Gentle viewer -- While in Yellowstone, I discovered that it didn't make sense to record things simply in static images because I often ran into situations where there were sounds and motion needed to make a scene whole. So, I took massive advantage of the video feature on my camera and made many short (and the occasional not too short) film clips. The film clips have thumbnails that are much smaller but should play as videos easily if your browser is properly configured.
It was our last day at Teton Village, so we got started a little bit earlier than we had before and prepared for the ride to Yellowstone
and soon after we entered Yellowstone, we were at the Continental Divide
where I walked to the sign
and posed with the sign
and then Suzanne left the car
and as I posed at the sign
Suzanne came
and together Suzanne and I posed with the continental divide sign
after which Ben posed with the continental divide sign. As a result of all of this, we not only understand how water flows but we ourselves could be water flowing from this spot.
Next we went to the visitors center
and while I was talking to the ranger, the cell phone rang and Suzanne had a nice conversation with Jane in Spain
before we headed off to our first stop where we saw a trailhead marker for a hike to an overlook of Yellowstone Lake and still being in Tetons mode
we followed the trail until Ben and I paused where we were to cross a street and waited for Suzanne
and then we paused again to let Suzanne catch up and for us to decide that this trail was not attractive enough to complete and in fact to realize that we had missed the attraction (which was the West Thumb Geyser Basin).
Once back at the parking lot, we saw our first bubbling pool
and recorded its bubbling.
Next we read the warning
and recorded the trail we would be following
and came across our first geyser -- the seismograph pool which goes at 167 degrees
as shown by this sign.
Next was the BlueBell pool
before we learned about thermal gardens
and saw one
with the massive, clear and beautiful Yellowstone River as the backdrop
for the lakeside spring
to which these birds seemed oblivious
This geyser at the lake has a wonderful story -- the person who found it remarked that you could catch a fish and cook it by putting it into the geyser
which is appropriately named the Lakeside Geyser.
As we were watching this, we saw kayakers go by
which suggested that the lake wasn't too warm though we did agree that paying attention to this sign
which would preserve sights like this was important
as we came upon fishing core
and this beautiful pool (of very hot water)
known as Black Pool.
The colors flowing out to the lake were very impressive as we later learned they represented various bacteria in areas cool enough to support such life
and the pools that came along continued to impress us
as we came to Abyss Pool
which seemed inviting
and Twin Geyser
which consisted of 2 parts
and then we were on to this beauty
that we identified as Blue funnel Spring
as we took one more picture.
The next geyser
bubbled and made a gurgling noise
as did the geyser after
where I forgot to turn off the video and so recorded an artistic collection of images.
Ledge Spring
was quite impressive
as were the Thumb Paintpots
which were our last thermal activity at this sight
before I recorded an overview of the whole site
and we got back into the car to drive on to the Lake area but our ride was interrupted by this bison by the side of the road
who slowed down traffic
until our turns (mine and Ben) came to take many pictures getting closer and closer
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Getting back on the road, our progress was again delayed by this bison sharing the road with us
and so we stopped in the Hayden pasture to watch bison make their way across a stream
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Our next stop was at the Yellowstone Falls where we parked to catch a view of the upper brink of the falls
and read the story of the falls (and grand canyon of the Yellowstone)
before looking down at the Falls
and recording their motion
and as we walked away from the crowds
this is what we saw
and these scenes
lead to these dynamics
as this scene
lead to these
before we took some more pictures
as Ben settled into a comfortable spot
and as the falls passed,
we surveyed the scene
and watched the falls
in motion
as we watched the falls
and looked up to where our walk had started
as Ben and David posed
then Suzanne posed
and Ben
and David
looking to the falls
and the crowds
with Ben sitting up the hill
as we watched the crowd
and Suzanne's view of it.
Next we drove on to the Canyon Visitors Center
and read the rationale for Yellowstone
and saw this map that gave a clear view of the volcanic region
before my battery died and was replaced.
A kindly ranger sent us off to Inspiration Point
from which the shifting ground
gave an excellent view of the canyon
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