Twenty Trip--We Pause to Look at a Grassy Stream

Friday, September 7th, 2012

I am probably breaking part of the Unofficial Code of Bloggers by sharing so many photos, but I can't help myself! There are so many to share, and so many stories to go with each.

In "normal America", we drive past hundreds of "normal creeks" without thinking twice. Oh, we may glance out the window and think that's a pretty little creek, but never do we stop and explore.

Yellowstone National Park is not "normal America," and therefore does not have "normal creeks." 

Here there are "grassy streams" and "trickling brooks" and "deadly hotsprings."
Here in Yellowstone, we stop and explore.

This grassy stream is somewhere between Mammoth and the Artist Paint Pots, 

and is deserving of a post of its own.

By this point in the trip, I was doing better at holding still for pictures.

Please note the steam rising from the creek. Almost everywhere we went there would be some spot with steam meandering out of it--by the road north of Gardiner, in the middle of a parking lot, alongside the Gardiner River...

Technically, this 'grassy stream' was more of a 'reeded stream.' That beautiful green isn't from grass- it's from these skinny little reed-like plants.

They float just under the water, semi-connected to the ground beneath. When I pulled gently on a handful of them, they all shifted like a mat.

^My beautiful mother exploring, too.

"Hm, is there something worth investigating over there?"

~Kiwi~

Twenty Trip--The Quest for Sapphires

Thursday, September 6th, 2012

This day we set out on a Quest. Not just any old quest, but a Quest for Sapphires.
We drove 225 miles from Gardiner to Phillipsburg, through Butte and Anaconda, Montana.

(^Handy Map)

Anaconda looked like a cool town to poke around in, but we didn't have time to stop. It's on my list of places to return to (once I'm rich and have all the time in the world, of course.)

North of Yellowstone we could see little bits of forest fire every here and there, and smoke was drifting through the mountains. It was a long drive up there, but the scenery was worth it.

To the people who live in gorgeous places: Do you ever get over it, or are you constantly stopping to marvel at the creation around you? 

I'll quote from my Twenty Trip book ( Embarking on a Once in a Lifetime Adventure, Kiwifruit press, author Mrs. Fruit) on the sapphire-hunting process. 

 

"Step #1:

Wash the gravel in a long trough full of cold water. Try not to splash yourself as you perfect the proper swish, rock, turn, and shake technique."

"Step #2:

Tilting the tray toward yourself, dump the washed gravel in one fluid motion onto the tabletip. To not accidentally dump it onto the ground, or you will be ridiculed mercilessly."

"Step #3:

Begin looking for tiny pieces of translucent glass. These are actually sapphires. Use tweezers to snatch them up before other members of the family have a chance."

Mom was best at step 1 and Dad excelled at step 2, and I suppose I wasn't too bad at step 3.
Guess which one of us took home a total of 31 carats of sapphires?

That's me with my riches!

Lake Georgetown, Montana.

We also stopped in Philipsburg itself to look at Gem Mountain's store and poke around in an antique shop. (yet) Another pretty little town, but I can't seem to find any pictures of it. I thought I took some...

~Kiwi~

Twenty Trip--A Reason to Return

Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

After lunching in sight of Mammoth Hot Springs (and perhaps feeding some wildlife*), rescuing a butterfly from a lake (yes, a 3 ft puddle qualifies as a lake, if you're a butterfly), and seeing a petrified redwood tree, 

we set off on a hike.

While researching Yellowstone, the Mount Washburn Chittenden trail was one of the things that I really, truly wanted to do. It is one of the highest peaks in the park, and on a clear day one can see all the way to the Teton mountain range 60 or 70 miles away. At the summit of Mt. Washburn there is a fire tower with a small 

visitors' center and an observation deck.

Or so I've read.

I never actually got to see the tower close up.

We didn't even get any pictures of it.

We started out with the best intentions. Dad and I were even going to break in our custom-made walking sticks! True, it was chilly, but once you get going you don't even notice it.

The three of us hiked to a copse a few hundred yards up the trail, then stopped to admire the view (of buffalo).

Once stopped, we noticed the wind. The cold wind.

