went off within about 2 minutes of the time it was predicted for.
Oddly we saw almost no wildlife in Yellowstone this year, not a single buffalo, only a few antelope. However, after leaving Yellowstone, we were on our way to Grand Teton—where we ate dinner—and shortly after entering the park we saw a bear, up close and personal. He was walking up to the road right as we were passing and I slammed on the breaks and he froze. Thank God I did not hit him. He ambled behind the car like it was no big deal at all. Of course we were watching him the whole time. He investigated the road and then a bear jam started building and we had to leave. It was the highlight of the day. We are not sure if he was a grizzly or a black bear. He had the snout of a grizzly but he was smaller like a black bear. Perhaps he was a young grizzly.
So here we are today. We stopped quickly by Dinosaur National Monument and we are making our way home. Tomorrow our plan is to see the Colorado National Monument and head out toward home again and we may stop at a thing or two on the way home. I would like very much to be home by Friday. The kids have meet the teacher that night on Friday. I don’t know if we will make that. Two of us are sick—Michael and I have both come down with a ferocious cold. I am miserable right now and I would love to teleport myself back home. I am hoping that I feel better tomorrow. Mike is already on the improving side. It is not fun being sick on the road.
As was the plan in the last post, we did spend the day hanging out at Townsend/Canyon Ferry Lake in Townsend MT. The wind died down and we put the canoe in the water. The kids also did some fishing but nobody actually caught anything. It was a very fun day for all of us. After leaving Townsend, we headed down to Yellowstone.
We camped the night in Yellowstone right across from Mammoth Hot Springs. In the morning we ate breakfast across from the old Fort Yellowstone Buildings at a picnic table. After breakfast we headed over to Mammoth and to our shock, there was almost no water. We learned from someone on the trail that there had been an earthquake this past winter and the passage for the water is now blocked. The springs are not totally dry, but they are pretty close to totally dry. Minerva Terrace, which is the big attraction at Mammoth is dry and the terrace has completely bleached out from sitting dry in the sun. They park people say that it is not unusual for water to come and go in the springs, but my personal thought is that if it is being blocked, wouldn’t that mean pressure is building up somewhere under there? I would not think that building pressure in a live volcanic caldera is a good idea. Not that anyone can actually do anything about it, but it kind of makes you uneasy walking in an area where logic dictates that incredible pressure is building up beneath you.
After leaving Mammoth we headed out to Norris Geyser Basin—another area we had not seen previously. It was totally amazing. We also went swimming in one of the rivers we came across with a shallow kid-friendly swimming area. Lastly we went to see Old Faithful, which never fails to amaze—80,000 g
allons of boiling water shooting up over the course of 4 minutes. Old Faithful, true to its name, has to be the most reliable geyser on earth; it went off within about 2 minutes of the time it was predicted for.Oddly we saw almost no wildlife in Yellowstone this year, not a single buffalo, only a few antelope. However, after leaving Yellowstone, we were on our way to Grand Teton—where we ate dinner—and shortly after entering the park we saw a bear, up close and personal. He was walking up to the road right as we were passing and I slammed on the breaks and he froze. Thank God I did not hit him. He ambled behind the car like it was no big deal at all. Of course we were watching him the whole time. He investigated the road and then a bear jam started building and we had to leave. It was the highlight of the day. We are not sure if he was a grizzly or a black bear. He had the snout of a grizzly but he was smaller like a black bear. Perhaps he was a young grizzly.
So here we are today. We stopped quickly by Dinosaur National Monument and we are making our way home. Tomorrow our plan is to see the Colorado National Monument and head out toward home again and we may stop at a thing or two on the way home. I would like very much to be home by Friday. The kids have meet the teacher that night on Friday. I don’t know if we will make that. Two of us are sick—Michael and I have both come down with a ferocious cold. I am miserable right now and I would love to teleport myself back home. I am hoping that I feel better tomorrow. Mike is already on the improving side. It is not fun being sick on the road.
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