Christy and I returned to Boulder to spend another weekend with Brian and Jill. The journey back was an adventure, as the driving on I-70 west of Denver made I-77 through Charlotte look normal by comparison. Fearing for our lives, we bailed off the interstate in Idaho Springs and took the back way to Boulder through Golden. This was a wise move, as we drove down through scenic Clear Creek Canyon. The road hugged the precipice high above raging Clear Creek, all the while squeezed between jagged rock cliffs. The area appeared to be a mecca of outdoor recreation, as our attention wandered between the rock climbers above and the kayakers below. At one point we stopped and watched two kayakers battle the rapids. The miles of continuous whitewater were almost enough to make me want to buy a kayak - if only I had the skills necessary to control one.

We strategically reached Brian and Jill's at dinnertime. This meant an epic feast featuring Jill's lasagna. I've had many fancy restaurant meals after long backpacking trips over the years, but this was by far the best post-trip food I've ever had. Friday night and Saturday were spent relaxing and enjoying the company of our friends. We renewed our enthusiasm for the training regiment of the previous weekend, with one minor change. Instead of lounging under the giant cottonwood tree, gazing at the glaciers among the Indian Peaks, and consuming frozen margaritas, we lounged under the giant cottonwood tree, gazed at the glaciers among the Indian Peaks, and consumed frozen strawberry daiquiris. Aside from staying in shape, we also did laundry and washed our dishes and dried our gear and generally made a nuisance of ourselves. By the time Sunday rolled around, the chores were done, the daiquiris were consumed, and it was time to head for Yellowstone.

WAPITI VALLEY

We left Boulder at mid-morning on Sunday after getting groceries. Traffic was tedious on I-25 until Fort Collins, but it thinned out quickly after that. Before long we were passing through Cheyenne and heading into the desolation that is eastern Wyoming.

My road atlas indicates that there is a 25 mile stretch of highway north of Cheyenne without an exit. This isn't exactly true, as there were a handful of exits along the way. However, they seemed largely unnecessary, as they didn't appear to lead anywhere. Have you ever seen an exit for a dirt road? I hadn't, before this trip. The only thing to see along this stretch of road is a vast expanse of badlands. Even the resident cattle seemed unenthusiastic about being there, though that may have had something to do with the heat. Temperatures were well over 100 degrees again. We could only hope that it would be cooler in Yellowstone.

We continued north until we reached the immense reservoir at Glendo State Park. The lake looked so blue and inviting, I was tempted to drive the car off the cliff and into the water. "You should have bought a squirrel."

Editors Note: For readers that don't understand that last comment, I highly recommend renting the movie "Rat Race".

We continued west to Casper, which was spooky. This was mainly due to the huge dust storm we drove through. We saw it from miles away, and could only hope that it would dissipate before we reached it. It didn't. We drove right into it, and the world quickly disappeared from view. It was a disturbing experience driving through it as rocks, dirt, and various forms of poultry bounced off the windshield. At one point I closed my eyes (Christy was driving) and began repeating the phrase, "There's no place like home". Then I realized that phrase would only take me back to Charlotte, where I definitely did not want to be. So I changed it to "There's no place like Yellowstone". When I opened my eyes again, we weren't in Yellowstone, but we were on the far side of Casper and out of the dust storm.

Initially this seemed like an improvement. We followed route 20 west towards the town of Shoshoni. Along the way though, we found a stretch of road that the state of Wyoming had given up on. Apparently they'd gotten tired of repaving it, so they'd decided to dig it up and start over. We literally bounced along a gravel track behind a dump truck for 20 miles before we reached pavement again.

We reached the Wind River Indian Reservation and continued on highway 20 towards Thermopolis. This section of road carried us through scenic Wind River Canyon. As we approached Boysen State Park, a wall of red mountains loomed ahead of us. Maybe it was just the shimmering afternoon heat, but they didn't look real. Rather, it appeared as if we'd driven onto the set of a John Wayne movie. As we approached, I fully expected to punch right through cardboard and pop out on the other side.

