Saturday, May 22, 2010

Spring/Winter in Yellowstone Park

Today was the first of my two days off.  I woke up to this.  Spring in Yellowstone Park.

Now do you understand why I have no idea what month or season it is?

It has snowed all day off and on. 

As my wonderful Montana dentist said, "There are three seasons here...winter, construction and company.  Usually the construction and company come at the same time."

Since the days in Yellowstone last longer than anyplace on earth, I was determined to get out of my room and do a little exploring.  

I decided to drive to the West Thumb Geyser Basin which is about a half an hour south of here. 

I thought the snow looked interesting against some trees that were burned in a fire last year.

Don't worry, there are plenty more trees in the Park....gazillions of trees if you must know.

It's a short hike around the board walk, but a lot is going on.

Yellowstone Lake has 110 miles of shoreline.

That's a big lake, right?

Right now, it is still frozen.  So am I, for that matter.





The West Thumb Geyser Basin is fascinating because hot bubbly things are right next to the lake.

Ice, snow, fire, water.  What more could you ask for?

Follow me down this boardwalk to see the strange and lovely sights.

There were some elk grazing by the lake.

They seemed harmless, but I think everything around here could kick you to death if it wanted.






The boardwalk goes right along the lake.

Those three tourists slipped on the ice and were swept away, so the next photo is awesome and will win me some prizes.

You know I'm kidding, right?  And I wonder why no one wants to hang with me.

The hot bubbly stuff just flows into Yellowstone Lake.







There are geysers right out in the lake.

Trust me, they are everywhere. 

I'm surprised that there isn't one right outside my bedroom window. 

May be one tomorrow.  Nothing surprises me here.

That's ice hanging down from the cliff.

There was ice hanging from my nose too, but you aren't getting a picture of that.




More boardwalk as I walked back to my car.

It was starting to snow again.




A pretty branch with some moss on it, just because I was tired of geysers.

Have I mentioned that the geysers smell like rotten eggs?

It's the sulfur making that odor, and I will always think of Yellowstone when I have deviled eggs in the refrigerator.



This bus was in the parking lot when I left.

There was no one in it.

I didn't see any hippies on the boardwalk.

You can make up your own story about this if you like. 

So that's the end of the adventures for today.  I have walked a couple of miles around the Old Faithful Geyser Basin, had dinner, done my laundry and it's only 6:30. 

Someone has to get me out of here.  I'm not shaving, my skin is getting scaly, I spend a lot of time alone having dangerous thoughts, I'm starting to talk to the German guy who has finger puppets (I will get a picture of him before I leave) and the employee dining room is starting to serve chicken nuggets pellets.

I still have some movies to watch, but when they're gone, I don't know what will happen.  Hubby is coming to get me toward the end of June.  The pictures will continue.  Until tomorrow.

11 comments:

darlin said...

Only one more month? I thought that you were there all summer, but then again who's paying me to think these days?

Did you ever get your books? I'm trying to think of things you can do without getting fired if you're caught and it's pretty tough, if I do come up with something I'll call! lol

I can be grateful today after seeing how much snow you have there, ours hits the ground and is gone in no time at all, thankfully. I was brave, or stupid, today and bought some bedding plants... there's that fine line and I'm not sure some days which side I teeter on. I'm hoping that it dried up and warms up enough to plant before I head home... in two sleeps!

I hope that you get some nice weather before you go home, may I make a suggestion here? The beauty of me not being able to hear you I'm going to pretend you said sure... next time you're going to leave home to work pick someplace tropical and warm.

Enough from the peanut gallery here for one day, time to go through my photos from today and hope I have something worthy of posting... if not there's still time to take a few more photos before this day comes to a close. :-)

Continue to make the best of your days, here is where I want to break out in song:
"Keep on the sunny side
always on the sunny side
keep on the sunny side of life"

And the countdown begins.... 'nite Judy.

Anonymous said...

OMG...you poor thing! I guess I would have cried if I woke up to snow again. Please get that pic of Stan the german guy. People really have no idea of the kind of people you are surrounded by. Stay warm and don't cry or your tears will freeze. Susan

Scott Law said...

No geyser right outside your bedroom window? What do you call Old Faithful, a nasty leak? Some great photos in this one. Can't wait to see your second day off.

Judy said...

Darlin....yes, I was supposed to be here until the end of October...what was I thinking? That's half a year. I'm thinking up ideas for a new blog so I can keep this up.
Susan...I know you're saying "Bless her heart" right now. I know you feel my pain.
Scott...Fortunately Old Faithful is not right outside my window or I would have tourists out there bugging me. There will be more pics tomorrow. Hope there is no snow.

Adele said...

Okay, here's the deal. You got there too early. We always considered the first day of summer July 4th.
Long summer seasons in Yell are for the young. Your sons apparently weren't clued into this. Well, after all, they're young.
Deep breaths. You just gotta get through this....hell period. (If hell can be cold.)
About the time hubby shows up it's going to be truly magnificent there.
I encourage, urge, beg you to not make any decisions about your 'end of the season' date right now.
And you deserve one Huge ATTAGIRL! You are way outside your box girlfriend and you're DOING IT.
Think of it as the Matrix. Try that for a few days.

Judy said...

Adele....good to hear from you. Yes I know that I am early. My sons told me that you had to start early to get the good jobs. It sounded good at the time. Also, I broke a tooth which is glued together right now. It is going to need major work and major money to fix. As you know, I am not making major money now. I can't justify staying here when I have a huge dentist bill coming up and also, the dentist I saw here is in Livingston, no short haul. But I will think of it as the Matrix. That might help for the next month.

David Barnes said...

I saw that bus in town! I wonder what it was all about.

Eidin said...

Fantastic photos! I've never been to that part of Yellowstone.

I have a book you might like. I'd be happy to send to you. Let's talk.

Big D said...

Hi J. Another book you ordered arrived here Saturday; it's turning into the book of the month club, I think. Pics were great. If you want, I can UPS my laundry out there and you can wash and iron to make you feel more at home and help you occupy those long days (just kidding). Going to Auto Club this week to load up on Yellowstone maps for my visit and will book my flight. Hope your day off was good, only got to 84 here today. Bye for now.

greentangle said...

Sorry it didn't work out, Judy, but I'm glad you won't be sticking around making yourself miserable. Your blog has been a good advance look at what to expect. Part of me wonders how in the world I'll do it if you couldn't, but part figures I'm probably more used to living under lousy conditions than you are, so we'll see what happens.

Judy said...

Mikey,.,.I'm still not doing laundry when I get home.

Greentangle...You'll do fine here as long as you obey authority. Might be looser at Canyon. It sounds like you'll love the nature part so much, it might not be a problem. The tooth is a big factor in going back. I have been enjoying some hikes and will miss the Park and my children. Hope to meet you before I go.

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