Geyser day in Yellowstone was a looooong day, but only because we enjoyed ourselves immensly.  Consequently, this post will be picture-laden.  After an amazing drive from Cody to the park, we were immediately greeted by a buffalo standing on the road as if he were, in the words of Chunk "a Walmart greeter."  Traffic was squeezing around him, and not a single care was given by the buffalo.  In fact, I think he rather enjoyed it.  Honestly, we did too, as it made for fantastic photos.

Hello and Welcome to Yellowstone.  Would you like a cart?





"Yeah, I'm a stud."

The drive through Yellowstone is utterly breathtaking.  Every 1/2 mile or so is a pulloff for some sort of scenic something - lake, stream, field, geothermal oddity, etc.  After ten miles or so we happened on a bull Elk, or rather a bull Elk happened upon us.  He was in full velvet and supremely impressive.  Had this been our only elk of the day we would have been happy, but little did we know what lay in store later...
 




We made our way around Lake Yellowstone, stopping at Kepler Cascades on the way.  See the photo on the left?  Pretty amazing rapids right?  This stop was virtually unpopulated by tourists.  This is a boring picture in Yellowstone.  Also, there are no rails around these things in the park.  It's not a problem, per se, until you climb out on jutting rocks, which may or may not be occuring in the picture.



More suggestion than law, really

Obligatory Old Faithful Pic

We arrived litterally just in time for Old Faithful to erupt (which is entirely a consquence of superior planning on part of the trip administrator).  There is something about superheated water shooting out of the ground that is really, really cool.  Apparently 1,000 other people also believe this, judging by the crowd.  Most of them did not continue on the geyser trail, though, which contains literally dozens of hot springs and geysers.  We have dozens of pics of that walk, which I hope to upload later. 

Two interesting items from the Lower Geyser Basin walk.  First, we watched a lady tell her daughter (5 years old) that animals were laying down on a hill 10 yards behind a geyser.  Upon closer inspection by Chunk, however, they proved to be rocks.  Rather than burst the bubble of childlike wonder, though, we chose not to correct her.  Second, there was a kid who had the presence of mind to bring a infrared thermometer to the park.  He happend to be on the same pace as us, too, which provided some interesting insight.  At least for the first 10 hot springs/geysers.  After that, he seemed to be taking the temperature of everything - dirt, rocks, the sidewalk, and a chipmunk.  File this away: chipmunks on a hot day in Yellowstone can reach 115 degrees.  The FDA recommends they be cooked to 175, though. 

PAINT POTS!!! YEAH!!!!

Our next stop was the fountain paint pots. Honestly, not much of consqeunce occured on this stop besides the awseme scenery.  I (Matt) include this, though, because I LOVE PAINT POTS.  Being blog administrator, I am excercizing executive priviledge and bringing the joy to you.



Beautiful Tinder

 After a lunch at Old Faithful Inn - which is stunning in its wooden beauty - we drove along the Firehole River until we found a nice place to swim.  Our prefered spot was out of the way of everyone, and although not deep, was well-suited to soaking.  The water moves quickly in the Firehole River, but was not terribly cold.  There is something truly awseme about sitting in a river in the middle of Yellowstone, taking in the scenery, and just relaxing.  We stayed for a good hour before it got a little chilly. 

Help!  Those albino bears are attacking that pretty lady!





Natural sauna



We dried off and headed down the road to the Midway Geyser Basin.  It was here that Chunk proclaimed the best part of the trip this far (although it was eclipsed within the hour).  Excelsior Geyser is less of a traditional, water in the air geyser and more of a giant hole gushing water.  It's positively huge with several thousand gallons of water rushing out every minute.  Steam rises constantly and blows across the sidewalk. 

 

After excelsior geyser we started the trek home.  We passed by a group of elk on the way and snapped a few pictures.  I would post pictures of this, but we saw something much, much better a few miles down the road. As we passed Lake Yellowstone, Chunk spotted two bull elk hanging out by the lake with the sun in the background.  These elk were no stranger to humans, either, and seemed not to care about our presence.  Naturally we took this opportunity to get as close as possible to them for pictures.  As mothers screemed to thier children to stay back from the wildlife, we inched closer and closer to them - possibly violating the minimum 25 yard regulation.  I do not exaggerate when I say we probably undid a solid two years of quality parenting by approching the elk without being gored.  I was hesitant at first, but Chunk shouted encouragement.  "He woln't hurt you, get closer!" he shouted.  "Come on, you're as big as him, you're good!"  Apparently every step I took towards the elk (my back was to him for the picture), he would raise his head and give me the stink eye. 

  

"Soon, human...soon."



25 yards is a matter of opinion



This is roughly the same stink-eye the Elk gave me

Total Hours Driven: 43

Bugs Vanquished by the Town and Country: 2 million (estimate)

Meat Stick Inventory: 82% capacity

Baby Mule Deer Sited: 3

Quote of the Day:
"Kind of like Cooks Forest..."
 - Chunk, sarcastically we think


Up Next: Cody Day!  White Water Rafting, Buffalo Bill, and the Roe-day-O.

Evidence we are still friends as of Day 4