Great West Trip 2023: Part 4

This is a cross-post from Flyin' the Coop
 
We entered Yellowstone National Park through the East Entrance and began driving through what I would call the mountain area. I had no idea that each part of the park would look so different. Our first stop was at an overlook. We had to stop because the views were spectacular. The pictures don't do it justice.
The obligatory picture at the entrance.
As we made our way through the park, we started to see random buffalo in the fields. There weren't big packs of them in this section but it was a thrill to finally see some.

We saw our first geyser/ hot spring of the day
First buffalo sighting!
We noticed this rather large crow sitting on the roof of the bathroom. It was pretty loud and Robert was able to get rather close to it.
We stopped at Calcite Springs and I walked the path to the overlook. The water was a stunning color.
The steam coming from the side of the river was pretty cool.
See what I mean about the color of the water?

These formations were made by volcanic activity

We were surprised that we hadn't seen as many buffalo as we were expecting. A quick talk with a ranger gave us the information we needed. We drove through what I would call the "plains section" and managed to see a lot of them. Babies, mamas, daddies, and even some pronghorns in the mix.

Buffalo mamas and babies
Pronghorns in the background mixing in with the buffalo
Having our fill of buffalo, we continued on. We stopped at the Albright station at the North Entrance and saw some elk as well as some interesting rock.
We were amazed that these elk were just hanging out in the midst of the visitor's center with a lot of people around
This rock looks like snow cascading down a mountain
In the afternoon we made it to the geyser section (as I call it) which is in the west side of the park. We opted to skip Old Faithful which I think turned out to be a good choice. We aren't crazy about getting in with the crowds and by the look of the line of cars, it was going to be pretty crowded. We stopped at Beryl Springs and got a pretty good idea of what a geyser looks like on a smaller scale and without a lot of people.
Beryl Spring is one of the hottest springs in Yellowstone.
It was named "Beryl" because of the blue-green color of the water reminiscent of the gem beryl.
We stopped at Flood Geyser just as it was finishing its performance. This is one of several geysers in the "flood area" of the park.
I couldn't find this so I'm going on the assumption that it's possible that this area floods since there is a stream/river flowing through this section.
Or maybe it's because it looks like it's flooded. If you know, let me know!
As we made our way to the South exit, we saw a few more geysers/hot springs which were just fantastic to drive through:
Our next mission was to find a place to stay for the night. I had the coordinates of a place to boondock but, surprisingly, Robert wanted to find a campground instead. We stopped at one place and were pretty much told, "Good luck". I checked a campground in the Tetons and, as luck would have it, they had one spot left. We snatched it up right away. It wasn't the best campsite we've ever had, but it gave us a place to park the van.  More on that next time!

I realize how much we missed by doing Yellowstone in one day. This will be one place I want to return to and spend more time. There is so much to see!

Friday Fotos 2024 #4

Friday Fotos is a post where I can dump some photos from the previous week. The goal is to make me more aware of the beauty and fun in my everyday life. 

I don't have very many photos this week. I didn't keep up with my "picture a day"!

I think this is a cherry tree just starting to flower. 
Bradford Pears get a bad rap but when they bloom they are gorgeous.
We had a get-together over the weekend since one of my sisters came in from out of state. We're missing 2 siblings in the picture.
Here's everyone (minus the one taking the picture) who came. We always have a good time when we're together.
I got some extra time with my out-of-state sister. 
YS' dog waiting for him to come home from work. She's a pretty good girl but still has quite a bit of puppy in her. I've never seen a dog with such loving eyes!

How has your week been? What kind of pictures are on your phone for the week? Until next time!

Rollin' with the Hodgepodge

1. Thursday is National Pi Day...are you good at math? What was the last thing you had to calculate? Did you use your head or technology? Last slice of pie you ate? 

I am horrible at math. Numbers don't mean a thing to me, but I jokingly say that I can conjugate the heck out of some verbs in a couple of different languages! (I used to be able to, anyway!) I have to use technology...rarely can I use my head. The last slice of pie I ate had to have been pie from Buttermilk Sky Pie. It was probably the buttermilk pie, which sounds kind of gross but is actually quite good.

2. What makes a house a home? 

Laughter. And being comfortable. One of the boys' ex-girlfriends mentioned that our house was comfortable. That's exactly what I go for. My house is lived in!

3. Your current favorite green thing? 

Grass. 

4. How do you define achievement? How does your personal definition look similar to, or different than, society's definition? What's something you think is worth achieving in life? 

Being happy. Society says achievement is having that big house with the manicured lawn and having "things". That is definitely not my definition. If you can be happy and have joy, you have achieved great things.

5. What song is a good soundtrack for your life right now? 

I had to look through some playlists on Spotify to pick just there right one. Here is it:

6. Insert your own random thought here.

An old friend of mine from back in the colorguard instructing days and his wife bought a flat in Scotland that they will live in part-time. The wife has started a blog describing what that new life is like. She's an excellent writer and makes you feel like you are right there with them. Check it out here.  

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