Saturday, July 6th, 2019
The Thin Blue Ride – Part 2 – Yellowstone National Park, WY
Ride Report: None – It was a Rest (tourist) Day
What a day. I believe
I mentioned in a previous post that my expectations for Yellowstone were
considerably diminished by virtue to talking with some folks who had been there
recently. This is how I manage my
expectations. Fortunately, either all
the bad stuff I had heard (horrible traffic, narrow roads, too many people, bad
drivers, no bathrooms, etc.) failed to materialize, or I had managed (lowered)
my expectations sufficiently that I was pleased with the day and with the Park
in general. We had a blast today. Saw some really cool stuff, found services
when we needed them, got around the park in short order. Great.
Given that it was the week of the July 4th holiday, I think
we were all pleasantly surprised. Maybe
one of the things we did that helped was got up early and hit the biggest
attraction in the Park before most of the other tourist were out of bed. The day started with us all bright eyed and
bushy tailed…
It was a might chilly to start the day. I think the overnight low was 39
degrees. When the reader sees me wearing
a North Face sweater on July 5th either Hell has frozen over or I’m
at the continental Divide in Yellowstone.
This is the same sign that Keith and I stopped at for a pic when we rode
over the pass. This time an enterprising
Asian tourist (Do any US citizens visit the park? If so we never saw any to
have them take a pic for us.) took over the photographic duties. And take over he did. He was moving us around, telling us to smile
– he was quite the organizer. But the
pic came out great. Then it was off to
Old Faithful.
We made it there in due course, grabbed some breakfast at
the Yellowstone version of a Quick-Mart (bacon, cheese and egg muffins all
around) and headed over to wait for Old Faithful (OF) to blow. She’s just venting steam in this pic. They have quite the seating arrangement. It looked like about a 180 degree half circle
of benches three rows deep. All on an
elevated platform in order that we tourists not damage the sacred ground around
the geyser.
And blow she did – OF didn’t disappoint. We got there early and were on the front
row. I also prepped Susan to get her
ready for a selfie as OF was letting off steam.
I think it came out pretty well.
Then it was back to the Grand Prismatic Springs (GPS). This time we headed up to the observation
point on the side of a mountain maybe a quarter mile away from the GPS
itself. One gets there by using a trail
from a different parking lot than that used to access the GPS like we did
yesterday when Keith and I rode past. It
was 1.1 miles to the observation area.
So – 2.2 miles total. I can
handle that. And the springs didn’t
disappoint either. If anything it looked
even more impressive when one could actually take in the totality of the
picture – as the reader can see when looking over Susan’s head. Fortunately I married a short woman,
otherwise a bunch of my pics with her would be just her and me. As it is, I can usually fit some goodies in
above her noggin.
Then came a near fatal mistake. KnK had been thinking about hiking up to the Fairy Falls. It wasn’t “too far”. We then stopped some other person who had
been on the same pilgrimage and they told us it was a quarter mile to the
turnoff in the trail and then another 1.6 miles to the falls. So off we went. 1/4 x 2 = ½ mile. 1.6 x 2 = 3.2 miles. 3.2 + the previously mentioned 2.2 = Bataan
Death March. (Google it.) This is a pic
of KnK ahead of Susan and I on the “hike”.
We saw a lot of this view on the “hike”.
Side Bar: so far as I am able to determine, the word “Hike” has its
roots in an ancient practice perfected in the dungeons of Midieval Europe, in
which dungeon masters would drive hot metal spikes into the feet of those who
had irritated the Royal Master.
But we eventually reached Fairy Falls. This is it behind Susan and I. I could fit most of it above her head, but
even Susan is tall enough that I can’t fit a 197 foot waterfall entirely over
her head. It was very cool at the
base. When we arrived I asked KnK if the
other people there would be upset if I stripped out of my clothes and headed
for the pool below the falls. An
understanding woman of about my age said it was fine with her. She had, no doubt, been tricked into “hiking”
there by the same nefarious subterfuge as had I.
Even KnK appeared to be a bit warm as they both took up
station on a huge log that had fallen across the creek. The log had been put upon by enough tourists
over the years that it was smooth and slick to the touch – almost as if it had
been finely sanded.
After this we went our separate ways for a while. KnK wanted to do more “hiking”. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice – ain’t happening. So, we grabbed some lunch and dropped them
off at a trail head. Trail heads are the
Park Service’s version of the gates to perdition. People go there to “hike”. Anyway, after we left the kids to their
suffering, Susan and I took the rental car and headed to the North end of the
park and the Lamar Valley. The
Yellowstone River runs thru the valley and the valley is purported to be the
place to go in the Park to see wildlife.
Something Susan and I were both interested in – because it didn’t
involve “hiking”.
And see wildlife we did.
Though it’s a bit hard to make out – this is a black bear. He was munching on something he was stripping
from the bushes by mouth. I suspect he
loves huckleberries as much as me and that’s what he was eating. Good Lord but people went crazy trying to get
a pic of the poor creature. He seemed
surprisingly unconcerned about the hubbub.
To get to the Lamar Valley one must go up and over a
mountain pass. And this one is up there
a ways. At one point we were above snow
on the mountains below us. Anyway, one
also must drive past the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Having just been there, its not as impressive
as the real deal, but it was a sight to see none-the-less. This is the “shallow” end where the River
just starts to break out into a valley.
Just a quarter mile up the road it was bluffs on both sides. Impressive.
Until today we hadn’t seen much wildlife in the park. I was beginning to fear that I’d be the only
tourist since the inception of the Park NOT to see a Bison. But the trip to the Lamar Valley allayed
those fears, as this pic can attest.
And this one. Bison are apparently easily tired...
And just around the corner at the next traffic jam were
these characters – Bighorn Sheep. They
look kinda nasty right now since they’re currently shedding their winter
coats. There were a number of ewes and
one small ram whose horns had just started to develop the characteristic curl.
Then it was on to Pronghorn Antelope.
And on the way back all of the Bighorn Sheep had disappeared
except for this dilettante, who was standing in the road obstructing
traffic. A Park Ranger came by and
clapped at her, as a result of which she sauntered over to the shoulder where
Susan snapped this pic. The reader can
see what I was talking about when I said they were shedding their winter coats.
Typically, my posts have been more about the scenery. It's not that the scenery here in the Park is
second rate – far from it. It was just
overshadowed by my desire to see wildlife.
But the scenery was still amazing as this pic will attest. This was on the way back from the Lamar
Valley to pick up KnK.
Kerrie snapped this pic of two Trumpeter Swans on the way
back to The Rig. They were right beside
the road.
And then there was this.
We were all watching Bison in some trees on the other side of the road
when these two caught my eye. Actually,
it was the burst of motion. One of them
was feeling amorous – the other not so much.
Anyway, Keith turned, had a cow and demanded the camera with which he
shot this pic.
And lest the reader forget that there are a lot of Bison in
the Park, I proffer one last pic. These
bulls are huge. Apparently in excess of
2,000 pounds. Wow. Good thing they’re relatively docile if one
stays at an appropriate distance.
So that was it for the day reader. Count that as one cheesey tourist day in the
books.
Till next time.
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