Instead we contoured down to the river and followed a narrow canyon through the mountains. We drove along a beautiful stretch of the Wind River, dwarfed by the high red cliffs that would've seemed more appropriate in Utah. The river was fairly gentle, and I found myself wondering if it could be canoed.

We stopped in Thermopolis at McDonalds for milkshakes. From there we followed highway 120 northwest towards Cody. This road took us through more wide-open grasslands, where it was almost impossible to resist the temptation to push the gas pedal to the floor. I kept it under 80 until we reached the cute little town of Cody.

Each town we'd passed since Casper had welcomed us with a sign stating the population and the elevation. In every case the elevation far exceeded the population. I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing. One town claimed a population of 12. It made me wonder, do they change the sign every time somebody is born or dies?

Cody's population was actually greater than its elevation, though not by much. It seemed like a neat town, despite its proximity to the park. In fact, of the "park towns" we saw, it was by far our favorite. We didn't stop at any of the museums or take in a rodeo, but we did enjoy driving through.

Beyond Cody we passed a reservoir and continued through the Shoshone River Canyon. This made for a pleasant drive below the cliffs. The river features mild whitewater, and might be a good destination for skilled canoeists. Soon we entered Wapiti Valley and began to look for a place to camp. There are several National Forest campgrounds along here, and most were half-empty. The first we checked didn't have water, so we continued another mile to the Wapiti Campground. This proved to be a nice quiet place to camp. We selected a site along the river and had plenty of time to relax before dark. Our relaxation was only interrupted by the pocket gophers scurrying through the vegetation.

That evening the camp host came by and warned us that a grizzly mother and cubs were living just across the river. Welcome to Yellowstone. This added a bit of excitement to the car-camping experience. One of the reasons we'd come to Yellowstone was to see wildlife, especially bears. Knowing that we'd be sleeping perhaps a stones throw from a grizzly quickly put things in perspective. Before we'd left Charlotte, I'd read that the park was having a problem in one of the campgrounds. Apparently a bear had taken to jumping on (unoccupied) tents. I think this was all too much for Christy. She brought the bear spray we'd picked up at the REI in Boulder into the tent for the night.

SEGUE

Car camping's biggest advantage over backpacking is greater food options. We indulged ourselves all week. After all, we'd be eating enough oatmeal and noodles during July. We started Monday off with bacon and eggs before heading for the park. We left Wapiti Valley behind and drove over a pass in the Absaroka Mountains. 7 miles from the park entrance we stopped at Eleanor Lake. Our first destination in Yellowstone was a 2-mile hike to the top of Avalanche Peak.

We crossed the road and hiked up through a beautiful forest. We signed in at the register, and found numerous warnings about bear activity in the area. Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to find the bear spray when we arrived at the trailhead. I was sure that it was in the car somewhere, but I wasn't about to take everything out to look for it. Oh well, hopefully we wouldn't need it.

We continued up through wonderful shade. We crossed a creek in a flowery meadow and were treated with our first view. Back to the south we got a nice look at the snowy Absaroka Mountains. We continued on, switchbacking upward through the woods. We passed a lingering snowfield and started a rocky ascent near tree line. Soon we were treated to a great view to the southwest. Below us was the vast expanse of Yellowstone Lake. Beyond was the white cap of Mount Sheridan. In the distance, the jagged peaks of the Tetons were clearly visible, despite being at least 50 miles away.

We ascended to another large snowfield, but avoided it and most of the wildflowers as we continued to climb. We ascended a talus slope and reached the crest of the ridge. We'd been enjoying the warm sunny weather until now, but the wind on the ridge was vicious. Luckily, we found a well-constructed windbreak just below the summit and stopped for lunch.

We were joined by a solo hiker from California. His family had dropped him off at the trailhead and gone to town to do laundry. Now that's what I call a good deal - a chance to hike while the family does chores. We talked at length about the many hiking opportunities in California before he had to head back down.

