Wednesday, July 14, 2004
AUGUST 9TH 1967 TRIP WEST....
We got up real early and broke camp so we could hurry and get up to Yellowstone Park and find camping space. It was our coldest morning but we didn’t take time to eat breakfast as Yellowstone is usually full by 10:30am so we decided to eat after we got there. Uncle Alfred didn’t want to go on to Yellowstone due to the crowds so he left us and headed for Nebraska this morning. The rest of us headed north and saw lots of noteworthy scenery going into the park. Pine trees marched right out to the roadsides to make miles of pretty “green-lined” drives. We had our fist sight of bears today and were so excited we had to pull off to the side of the road to see them each time. They were either brown, black or kind of honey colored. We crossed the Continental Divide three times going to Old Faithful Campground where we were lucky enough to get space. We parked so we could see “Old Faithful” erupt out our camper windows and what a sight it was.
The first thing we did was fix a big breakfast as we were starved by the time we were parked and set up….we ate at 10:00am. The next order of business was to see as much as we could so we drove over to see Old Faithful first. The experience for me was something I never thought I’d ever get to see so I was in awe from the time we first talked about it. I was prepared with a new roll of film in the camera and we walked a wooden path to the observation area.
We kept an eye on our watches to see if it would erupt as predicted and when it neared the scheduled time we could hear a faint rumble down below which kept building and building until a little steam and hot water came forth. I had the camera poised and snapped a picture…..then more rumbling and more water….this kept up with me snapping pictures each time thinking it was the full height of the geyser. But no… higher..and higher…and higher. The kids still laugh at me when the subject comes up because I shot a whole roll of film on her………but what the heck. She deserved it…after all she is the most famous of geysers the world over. That should be enough to demand a whole roll of film.
I was stunned as we were watching the process which I deemed so fascinating when a woman next to me said to her lady friend…“Come on…lets go. I can tell everybody I’ve seen it now so lets get out of here.” This kind of tourist has always irritated me. Someone who only travels to these natural places of indescribable beauty to tell their friends at their next bridge game ‘they’ve seen it.’ To them I would like to say “just stay home and let those of us who have waited years to be able to see these wonders have the space.” I would imagine that woman spent more time shopping for her clothes and jewelry than she was willing to give the grand old geyser of Yellowstone. Let’s have a little respect for God’s creations…….paleeze.
After spending some time there and absorbing the sheer miracle we had just witnessed we then drove around the lower circle of the park to see other points of interest. First we saw the Geyser Basins, Cascades of the Firehole River, Gibbons Falls, Virginia Cascades, Inspiration Point, Artist’s Point, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Falls, Lee Hardy’s Rapids, Mud Volcano and Black Dragons Caldron. Then we stopped at a large lake front resort to have some ice-cream as we had stopped at a grocery store in Canyon Junction and got a few things to have a quick lunch on before we had seen the falls, and we were thirsty. We drove down to West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake and it was a beautiful drive along the shoreline….and then on to Old Faithful again. We saw lots of bears on the way back, including two baby bears in a tree. Totally fascinating.
We had a quick bite of supper and then went up to the rustic little village stores to get some souvenirs and groceries. For a proper description of the many wondrous sights we saw today I bought three books of colored pictures, which will do a far better job than my limited attempts.
It was getting close to 9:30pm and we decided to walk over and see Old Faithful erupt in the dark so we carried groceries and all over with us as we didn’t have time to get to the camper and back in time. It was getting damp and chilly and we had a little wait but it was worth it. When it spewed forth people shown flash lights on it and with all of the flash bulbs from cameras the whole thing illuminated and was breathtaking to see. We scooted back to our “little home away from home” and had our usual bed time story….then lights out……
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
The first thing we did was fix a big breakfast as we were starved by the time we were parked and set up….we ate at 10:00am. The next order of business was to see as much as we could so we drove over to see Old Faithful first. The experience for me was something I never thought I’d ever get to see so I was in awe from the time we first talked about it. I was prepared with a new roll of film in the camera and we walked a wooden path to the observation area.
We kept an eye on our watches to see if it would erupt as predicted and when it neared the scheduled time we could hear a faint rumble down below which kept building and building until a little steam and hot water came forth. I had the camera poised and snapped a picture…..then more rumbling and more water….this kept up with me snapping pictures each time thinking it was the full height of the geyser. But no… higher..and higher…and higher. The kids still laugh at me when the subject comes up because I shot a whole roll of film on her………but what the heck. She deserved it…after all she is the most famous of geysers the world over. That should be enough to demand a whole roll of film.
I was stunned as we were watching the process which I deemed so fascinating when a woman next to me said to her lady friend…“Come on…lets go. I can tell everybody I’ve seen it now so lets get out of here.” This kind of tourist has always irritated me. Someone who only travels to these natural places of indescribable beauty to tell their friends at their next bridge game ‘they’ve seen it.’ To them I would like to say “just stay home and let those of us who have waited years to be able to see these wonders have the space.” I would imagine that woman spent more time shopping for her clothes and jewelry than she was willing to give the grand old geyser of Yellowstone. Let’s have a little respect for God’s creations…….paleeze.
After spending some time there and absorbing the sheer miracle we had just witnessed we then drove around the lower circle of the park to see other points of interest. First we saw the Geyser Basins, Cascades of the Firehole River, Gibbons Falls, Virginia Cascades, Inspiration Point, Artist’s Point, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Falls, Lee Hardy’s Rapids, Mud Volcano and Black Dragons Caldron. Then we stopped at a large lake front resort to have some ice-cream as we had stopped at a grocery store in Canyon Junction and got a few things to have a quick lunch on before we had seen the falls, and we were thirsty. We drove down to West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake and it was a beautiful drive along the shoreline….and then on to Old Faithful again. We saw lots of bears on the way back, including two baby bears in a tree. Totally fascinating.
We had a quick bite of supper and then went up to the rustic little village stores to get some souvenirs and groceries. For a proper description of the many wondrous sights we saw today I bought three books of colored pictures, which will do a far better job than my limited attempts.
It was getting close to 9:30pm and we decided to walk over and see Old Faithful erupt in the dark so we carried groceries and all over with us as we didn’t have time to get to the camper and back in time. It was getting damp and chilly and we had a little wait but it was worth it. When it spewed forth people shown flash lights on it and with all of the flash bulbs from cameras the whole thing illuminated and was breathtaking to see. We scooted back to our “little home away from home” and had our usual bed time story….then lights out……
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
