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More of South Rim Trail…..further down is a photo of my foot in the picture…as close to the canyon as I would get….my hands sweat just thinking about it!
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Oops this is actually South Rim Trail….Kicked my ass…I had been on a longer hike in the Redwoods weeks earlier but I guess the elevation makes a difference. The canyon is beautiful and there aren’t too many people hiking the whole thing. Most people and the tour buses drive from scenic point to scenic point….but hiking the whole thing is much better experience….
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This buffalo was getting up from a dust bath!!
The visitors center at Canyon Village they have lots of information on Yellowstone. I took this photo comparing the spread of ash from different eruption….that Yellowstone was huge! Missed Oregon though!!
The Yellowstone River….close to the canyon! In fact I drove by the turn off and had to turn around…
but if I hadn’t missed the turn I wouldn’t have seen this adorable guy!!
Finally I’m standing on Chittenden Bridge photographing the beginning of the Canyon…
This is taken from Uncle Tom’s Trail
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After my wonderful morning coffee watching the mist rise on the Madison River I slowly make my way to my destination….the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone but as I said….slowly….I didn’t want to miss anything…like this heron. While the bird is watching me it isn’t too nervous. If that was the wildlife refuge at Klamath…it would have been long gone. This heron stayed put the entire time which was about 10 minutes
This little fellow was a fun to watch!
This is the Gibbon River….
Here is Firehole Canyon Drive….unfortunately the sun wasn’t up enough so the photos aren’t that great…it must be awesome when the sun is lighting it up though…
These are the Firehole Falls….
And here we have Tuff Cliff….I wanted to hike all of these places but had to keep with my destination of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone!
I spotted some elk in this meadow while driving by…
with the zoom…not bad for a camera that fits in my pocket…and look at those racks!!!
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I slept quite well in spite of the rain. When I woke up I decided to forgo making coffee and jumped in my car but not before I took this photo of the mist rising from the lake at Rainbow Point Campground.
Took off for the park stopping only to take this photo,fill my tank and get an extra large coffee!!
Finally in the park I stop at the first photo opportunity. I know that the mist won’t last much longer and I don’t want to miss the opportunity driving to a prettier spot.
This ended up being the perfect place and all of the cars entering the park had more glamorous destinations…I didn’t have to share the trail with a single person!
Once again this is the Madison River….
A great way to start my day and enjoy my first cup of coffee of the day!
This whole area had been destroyed by a forest fire….these are the little baby trees…more like toddlers now!
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On the way to the campground after the first day I stopped a couple of places along the Madison River….remember the post awhile ago with the headwaters of the Missouri River and the confluence…that’s the same Madison River…
There are lots of fly fishermen.
finally back at the campground…with not too much daylight to spare….the lake is beautiful….
and my guess is that the storm is going to miss me..
but the rain didn’t! As soon as my soup and tea were done….it started raining….ended up eating in my tent…not an easy feat in that small thing especially when it is housing an air mattress too! Funny thing though is that I had water repellent in my car for over a year thinking I needed to put it on the seams but never got a round to it. I did put it on when I set up the tent in the morning…aside from having to wash dishes and brush my teeth I stayed nice and dry!
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Here are the last of the photos of the geothermal pools at the west thumb of Yellowstone Lake….
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More of the geothermal pools at the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake..
these micro-organisms are awesome I should have taken more photos….
and this pool is just so pretty!!
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On the way to my campsite I decided to stop for the geothermal pools by the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake… that is the area where a volcano blew within the lake.
the nice thing about visiting this time of year is that it stays light until 9:30 or so….
I think these grasses that grow in the hot mud are beautiful!
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Back on the Storm Point Trail to my car…it takes me through a different part of the forest which I find enchanting probably due to the lack of undergrowth the lines of the trees become a pattern
And as soon as I leave the woods I run into this beautiful creature…I have no car to jump into so I stay put and use the zoom. He is keeping his eye on me and looks so peaceful that I have to resist the urge to walk over and sit beside him! I stick to the trail and move along…out of harms way…
Heading back towards Indian Pond….
