Hiking to the Lone Star Geyser in Yellowstone Park

Before we get into today's adventures at Yellowstone Park, let me reassure my followers that I am mainly leaving because of the tooth.  It is glued together.  I make $7.75 an hour here. That does not pay for an implant, a bridge or a large pizza at the employee pub.

I am hoping that the glue holds until the end of June when hubby comes to escort me back to Ohio and my dentist, Dr. Ed.  I will continue to blog.  I just can't stop now. I am addicted.

I have been searching the internet and found that there are quite a few walking clubs in my area.  I plan to explore my backyard, get exercise and meet some people.  The adventure and photos will continue.

Now, back to hiking in Yellowstone Park.

It turned out to be a beautiful day here with blue skies that you only see in the west.  Wish I could take them back to Ohio.  Grizzly son and girlfriend were kind enough to take me with them to the Lone Star Geyser.

In the top left hand corner, you see Old Faithful.  Just a short distance east of it, you see the Lone Star Trailhead and a little red line that heads south to the Lone Star Geyser.

Doesn't look far, does it?  It was 5 miles round trip, which is pretty good for this old girl who until a month ago did nothing but sit on her butt.

The real challenge was this.

The trail was covered in snow.  It is an old service road that has been closed for many years.

It is one of the few trails in Yellowstone Park that allow bicycles.

Not today unless your bike has snow tires and chains.

We came across a little dam.

Have no idea why it is there.

It was an absolutely beautiful hike next to the Firehole river.

The weather was perfect for a hooded sweatshirt.

Hiking works up a sweat, if you must know.

Could it be more beautiful?

Other than having snow up to my ankles, this was just perfect.

We were feeling pretty smug about our 5 mile snow hike when a female jogger sped past us.

That's her racing ahead of us.

Later, a couple with their baby in a stroller came down the path.

I would have taken a picture, but I was afraid they might have been offended.

Baby, stroller, snow....why?

We passed a beautiful clearing, kind of hoping and kind of not that a bear might be lounging there.

The girlfriend and I were hoping for not.

Grizzly was the one looking for bear and claimed if it came after us, he would run for his life and we were on our own.

Girlfriend may have words with him later.  He could have at least lied.  Women like that in a man.

This is a smashed bicycle rack right before the geyser.

Nature has a way of winning over civilization in Yellowstone.

Here's the Lone Star Geyser.  It had just erupted before we got there, and it only goes off every three hours.

We didn't stick around for the next show.

It was pretty anyway.

Here's me in front of the geyser, just to prove I haven't stolen pictures from the internet.

I'm still smiling because I hadn't thought about making the trip back down the snowy road.

One more pretty picture.

We made it back without spotting any wildlife, other than Grizzly son.

Our shoes and pants were wet, our legs ached and we just wanted to sit down.

After changing shoes, we took off to the Old Faithful Inn for our reward...huckleberry ice cream.

Huckleberries grow around here it seems, and you can get anything made out of them...candy, hand lotion, lip balm, etc.  It was brilliant.  I promised myself that I would say brilliant once a day because our English guests use the word often.  I love the British.

It was a good day, wasn't it?  I don't go to work tomorrow until 2:30, so there are opportunities for adventure in the a.m.  My laundry is done and there is no other housework to do, so I will be out and about.

Hubby, don't panic about the charge on the bank statement to Land's End.  My hiking shoes are too small and my  toes are starting to curl up like the Wicked Witch of the West.  I really, truly, absolutely need them.  Hugs to you all.  I am surviving.

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.

Yellowstone Park is Being Invaded

I wish something exotic had happened today in Yellowstone Park so that I could have you all on the edge of your seats, holding your breath, waiting for the end of the tale.

Hopefully, you aren't holding your breath, cause you might pass out. This is as good as it got today.

Yes, there are still piles of snow here.

It was spitting snow when I went for a walk, but being a born again walker, I forged ahead.

The dogs are for my friend, Teresa, who is a dog groomer and for anyone else who happens to love them.

It's a white on white theme.

I like the twisted dead trees around here.

