Highlights from Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park is HUGE! Most people only think of geysers when they think of Yellowstone, and, frankly, that is exactly what we focused on for our visit since we only had one day for exploration. And of course, we had to take into account the facts that 1) it's a popular place with lots of vehicles entering the park, which means 2) getting in queue whether in the car or on a trail. Also, 3) best laid plans for early arrival can be dashed when RV traveling because everything seems to take twice as long, especially when the travelers lallygag in the morning.😉

All that said, we managed to score a primo parking space next to the visitor center by The Old Faithful Geyser, and had plenty of time to find perfect seating spots to set up our tripod for using the slow-shutter app on my phone. We even had time to eat our lunch in the hot Montana summer sun while patiently waiting for The Old Faithful to erupt. There was a fun family of four next to us with two smart, funny kids who made the experience kind of endearing in a way that only smart, funny kids can help to create.

Finally, the moment arrived when the geyser activated and the crowd of approximately 500 people oohed and ahhed throughout the eruption.

Here is the one photo I took to capture the eruption at its peak height:

The Old Faithful Geyer at Peak Eruption Height

After the eruption ended, which was nearly as abrupt as its beginning, people started leaving in droves. Others were already arriving to choose their viewing seat. Ron took a panorama shot (he's really good at these, while I am not!) of what was left of the crowd after just a couple of moments after the event:

The Old Faithful Seating Area Post-Eruption

I gave the pano shot a dreamy look using ON1, just for fun.

We got back in Spicy, turned around, and made our way toward parking to view the Grand Prismatic Geyser in the Midway region. This was really why I, personally, came to this area of Yellowstone:

The Grand Prismatic Geyser in Yellowstone National Park

It's HUGE! For perspective, those teeny-tiny black lines around the top edge of the geyser are people! The rainbow effect in the water is created by heat-loving bacteria, which just proves that all bacteria are not bad; in fact, some are delightfully playful!

Here is a selfie that we took with Ron's phone near another smaller, very cute & colorful geyser on the way to Fairy Falls trail:

Selfie Near Geyser in Yellowstone National Park

We saw a buffalo on our way out of the park, but my hasty photo (so as to not block traffic) turned out poorly, but suffice to say, the buffalo was real, and real big, with big horns!

When we returned to our campsite, Ron took a walk around the marina while I prepped dinner. The wind came up fast and suddenly it began to rain. This is apparently a thing in this region! I scrambled to close all the trailer windows, breathing a sigh of relief until I realized that there were things outside that needed to get into shelter, and that the truck windows and bed were all open. Yikes! I managed to have time to get my raincoat out of the deepest bin in the bedroom area, put it on, only to realize that Ron had locked the truck! I ran back inside, got the keys, and finished tidying up outside . . . just about the time the rain began to subside. Ugh!

Oh well, it goes to show that Mother Nature has her ways, and we are here to survive, and steward, and harmonize with her! I think these micro rain storms are a wonderful metaphor for reminding oneself to stay awake and alive, and to clean up any little messes we might have created, whether psychologically, physically, or spiritual.

Share your comments, and I'll see you on the next part of the journey!