Thermal City

Yellowstone is a huge place, with many different types of areas and sights to see: lakes, canyons, forests, wildlife, waterfalls, and of course the thermal sights. Today we focused on the thermal stuff. Along the way we couldn't help but see the other stuff as well.

Selected Thermal Features, May 2012

The thermal features are all over the place, especially in the southwest section of the park. They get whimsical or fantasy names, none of which have much of anything to do with anything: Fountain Paint Pot, Great Fountain Geyser, Echinus Geyser, etc. Many of them are beautiful, many of them are fantastical, many of them are drab and boring. After four or five hours they all start to run together.

The bison are all over the place - just like the deer in NJ. Well, perhaps not literally, as there are apparently only about 15,000 wild bison in North America (and another half million on ranches). But they're really easy to see in Yellowstone. We had to stop a couple of times as one or two sauntered casually across the road. Since they weigh upwards of a ton and can run as fast as 40mph when agitated, it really doesn't pay to annoy them. These two were part of a group of a dozen or so that were feeding in this meadow. I managed to get my feet soaked walking out in a marshy section to photograph them, while wearing my sneakers. The Gore-Tex boots were usefully sitting in the car.

Bison & Waterfall, May 2012

We only saw a few medium-sized waterfalls. This one, Gibbons Falls, is pretty impressive. I am hoping we get up to Yellowstone Falls tomorrow or Tuesday.

We crashed in the room around 5:00 and are enjoying a leisurely dinner of beer, carrots, Oriental Rice Cracker Mix, cereal, ice cream, and coffee. Just too tired to face another mediocre dinner in the dining room, which is the only option within 40 miles. I may have an aperitif a little later.