Phannie

Phannie
Photo taken near Monument Valley, Utah

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Yellowstone!

At Valley View RV Park, Island Park, Idaho...

Yes, I know, I know. I said I would never go back to Yellowstone during the summer when the kids are out of school. When we visited there two years ago, the crowds and the traffic were terrible. Our frustration caused us to leave without seeing most of the sights in the park. So what changed? Practicality; since we were this close, we might as well...(how many times have you said that? Plenty, I'm guessing.) 

I'm kinda glad we did. Although the place was crowded, it seemed a little less so this time, so we decided to take two days and see most of the major sites we had previously missed. 

We wanted to maximize those two days, so I stumbled upon this tour-guide app named Gypsy Guide, for $4.99. Since I respond to technie stuff like a moth to a flame, I downloaded it to my iPad and took it with us in the car:



Perhaps some of you may have used this, but we hadn't heard of it before and, I must say, we found it amazing in its usefulness to maximize our trip through the park, advising us as we went, recommending things to see and those that were not so compelling, including turn-by-turn directions to get there. It knew exactly where we were at all times, and gave us all the guidance we needed when we needed it. The narrator proved to be a wealth of information, and we found this doggone thing almost human. I think we may even have tried to talk to it. It's not hard to use--just open the app, and it does the rest, with visual and audio cues. I don't think we'll ever be without one of these in the places for which it is offered.

We also watched Old Faithful again, just for auld lang sine. Sure enough, the geyser was still faithful, tossing out its hot water and steam about every 75 minutes:



Here are some more sights from the park, which has half the world's active geysers--150 in all.


There are many, many steam vents (called fumaroles) like this all around the park.
Here's a hot spring in a wooded area of the park.

I find these clear and colorful hot springs fascinating.
This was my favorite. Look how clearly visible are the walls of the hot spring below the water's surface.
Wildlife is everywhere in the park. This doe and her fawn were trying to drink from one of the mineral-laced hot springs. Not sure what they were thinking; looks like it burned mom's tongue.
This big guy was just ambling along beside the road as we passed. They often decide to walk in the highway, blocking traffic sometimes for miles.

The beautiful and wild Yellowstone River flows mightily through the park.


This is the iconic view of the Yellowstone River as it falls into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
As if there weren't enough other things to see, the surrounding mountains are also there for the viewing.
And so we say goodbye to beautiful and unique Yellowstone. We think we won't need to come back for a while. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the area is how large and close to the surface the magma chamber is beneath the area and how large the volcanic eruption was that formed Yellowstone. The hundreds of boiling hot geysers, springs and fumaroles throughout the park give a stark reminder that the hellish eruption that formed the area some 650,000 years ago will someday happen again. And how often does this happen, you may ask?  Around every 650,000 years. The bad news is that time is up!

On our last evening in the area, I decided to pay a surprise visit to a longtime blogger/traveler friend from Oregon who I learned was coincidentally traveling in the area and camped only about three miles from us. He had no idea we were even in this part of the country. Sandy and I knocked on the door of his cabin and Gordon answered the door, displaying astonishment so total that he had to sit down on the bed. His dear wife, Juanita, was pretty surprised, too, but she held her composure a bit better. It was the perfect prank, but the only bad thing is that there will likely be payback. Here's a photo of Gordon and Juanita and their--not spoiled, I'm sure--beagles, Abby and Luna:



Gordon is an accomplished drone pilot/photographer and posts occasionally to his blog, Gordon's Geezer Grumblings. Thanks, guys, for being good sports; we enjoyed your visit very much.

From here, we're headed to Jackson, Wyoming. Stay tuned!


Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.

I had rather own little and see the world than to own the world and see little of it. -- Alexander Sattler

16 comments:

  1. Your surprise visit was the highlight of a great day in and around Yellowstone. I am seldom, if ever, caught with a real gotcha, but you managed to accomplish just that. Thanks for making the surprise visit. As always, we enjoyed spending some quality time with you and look forward to doing it again.

    Safe travels friends!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was fun, Gordon and Juanita, and great to see you again. Be safe and happy!

      Delete
  2. What a fun time you had there. thanks for the awesome pictures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, George; I don't know if you've been to Yellowstone, but it is a unique place and worthy of anyone's time to visit.

      Delete
  3. Thanks for sharing the name of the app. We'll definitely check it out. We were at Yellowstone many years ago with our kids, and bought a cassette tape at the visitor center to play in our truck that guided you through the park and gave lots of information. Times have sure changed. Great pictures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Evelyn! That app was worth every penny; we're hooked!

      Delete
  4. I love your writing style, and your pics are great. Very enjoyable read. . .look forward to seeing your pics from Grand Tetons. . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're too kind, Janice, but not unexpected from wonderfully friendly folks like you and Dave. We surely enjoyed meeting you at Valley View!

      Delete
  5. The "doe and fawn" are actually a cow elk with her calf. Great photos!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh my! There are some subjects where my knowledge is weak, and wildlife identification is obviously one of them. I appreciate very much your helping correct the error, and thanks for visiting Phannie and Mae!

      Delete
  6. We got the Yellowstone + Teton version and did the Tetons yesterday. Well worth the $10 so far and looking forward to Yellowstone next week. We are behind you and trying to catch up. Do you plan to catch the eclipse? If so from where?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Buster! We are not staying as long as we would like at the various places we visit this summer due to the difficulty in finding space for more than a very few days. So we have reluctantly left the cool mountains around Yellowstone and migrated to Salt Lake City, where we will be for a least a couple of weeks. I haven't given much thought to the eclipse, but I guess this is where we will be on that date. I'm also a little behind on posts, we just came through Jackson Hole where we did a raft trip; that will be the next post. So, we may be a little hard to catch, but we do enjoy meetups with readers if you can pin us down. I would say come on down to SLC, but it's pretty darned hot here. Thanks much for reading; hope to cross paths sometime!

      Delete
    2. Not sure I posted as Buster as this is Chip & Diane. But the App is great!!!

      Delete
    3. Hi, Chip! I think I'm confused; but that's not unusual. Always good to hear from you.

      Delete
  7. Absolutely incredible photos!! LOVE!

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate comments and read every one of them. If your Blogger settings allow, I will happily respond.