Dunno why.

I would love to have one in my front yard, but I hear it's a Federal offense to even take a pebble from Yellowstone Park.

I hope they don't check for the ones that stuck to my hiking shoes and are on the floor of my car.

You can't see Old Faithful anymore because of this.

Actually, you can see it, I just find tourists in funny clothes to be a distraction.

I was so tempted to take a picture of a huge butt crack on one of the tourists sitting on a bench, but I was afraid she would turn around and hurt me.

It was freezing today, and "they," the invaders, were wearing flip flops with their winter coats.  I am standing on my soap box right now.  If any of you come to Yellowstone Park, I must insist or even demand that you actually go see something besides Old Faithful.

Get out on a trail for heaven's sake!  It is said that 95% of tourists never get out of their cars.  They just clog the roads by pulling over every time they see a bison...sometimes they don't even pull over....just stop dead in the road.  They whip out cameras and tripods worth thousands of dollars...I am not impressed. 

There are trails here!  You don't need to buy fancy duds at Cabela's or L.L. Bean to impress anyone.  Jeans and a sweatshirt will do.  Good hiking shoes are a must because I will have to track you down and flog you if I see you in sandals.

This is the Old Faithful Lodge.  This is a beautiful place to sit inside, if the weather is bad, and watch Old Faithful go off.  There is an unobstructed view from the lounge.

The Old Faithful Inn, on the other hand, does not face Old Faithful.  That's a head scratcher.  A man designed it....need I say more.  All of the guests want a room with a view of Old Faithful, but there is none.  There are trees in the way and we don't cut down trees here.  My suggestion to the guests is "GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM!  IT IS RIGHT OUTSIDE!  Sorry about that.  Capital letters are annoying, but so are the guests sometimes.

I have the next two days off and the weather is supposed to be snowy, slushy, and yucky, but I have to get out of the room and see something.  I promise that I will get in trouble and take you along for the ride.

I haven't forgotten about the bison poo Christmas ornament contest.  Just trying to build some tension and anticipation.  Stay tuned for my exciting adventures from Yellowstone Park.  I think the blog will be better than the movie.

Good Living in Yellowstone Park

It was a rainy, gloomy day in Yellowstone Park, but I got to spend quality time with the oldest son.  He officially reported in to the human resources office at Gardiner.

You see Old Faithful down at the bottom left side of the map.  We had to drive to the North Entrance.

Back through the road construction.

I was just there on my search for the dentist.

The trip hasn't gotten any shorter, but at least I had the company of one of my favorite people. 

The lady on the road crew almost got her hand nipped by a vicious terrier in the car ahead of us.

And she was worried about bears. 

I waited outside the human resources office, like the good mother who should remain invisible and not embarrass her son.  

I occasionally behave...I'm really trying...They keep rolling their eyes at me...I need to try harder.  Not.

It was cold and rainy as you can see.  The bus had brought in some new homeless people to work for Yellowstone.  (Actually, they pick people up from the airport and bring them to Gardiner, but some of them did look homeless.)

It was fun watching the rookies in their shorts, flip flops, resort wear, and other inappropriate attire getting off the bus.  I could see their goose bumps from the car.  One man looked like an aging surfer dude...sun glasses on top of his bleached blond hair, Hawaiian shirt, baggy shorts.  Please, please don't put him in our dorm.

We did have a wonderful breakfast at Rosie's Diner.  The waiter served me coffee in a MUG, not a plastic glass.  And he came back often to fill my cup.  The food was served on plates, not cafeteria trays and it had FLAVOR!  Someone waited on ME.  I sat down.  I didn't have to clear my own table.  I was in heaven.

Check your map again, class. 

After a nourishing meal and a stop at the grocery store for supplies, we headed to Grant Village where oldest son will be working.

It is another half an hour past Old Faithful.

Back through the construction.

Past the same bison and elks.
This is his dorm.  That's snow, not sand.  It is still winter here, folks.

I stayed in the car again, pretending to be a Yellowstone Park shuttle bus driver.  When he came out of the building he was grinning and chuckling to himself.  "Wait until you see my room," he said smugly.

