waiting for ole' faithful
still waiting while the others in the distance go off
oh it's starting
there it goes
still going
a rainbow
We're glad we saw Old Faithful but all agreed that it would have been much sweeter if we just came upon it in the woods during a hike rather than waiting over an hour on boardwalk sitting on benches with about 200 other people.
about half the crowd to our left
We then explored some of the smaller hot springs called the "painting pots"
paint pot
hayyy guys
other small geysers
Here's where things got REAL freaky (attn. Rayelks)
As we were nearing the end of our journey through Yellowstone we came upon our most favorite natural wonder of the whole day. An abandoned town re-populated by an ancestral string of the Rayelk. Oodles and oodles of Elks!
They send mail at the post office
They play hide-and-go-seek
They eat socially
They run from the law
We were the first car to enter the scene so we were able to circle the median many times while getting within a couple feet of some of them. After a good amount of time witnessing these human like elk behaviors we were asked to leave by a cop over a loud speaker. We drove out of the park at dusk heading to the Bozeman area. As we were leaving we passed large groups of people in towels, it was by no means swimming season. We were intrigued and stopped to ask 3 angstynlooking teens what the deal was
Us: "were you guys swimming?"
Tweenz: "ya"
Us: "ummmm..... So is it warm."
Tween: "it's like..... Hot.... And cold. It's like hot and cold at the same time."
Us: ok then thanks for the trusty advice you Tweenz!
Totally confused and intrigued.... At the same time we decided to go for it. As the sun was setting we changed int our suits and hit the trail. A half later we came upon a rushing glacial river meeting the Boiling river. The area where the 2 rivers merged a picturesque natural hot tub surrounded by rocks. It was PERFECT, if you found yourself a wee bit chilly you scooted to the right and vice versa if you needed a little extra heat. This allowed us to create the ideal personalized hot tub at the bottom of a canyon. No pics to show due to the spontaneity, hope you understand.
After a long soak we decided to make the trek back..... In the pitch black, with no light OR bear spray....yes, grizzlies were rampant and they also love hot springs. Thankfully Keefe lead the way singing camp songs.
We safely made it to our car and made the trip to Bozeman that evening, to stay with Katharine's cousin Tyler. Thanks again Tyler for taking us in last minute and showing us around your city!
Thanks for sticking with us faithful readers! Rome wasn't built in a day!
Over and out,
Willy, Wally, Weefe, Watharine
Location:Yellowstone National Park