Pelican Trail is only a quarter mile from Storm Point Trail so I decide to hit that too…
Unfortunately the boardwalk is damaged….and the ground is very wet…maybe next time!
its getting late and I think about heading back towards West Yellowstone…knowing I won’t be able to resist making several stops on my way back…
more to come!
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More photos of Storm Point Trail….the clouds are so cool they remind me of a fire! I wish I had my tripod!!!
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Storm Point Trail runs along the shore of Yellowstone Lake before heading through the forest….its all very dramatic!!
I was quite struck by the sheer amount of fallen trees in this part of the forest….it has probably never been “managed” by man except to keep the trail clear and the wild look adds to the dramatic effect…
The wind is blowing so much I had to take about 20 photos of these flowers on action to finally get a couple of good photos…
getting close to Storm Point…the clouds are in a curve and although the winds are blowing fierce…most of the storm is not close to me. There are some big fat drops falling from the sky at this point and there is lightening off in the distance but I’m in no danger.
This is Storm Point!
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I had bought a book on day hikes in Yellowstone so I could plan the rest of my trip…and low and behold there was a hike that specifically went to a point where the winds were the most dramatic….it was called STORM POINT TRAIL now that is the place I want to be!!
This is Indian Pond. The wonderful thing about Yellowstone (although you can’t see it in this photo) is that unlike anywhere else I have been hiking the wildlife are not afraid. there were a bunch of ducks in the pond probably to the left and normally they would get nervous and fly off or hurriedly swim towards the other end but they just stayed there and looked at me. The reason I don’t have photos of the ducks is that I am standing on bank and would have had to make my way down…that was not my destination….a storm is coming!!
The clouds are rolling in and the wind gets stronger and stronger at this part of Yellowstone Lake.
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I was so excited to see my first buffalo!!! I pulled over and took a photo before I even had a good shot.
Luckily the buffalo headed right where I was going…and I’m the closest car to him…I have pulled off the road though! Notice the tail is down….He just stands there….and people not interested in photographing him start getting impatient with him standing in the road….
not moving…mind you I am using my zoom in the below photo AND STANDING BEHIND THE DOOR OF MY CAR!!
He knows I’m there and turns to look at me…make sure I’m non-threatening…
But the cars are starting to piss him off….note the raised tail….the only sign that a buffalo is pissed…He’s so cute and looks calm in every way but the raised tail is what you want to be aware of.
Now he has a friend come and join him…I’m loving every moment but always aware that they are upset. I want to watch AND take photos but I can only do one at a time…and on top of that if I hadn’t been so excited I would have been thinking about the photos I was taking….I would have had a great “heads shot” here if I had centered the heads and focused better…wahhhh!!
the wildlife in the park are like celebrities and tourists are the paparazzi ….. You can’t see it in this photo but there is a line of cars behind me everyone is out of their cars.
poor buffalo is agitated and confused by the cars trying to get by…
He finally starts for the other side of the road…
on my way back through they were in the field and idiot people were there with their cameras trying to get closer….in the field and through the trees…is it any wonder people get gored.
It was the best first buffalo sighting!!
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A storm was blowing in and I thought it best that I head for Yellowstone Lake as bodies of water are always good for photographing in storms….
125,000 years ago…..geography and history always make me realize how insignificant I am in the scheme of things….and I’m only 44??? Damn I’m not going to be very long on this earth….times a wastin’!!!
Lightning strikes are common in Yellowstone and every year acres burn but growth is quick to spread….here is one of the first in this burned wood
I wish this photo had been taken with greater care….
more to come!!
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This raven was greeting me at my next stop!!
BOILING WATER!!!
The cool thing about photographing boiling pools of water is that no matter how many photos you take each is different….