First, this is the view of the lobby from the second floor balcony.

They have chairs and tables.  See the pool table?  Those big windows in the back look over the woods.

There was a coffee pot and a microwave off to the side.

This is the library area on the second floor.

That's exercise equipment in the background.

There's a ping pong table on the other side.

It was clean and fresh and welcoming.

Then we got to his room.  He has two medicine cabinets and a huge counter with storage underneath.

We don't have a medicine cabinet.

We can barely shut the door to our bathroom without standing in the tub.

Two women are trying to get ready in a bathroom the size of a phone booth and oldest son has this.

It gets better.  The beds are built in as you can see, and they are long enough for the 6'5" son who is still looking pretty smug.

There is another bed on the same wall.  He is refusing to let me hide out there on my days off.  Something about it being creepy to have your mother hanging around....in the same room.  Oh pleeeeeeeaaaaaase, Erik.  I hate my room.

He wouldn't give in.  Something about ruining his image with the ladies.

That black thing on the wall is a shelf for a television.

Behind him is a desk and built in closets with drawers in them and another desk.

They have electric baseboard heat instead of the radiators in my room.

There are about 20 outlets in his room.  We have 3 and you can't reach them without becoming a contortionist because the furniture is smashed up against them.

I can't go on.  The pain is too great.  I am sooooooo happy for him, yes I am.  He is my pride and joy and he deserves this, so good for him and my fingers are crossed behind my back because I am insanely jealous.

I am living in a closet, a nursing home room, a cheap, shabby apartment on the wrong side of town and the son is vacationing in a high end condo.  That's how it feels and I'm red faced to admit this, but you are my friends.  You do understand don't you?

Well, it was very windy there and very cold and he has to walk a very long way through the bear infested woods to get to work.  That will teach him to be smug.  Did I say bears?  I take it back.  Listen, bears, this son is thin and bony.  He wouldn't even make a snack for you so leave him alone or you will have to deal with me...the biggest mama bear of them all.

So this is the latest from Yellowstone Park, my temporary home.  I'll try to regain my composure by tomorrow. 

Family Walks in Yellowstone Park

It was one of those mornings.  You have all had them.

I was lounging around, talking to hubby on the phone when I glanced down at my work schedule.

Egads!  It was almost 7 a.m. and I was to be at work at the Old Faithful Inn at 7 a.m.!

I had read my schedule wrong.  Easy to do, I tell my aging brain, when your time changes every day.

I jumped into my uniform and made a dash to the Inn.

On the way, a little gray haired lady almost ran me over with her bike.

She could really move.

She gave me a big smile as she rang her bell.


I made it to work, unharmed by bison or speeding vehicles.

I truly love living in Yellowstone Park, but this working thing is annoying.

An hour into my shift, my 20 something supervisor called me into her office.  Double egads. What had I done?  Would I get fired from my $7.75 an hour job for putting a key in the wrong slot?

"You clocked in from lunch 3 minutes early," she said.  "Really," I said.  "Does this mean I will do some Federal time?"  I find it hard to take things like this seriously, in case you hadn't noticed.  They didn't haul me away in cuffs.  I returned to work wondering why I was even concerned about getting in trouble here.

After work, I strolled down the road that runs in front of my dorm.

The Yellowstone Park rangers and other full time staff have some nice digs.

This looked like an upscale vacation condo.

This appeared to be an actual house. 

There were several more down the road with hammocks and clothes lines.

People live somewhat normal lives here it seems. 

They have satellite dishes....can you believe that on this street in Yellowstone Park, people are watching "Dancing With The Stars?"  It seems wrong somehow.

When I finally caught up with the children, we decided to go for a hike.

It always feels like you are walking through a Christmas tree farm around here.

Except that a bear might be around the corner.


That doesn't happen much back home.

Older son didn't want his picture taken.

Just make mother go away, please.

But I am the Mama and I can move pretty fast when necessary.

He's a handsome boy.

