YELLOWSTONE - ONE MORE DAY,

Starting another LONG day to go around the west side of the Yellowstone Loop. Not even. Just the south side because the road on the northwest side is closed for construction. So, in through the East Entrance then to the loop and around the south part of the loop.

 But first,  obligatory roadside animal pictures. In this case an elk.

 Along with Yellowstone Canyon from Artist's Point, Old Faithful is a required picture site for Yellowstone visitors.

 It was a little chilly.

 But we weren't the only ones waiting.

Like almost all of the scenery out here, pictures really can't do it justice.



 There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of geysers in Yellowstone. Old Faithful is not the biggest or even the most regular.

This one was fascinating because when we first saw it, it was an empty hole in the ground.

 Totally dry.

 Over a period of 5 or 6 minutes it filled with steaming water.

Then it started gurgling and bubbling.

Then "erupted" maybe five feet into the air.

Then just drained to repeat the process in about 10 minutes.




The temperature of the water determines the type of bacteria that grows and they are all different colors.

 Most have been erupting for decades or hundreds of years but only some build up deposits.

Another of the beautiful waterfalls. This is Gibbon Falls.

 The perfect Christmas Tree - If I still lived in my Main Street house.

One last area before we left - "Artist's Paint Pots"  One more case of not enough water to get spectacular colors. We were told they are beautiful in the spring and early summer.

 On the way across to the East Entrance we saw dozens of cars and people. Most of the people had binoculars and/or cameras with lenses that cost more than a small car. They were all looking and pointing excitedly. We asked, "What's up?" and were told, "There's a grizzly across that meadow trying to bring down an elk calf." All we got to see was a small blob that was probably a grizzly headed into the woods and a small group of elk in the meadow. Mixed opinions on whether he was dragging the calf or not.

As we got back into the truck Carol saw this beautiful reflected scene on the Yellowstone River.

 That ends what we'll share from Yellowstone except for what we might see going out the South Gate tomorrow. It's been a very good few days. The delay to get a clutch installed really made us worry about snow. It snowed but did not affect our trip at all.

Still beating that dead horse - nothing has gone as planned. Everything has turned out better than hoped for.

Grace - getting what  you don't deserve.