I battled the wind to reach the summit and didn't regret it. The 360-degree view from the top was well worth it. To the north and east were more rugged, sheer mountains. Contrary to popular belief, Yellowstone isn't very mountainous. Most of the park is comprised of plateaus carved by rivers. However, the eastern boundary of the park is high and rugged. I was standing amid the highest peaks in the park. This served as a nice Segue from the mountain scenery of Colorado to the more subtle beauty of Yellowstone.

From the summit, the trail continued towards a deep canyon in the national forest. I was intrigued, but my map ends at the park boundary. The Absarokas are a vast, lightly traveled wilderness. One day I'll have to return and explore them.

We descended quickly and reached the car in an hour. We drove down along the north side of Yellowstone Lake, stopping a couple of times to enjoy the view. We reached the main park road and headed north through Hayden Valley. This was my favorite part of the Yellowstone "Frontcountry". We drove along a peaceful stretch of the Yellowstone River, spotting a couple of Pelicans along the way. This part of the river is lovely and would make a great canoeing destination. Unfortunately, the park's shortsighted policies include a ban on boating on park rivers and streams. I can understand why they have this rule in place. I?m sure they fear a free-for-all on every body of water. Still, it seems like they could allow limited non-motorized boating on some streams with a strict permit process.

We drove past massive LeHardy Rapids, which would not make a good canoeing destination, except perhaps for experts. Just beyond we encountered one of Yellowstone's infamous wildlife traffic jams. There was no getting around it, so we joined the fray. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. We parked (off the road, thank you very much) and quickly discovered the source of the commotion. We spotted a herd of bison on a hillside, amid several smoking thermal features. Down by the river, more buffalo were basking on a beach. We wandered about and took some obligatory bison photos before traffic cleared. We resumed our journey towards the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

We started with the South Rim. In my original trip planning, I intended to make one continuous hike on both the north rim and south rim. That would've made for a 12-mile walk, assuming that we had to backtrack. As the trip date grew closer though, I changed my mind. I knew that if I tried to turn a tourist destination into a serious hike I'd end up frustrated. I can live with battling tourists on short walks, but it would grow tedious very quickly over 12 miles. Instead we planned to hit the highlights and spend more time in other parts of the park.

We parked and hiked to an overlook of the Upper Falls. I was impressed, but we hadn't seen anything yet. We continued on a paved path and began working our way down Uncle Tom's "Trail". This mainly consists of a steel staircase that is bolted to the cliff. It leads down into the canyon, just downstream from the Lower Falls. Our first view of America's premier waterfall came from practically right in front of it. When we reached the final platform, we were close enough to feel the spray.

We made a point of climbing all of the stairs on the return without stopping. I was feeling a bit smug as we passed tourist after tourist, most trying to gasp for breath, clutch at their chest, and dial their cardiologist on a cell phone all at the same time.

We returned to the car and drove to Artist's Point. We eventually found a parking space and joined hundreds of aspiring artists at the overlook. The preferred art form seemed to be photography. I didn't see a single person working with oils or watercolors. Once again we followed our motto, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. We got some nice photos of the canyon with the Lower Falls in the distance.

It was late afternoon and we needed a break. We headed for the Canyon Campground where we had reservations. On the way we passed a field which was hosting an elk stag party. There were about a dozen elk there, all male, and most sporting incredible racks. There must've been a meeting of the old boys elk club that evening. We didn't stop to take pictures though, reasoning that we'd have plenty of opportunities for elk photos later in the trip. We were wrong. This field provided our most impressive elk sighting.

We checked in at the campground and found our site in a shady Lodgepole Pine Forest. It was a huge campground and full, but it didn't seem that crowded. It was forested enough to provide some privacy. After a dinner of cheeseburgers and fried potatoes we headed for the north rim. It was late in the evening, and we hoped that most of the tourists had returned to their hotels and RV's.

Our first stop was inspiration point. It provided a nice view of the river and the lower falls in the distance. We continued to Grandview Point, which was also nice. The highlight of the north rim though was a short hike down to Red Rock Point. Here was perhaps the best view of the lower falls. We were closer than most of the other overlooks, but far enough away to give the scene some perspective. Best of all, there were only a few other people around.