Once stopped, we noticed the sun had gone missing.

Once stopped, we noticed how incredibly long the trail was.

Once stopped, we...never started again.

I wish we'd had time to do everything in Yellowstone. I wish we'd had time and energy to finish this hike. BUT, since I didn't get to do it this time, you know what that means, riiight?

Right.

I have to go back. Oh rats. ;)

On our way down from the Failed Mount Washburn Attempt (as it came to be known) Mom took some pictures of the fireweed.

This goes to show that good things can come out of something bad.

~Kiwi

*They were sparrows, and they were practically tame, and can I help it that I accidentally dropped cracker crumbs by my picnic table?

Twenty Trip--Mammoth Hot Springs

Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

We left Gardiner bright and early (8 am = early) and drove just a few miles to Mammoth Hot Springs. Just writing about it right now makes me wish vacation was still going. Just 20 minutes' drive, and we were in an amazing new world!!

Anyway. Mom went to Mammoth Hot Springs back in 1985 with her parents and sister, but what they saw was considerably different. (THIS is a site with pictures of Yellowstone taken in 1984/85.) Someday when I have more time, I'll hunt down the pictures my grandparents took and compare them to ours.

The Liberty Cap on top of a face. With a beard. And eyebrows. Could it be an early American Indian representation of Santa Claus?

I deleted several pictures off my camera because they looked pixely. As it turns out, it is not pixely, that is just the way the formations look!

Interesting how just a wee little change in temperature decides which color thermophile grows there.

We could have filled an entire album with pictures of Mom's odd poses--but hey, she'd always get the perfect shot in the end! See?

Some poor, unsuspecting dragonflies didn't look where they were flying, and landed in the pools. oops. At least that one is still in one piece!

 The top of the hot springs was a barren wasteland with just a tree trunk here and there. I really wish it was safe to walk out there. The place was huge, so one could take an amazing picture of someone standing in the middle or on the edge! Ah well, I guess I'll just have to make do with Photoshop.

Doesn't it look like snow in this picture? I'm being all "macho Wisconsinite" here and braving the cold.

Dad is no wimp either.

 Mom and Dad in awe at the base of the springs.

I'll do my best to finish up my vacation posts before the year is up! ;)

~Kiwi~

Twenty Trip--Entering the Land of the Yellowstone

September 4th, 2012

After climbing all over the Beartooth mountain range (which was gorgeous. Did I mention that already?), we arrived at our Ultimate Destination.

(See? It's so lovely that even my o.k. camera took good pictures!)

^Proof that my parents were there as well.

I wonder how many millions of people have taken their picture with that sign, and where they're from, and what they got to see in Yellowstone?

This was one of my favorite signs of the whole trip--almost as good as "Be advised: stay on road" while going around hairpin curves in the Beartooths!

And you know what? The closest thing to bears we saw in that whole trip were...

 ...buffaloes.

Which aren't very close to bears.

At all.

I lay the blame for this entirely on my grandma, who was convinced that we didn't really want to see grizzlies. Even from inside the car and across the river. Even from across the valley. In fact, the only place we were allowed to see bears was inside museums. *sigh*
I guess I'll just have to go back sometime!

When we arrived in Gardiner, Montana, this was the view from our hotel room at 8:30 that night. 

And if we turned the other direction, we could even see the famous North Entrance's Roosevelt Arch!

Gardiner was an interesting town, but not one I'd like to spend too long in. The shops were nice, but so-so, and the restaurants were of course over-priced. It's a tourist trap, the food will be pricey!

The two nights we ate in town, we went to K-Bar Pizza. Good, good pizza! The restaurant/bar is in an old mainstreet building, complete with false front and plank sidewalk out front. The interior is covered in old (beer) advertisements, pictures, license plates, etc, and a huge mirror behind the bar. Down the wall from the bar, they have a work station and then a large woodburning oven. You can sit there and watch them hand-toss your pizza while you yell at each other over the loud music. The waiters were friendly and talkative, and I had a marvelous time people-watching.

And, of course, there was the delicious pizza. Can't forget that!

~Kiwi~