Dan was attending a symposium at Yellowstone National Park on the (occasionally
snowy) local environment, and
suggested that when it was over, we rendezvous with him there. We'd been home
for a week, and the laundry was done, so we took off. We met him in the lobby of the Mammoth
Hot Springs Hotel in front of the hardwood map of the United States.
J and D with Wyoming in the background.
News & Notes
Yellowstone is spectacular in dozens of ways. It's not just the geysers and simmering pools, or its epic volcanic eruptions, or the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It's also packed with wildlife, everything from grizzly bears to pikas. We saw buffalo (Bison bison) roaming everywhere, as well as deer and antelope (playing, but separately), elk, a little black bear, and smaller animals like marmots. As we walked out of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, this old guy was looking down on us.
B b with Wyoming in the foreground
While putting through Yellowstone, we stopped at the Steamboat Geyser, tallest active geyser in the world, achieving heights of 300 feet (91 m). Steamboat is a ridiculously irregular geyser: It didn't spout at all from 1911 to 1961; then it would spout about once every ten years. Since March it has spouted eight times; we missed one by 40 hours. What's going on? Only the Yellowstone Caldera knows, but the US Geological Survey has a pretty good idea, and one of their best speakers will walk you through the (very understandable) explanation of Yellowstone's warm heart.
Steamboat Geyser venting steam
When we visited the Wyoming Dinosaur Center last year, we realized the collection is awesome - their Jurassic-age bird Archaeopteryx, for example, is the only such fossil in the Americas, and the best preserved of the eleven known. That kind of information we could understand. And the bird is cool with its fossilized feather impressions. But, overall we were overwhelmed. Dan volunteered to guide a tour, and to answer questions. We had many. Starting at 1.9 billion years back, there was lots to cover. Again we were dazzled by the exhibits, but thanks to our tour guide, we were following the story a little better. Thanks, Dan! It's proper to tip your guide, so we finished up with huckleberry ice cream.
Clueless visitor and Tour Guide plus a slab of trilobite fossils
The Legend Rock Petroglyphs are 11,000 year old stone rock carvings along Cottonwood Creek in remote Wyoming rangeland. Scattered along a quarter mile of cracked rock face, the images show thunderbirds, animals such as elk and turtles, geometric designs, human figures and various creatures with bison-like horns. The designs have survived the elements because they were "pecked" into the stone with a pointed instrument. On this isolated outcrop amid endless rolling prairie, these crude carvings seem very ancient.
Legend Rock Petroglyphs
Our brief pass through Grand Teton National Park was our earliest visit ever. The lingering winter snow highlighted Grand's rugged relief.
Grand Teton
Oh, yes. And we celebrated our fiftieth wedding anniversary at The Pointe in Tofino BC.
Still Smiling
