Oh, The Challenges of Change!

We just couldn’t wait until September 15^th so we ended up leaving a week early (and the weather in Lethbridge looks like it has been terrific ever since). It has been so strange to pack up for this trip. First off, we’re only going to be gone for about a month BUT the Motor Home has to be packed for the late-winter-into-spring months and we had to make sure we didn’t have more than we could carry back in the car. Oh, the Challenges of Change! The Plan?!

First destination was Yellowstone National Park!

September – kids back in school; summer crowds thinned out; not so much traffic – perfect conditions for these crowd-phobic travellers.

NOT! The vacationers have now been replaced by others like ourselves wanting to avoid the summer rush PLUS an incredible number of rental RV units manned mostly by Europeans and Asians unfamiliar with the machines as well as the roads. This made for an exasperating but none the less awe-inspiring expedition.

Our first night was spent along side the Canyon Ferry Lake just outside Townsend, MT at the Silos CG.

Yellowstone National Park

The second day we got to West Yellowstone and the much recommended Baker’s Hole CG about three miles north of the entrance to the Park. We were early and so wandered into the Park to see what we could see.

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Yellowstone National Park is 63 miles (101 km) north to south, and 54 miles (87 km) west to east. There are 290 waterfalls of at least 15 feet. The Park sits on the Yellowstone Caldera - the largest volcanic system in North America – considered to be "super volcano" because it was formed by exceptionally large explosive eruptions. The current caldera was created by a cataclysmic eruption more than 1,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

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First impressions? People! People! People!

And we were told that this was not nearly as crowded as it is in the summer, Holy Cow!

Our first venture following the crowds was the Great Fountain Spring and the Bison that posed for us not far from there.

Then we wandered over to snap a photo of the Elk lazing in the bog and viewed our first canyon and the falls at Firehole Canyon.

We gathered our information and mapped out our second day there. Little did we know that this is the season of Road Work and along with the multitude of fellow sightseers, it turned out to be a long but spectacular day.

Hot Springs; Geysers; Canyons; Falls; Rock Formations – the natural phenomena are outstanding and endless. Comprehending the geological foundations for these stupendous formations is a life-time study.

Yellowstone has its own Grand Canyon

Emerald Springs

Mud Ponds

Steamboat Geyser- is the world's tallest currently-active geyser but does not erupt on a predictable schedule and we were just lucky to be there!

Orange Spring Mound - Bacteria and algae create the streaks of color on Orange Spring Mound. It is noticeably different from many of the other terrace formations nearby. Its large mounded shape is the result of very slow water flow and mineral deposition.

Next Posting - Old Faithful and the Grand Tetons NP