There was a grizzly sighting....no wait....just the younger son in pursuit of a bird.

I think it was a robin, but I didn't want to burst his bubble. 

Tomorrow is a day off for me and back on the road again.  The older son has to go to Gardiner, which is just outside the park, to sign in at the human resources office.  At least this time I will have excellent company.

After we get back, he will be moving to his location at Grant Village.  I am optimistic that there will be some great photos from this excursion.

I have been checking out some of the items in the gift shops at Yellowstone.  It is time for a contest.  Stay tuned and you may have the opportunity to win a bison poo Christmas ornament.  It is environmentally friendly and oh so attractive.  Your friends will be jealous. 

Tracking the Elusive Dentist in Yellowstone Park

Today was another big driving day with its share of mishaps and more mishaps.  My goal was to leave Yellowstone at 6:30 a.m. to give myself plenty of time to arrive in Livingston by 9:30. 

Here's what happens to plans.

This is me sitting in a line of cars waiting for the road to Mammoth Hot Springs to open at 8:00.

I got there at 7:00.  I forgot about the construction.

And, as is usually the case in the Park, there is no other way to get there.

Did I turn back, surrender to fate, and keep wiggling my loose, broken tooth?

No!  I was determined to make to the dentist and if necessary, throw myself on the floor in the reception area and plead for help without any shame.

I had some books in the car to pass the time while I was having my little pity party.  Poor me, all alone in the wilderness (with 30 plus tourists also in line.)  I read some stories about women who had adventures traveling to exotic locations.  After reading about a woman from L.A. who volunteered with Mother Theresa in Calcutta, I decided that my journey was perhaps, shall we say, not that significant in the scheme of things.

The gate did open at 8:00 as promised.

I got a shot of this rare and exotic forest creature along the way.

I hear that they can attack humans when startled, so I drove by quietly.

This is called Christmas tree rock by the Yellowstone employees.

There is a tree growing on the top of the rock.

The Park employees celebrate Christmas in July and the tradition involves some of them sneaking out to the rock and decorating it.

The Park rangers are not pleased with this, but no arrests have ever been made.

There were plenty of bison as usual.

Don't worry, momma and child are just sleeping.

There are lots of babies now.  They run and frolic like all children.  Of course when they grow up they can barely hold those gigantic heads off the ground.

I finally made it to Livingston around 10:00.

Like most western towns, every other store front was a bar.  The rest of the stores sell outdoor gear.

Drink and hunt and drink and fish and drink and shovel snow.  That about covers it.

At last I approach Livingston Dental Care.

Will they be nice?  Did the dentists really go to school or did they just practice on some cattle?

I rushed inside.

It looked professional.

No one attended veterinary school.

I met Dr. Kevin Scott, one of the nicest young men anywhere.  He was concerned about my poor broken tooth.

I know that you are all on the edge of your seats to hear the outcome.  Am I toothless?   No.  He glued it together, quite expertly, I might add.

He made no promises.  He gave it the 5 rule.  It might last 5 seconds, 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 months, he couldn't say for sure.  I have made it 5 hours without disaster.  I even cautiously brushed my teeth tonight. 

It/s just a temporary fix.  The worst case scenario, and the most likely one is that I will need an implant.  Do you think the management at the front desk would mind if I put a tip jar on the counter?  Help your poor
underpaid guest services agent buy a tooth.  Implants cost a fortune, but I cannot and will not go toothless.  For now all is well.

Dr. Scott even called me later to make sure I was alright.  What a guy.

On the long way back to Yellowstone, I noticed that spring had finally arrived.

There are leaves on the trees. 

It was heaven to see something other than pine trees.









It stormed a little.

I drove back into Yellowstone, through the construction again....

I only had to wait once for the bison stroll.

They love walking down the center of the road.

You haven't lived until one of them passes within 5 feet of your car and gives you the beady eye.

I gave it right back...with my window up.


I was in my dorm room by 3:00 and back at work by 4:00.  Oldest son arrived on schedule.  It's been a long day.  My mind is numb.  Sleep...must sleep.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....