Another great photo of how close the water boiling from the ground is to a fresh water stream….
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Still at the geothermal pools at Nez Perce Creek you can tell in these photos the changes in the wind…
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I think this is Nez Perce Creek….
Amazing to me because here you really see the layers close up mountains pools of boiling water from the earth running into a fresh water creek that runs on top of the ground….
Again the red is from the microbes…
Love the patterns that formed on the ground…
lots of microbes….
the wind was blowing in a storm….so often I had to wait until the wind blew in a different direction to take a photo. Most of the time the steam was blowing right towards me…even from a distance you can feel the heat…
a bit hard to see (I should have taken more and better photos) but the little round thing is an ancient bison hoof print. There are lots of them…oh well I WILL BE GOING BACK!
more to come!
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Once again all of this boiling water on the surface of the earth amazes me
and here we have mud that boils from the ground…
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I left the ranch at dark…wanting to spend as much time in Yellowstone as I could. Since I didn’t have a campsite reservation I wanted to get to West Yellowstone fairly early. The next few photos are ones I took while pulling over to let traffic go by. I almost always drive slow to enjoy the scenery but I always pull over to let cars go by.
Except for the TOOL posts I do the photos in order above were where the sunrise was lighting on the mountains and below is where the sun is coming up….and closer to Yellowstone where the clouds were moving in
I didn’t mess around looking for campsites when I got close to West Yellowstone I stopped at the first campground and put up my tent at the first site I saw….I was only coming back to sleep so I didn’t care if it was the best spot. As soon as I had the tent up, the air mattress filled and my sleeping bag unrolled I took off.
Finally inside the park and once again I’m letting cars go by…I have no agenda and want to take in the scenery not worry about how fast I can get somewhere.
Speaking of heading for a destination….I literally have none. I didn’t plan anything I didn’t stop at the visitors center…there wasn’t a place I was heading to first…I just drove and enjoyed. Later I formulated a plan but that changed too!
Here I had to pull over as it was the first realization that I was on top of land that was uncertain. And there was proof! Steam from boiling water so hot and with so much pressure that the earth cannot contain it…and I’m about to go investigate!!
Water boiling up from the earth….
This is all amazing to me…what little I know and understand geographically about this area is enough to imagine that at any moment things can change. Most likely it won’t while I’m there for a few hours…but they could!
What are those people doing in my park??? Actually after hearing all of the bear stories I’m glad to see people…maybe I won’t get eaten first!
These boardwalks have warnings but people don’t pay attention as recounted on this page…A CAUTIONARY TALE: YELLOWSTONE’S GEOTHERMAL WONDERS. I didn’t need that warning I see bubbles and steam coming from the earth and I KNOW to be cautious….
the rust color is made by microbes..
I do understand the appeal of young children to check out the pretty colors…that blue is awesome! Remember the sky is overcast so on a bright sunny day…I’m sure the pools are even more stunning!
I wonder how long that tree has been lying there….at one time the ground here was cool enough that it grew….then it all changed….
lots more to come!
FUNNY LITTLE SQUIRREL
This little squirrel was quite amusing I don’t think I have ever encountered such a fearless squirrel. Didn’t run away…just kept chattering at me…and dashing…coming back….chattering…back and forth.
He/she was so fearless I thought it might be rabid. But think that is was more of a case of a youngster playing around…
but the play wasn’t for thirty seconds or so…but for about five minutes…which is an eternity in squirrel photo op time. If I had my Canon I would have had some great shots but I was using the new digital and didn’t realize how long he was going to hang around…didn’t want to take the time of programming it for “ACTION” I love the new digital and mostly use it now but switching between different settings is not as fast…change of the dial then scrolling around the menu…
I actually took about twenty photos…these were the most interesting
LITTLE BALD HILLS TRAIL 4
Need to finish putting up these photos of my Redwood hike BEFORE I left.
This is the horse camp
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