Get down on your knees!

This family wore identical green shirts that glowed in the daytime.

This for my brothers…
I loved to watch families on our journey…a pod of people with a common mission if not a common linage. Their primary mission: never become separated, loose one of their own or fall from any high places. Once we heard a mother's cry for a temporarily lost child. I never want to hear that sound again. Each family takes different measures to maintain their gaggle. Mothers snatch, yank, pull and plead. Fathers grunt and bark. Herding a family is tuff business…like herding cats. The greater the distant from where these families traveled to visit this awesome and dangerous place, the greater their focus and determination to stay together. My admiration for "family" increased with every mile we traveled. Many times in uncomfortably high places I half expected to hear my mothers screams from my childhood, "Get down on your knees!!!!" Why not? At times on this trip I was already there myself.

Firehole River Loop, An unexpected Visual Treat

Our last stop in the park, as we drove toward West Yellowstone, was along the Firehole River canyon. We almost missed this off handed loop turn off weaving through a very narrow gorge of the Firehole River. We stopped at the falls and watched people messing arround and taking pictures along the cliffs. The river has carved quite a steep and scary canyon below. We drove deeper in the loop watching the road getting inconfortablely narrow. Around a sharp curve we passed a bunch of parked cars empting people in bathing suits climbing down into the gorge. This was crazy. Helen remembered from an earlier trip years ago that geothermal water up river made the water hot and in some places too hot to swim in. Some of these people were definitely medium rare. The road was so narrow I failed to take pictures. Much like the river, the loop road dumped us back on hwy 20 toward West Yellowstone and the Montana boarder.

Prismatic Spring, one of our last stops leaving Yellowstone

Although not a geyser, Prismatic Spring is probably the most beautiful geothermal feature in the park. The escaping gases produce various colored mist when the sun shines through. Pink, green, blue… This stop was so interesting I couldn't resist adding a series of pictures and informational graphics about Prismatic Spring. Remember to click twice on pictures to make them bigger.

Driving through Yellowstone, making stops and out by West Yellowstone to Hebgen Lake Camp

Today's drive takes us through the western part of Yellowstone to view the Old Faithful Geyser. She did not disappoint us. It was a spectacular performance that lasted almost 5 minutes.
The great seating circle around the geyser is filled with expectant people, families, excited children. What a show.

Grand Teton National Park and a visit to Yellowstone

"Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the last remaining wilderness be destroyed…we simply need that wild country available to us even if we never do more than drive to it's edge and look in." Wallace Stegner see:
http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/librarylocations/main/envir/wsbio.htm#wild

This inscription appears in an impressive and creative Native American exhibit in the Grand Teton National Park Visitors Center. I checked out Wallace Stegner on the Internet and was equally impressed. After what we've seen and experienced these past few days, Stegner's words are even more powerful to me Perhaps these pictures will help pay homage to this magnificent land we are so fortunate to walk in.


We took a day trip to Yellowstone from our campground at Colter Bay in Grand Teton. On this trip we visited the south and east part of the Park. The visitor center at Grant had an interesting exhibit about the 1988 wildfires and a film demonstrated how the area has naturally reforested since then. The Hayden Valley with the Yellowstone River at its center is one of my favorite parts of the Park. Wildlife flourishes here. We saw Bison, Elk and Deer. Some of them startled us by jumping onto the road as we drove by. Along the way we picnicked at Pumice Point on Yellowstone Lake.

Fisherman at Pumice Point on Yellowstone Lake

Artist's point at the Grand Canyon was beautiful in the afternoon light and came complete with a sketching young artist from Wisconsin. No Bears or Wolves were sighted. Maybe next time!


Elk Right of Way


You had better watch where you walk around Yellowstone. There is something cooking at all times.

The Place looks like my kitchen after an evening of wining and dining.


Now your guess is as good as mine as to what these Bison are gettingt out of this mud bath. They're actually fighting for position around this smelly pond.

Best Veiw of the Hike

When we reached "perspiration point" we found an artist quietly painting the mountain landscape

This is not far from the truth

Helen finds Columbine and Indian Paint Brush

Helen up trail

Hidden falls


Hiking above Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point
Tuesday June 19, Day 35

We set the alarm to 6 am so we could join a guided hike with a Grand Teton National Park Interpretative/Naturalist Ranger. Sound tame? She about killed us. We took a boat across Jenny Lake with 23 other people and their kids. Rather than take the boat back we decided to hike along the lake 2.5 miles back to the boat dock and the parking lot beyond.

Dinner sunset at the Jackson Lake Lodge