It was getting late, but we thought we'd have time for the 2-mile roundtrip to the brink of the lower falls. We reached the parking area, but found the trail closed for repairs. I was mildly disappointed, but it was getting late anyway. Instead we went to the brink of the upper falls, which is a shorter hike. This walk led to a nice view of the river right at water level. The path ended at a platform at the very edge of the cliff at the upper falls. It was an awesome sensation to stand amid the roar and the spray of the falls.

Before we left we walked over to view Crystal Falls, which is on a small stream that spills over the rim of the canyon between the upper and lower falls. We returned to the car at sunset and decided to drive back through Hayden Valley to look for wildlife. We were only mildly surprised to find a bunch of other people doing the same thing. We drove up the valley, and viewed massive herds of elk on the far side of the river. We drove as far the Mud Volcano thermal area. There was still some lingering light, and the place was deserted, so we decided to check it out.

We parked next to a storm drain that was smoking. I found that somewhat alarming, so I moved the car a few spaces down. We picked up a 50-cent pamphlet with a map and description of the thermal area. It wasn't long though before it was too dark to read. Before darkness fell, we toured some of the major springs, mud pots, and steam vents. Then we followed a boardwalk into the woods.

When we re-emerged, it was completely dark. We hiked down another boardwalk between a handful of thermal features. Walking among the steaming craters in the darkness was an exhilarating experience. Somehow we knew that we were seeing the basin in a completely different way from most people. It was downright spooky at times, as we'd pass an unseen feature as it emitted a rumble or a burst of steam. It was almost a relief to reach the car and return to camp.

DISNEYLAND

We got up early on Tuesday to get ahead of the tourists. After some breakfast burritos, we broke camp and drove north. Originally, this section of the loop road through the park was supposed to be closed for repair. However, due to various government inefficiencies, construction hadn't started yet. I think that's the first time that's ever worked to my advantage! Since the road was open, we drove over Dunraven Pass and down towards Tower Junction. I'm not sure what was so bad about the road that required closing it for repair, but we didn't see any problems more severe than a few potholes. We did see a lot of wildflowers and burned forest. I had heard that the park was devastated by the fires of '89, but this was the first glimpse of the damage that we'd had. In some respects, stories of the park's demise were true. Entire hillsides looked like they were covered with matchsticks. However, among the fallen timber and standing dead were acres of young pine trees. Large sections of the park may have burned, but that is only a phase in the natural course of events. The park is being rejuvenated with a new Lodgepole Pine forest.

We drove on towards Tower Junction, and passed the first deer we'd seen. We stopped at Tower to take a short walk to the falls. There had been little traffic on the way, but we found hordes of tourists in the parking lot. In fact, I thought I'd somehow wandered into the Chinatown section of Yellowstone National Park. For some reason, almost all of the tourists there were Asian. We'd find the Europeans later, in the geyser basins.

We walked to an overlook of Tower Falls, which provided a decent view. We had planned to hike to the base of the falls, but found that impossible because the trail was closed for repair. I was beginning to feel like I was in Disneyland. After all, I was surrounded by tourists, mostly foreign, and many of the prime attractions were closed for repair. We were disappointed, but I suppose it will leave something for us to see on our next trip to the park.

We returned to the car and headed for Mammoth. This section of the drive took us through more burned forest. We had just reached cruising speed when we came upon a minivan stopped in the middle of the road. Now what? Rule number one in wildlife watching is to look for stopped cars. When you have vision like mine, it's often more effective to let other people spot the animals and simply follow the mob. In this case, there was no mob, only one family hanging out the windows of the van. We stopped behind them and Christy spotted something moving in the brush below the road. I got out for a better look.

I reached the roadside when the animal came into view about 30 feet away. To my amazement, it was a black bear cub! I watch him for a couple of minutes before I realized that I was overlooking something important. Where was mama? My imagination conjured up a vision of her looming behind me, sharpening her claws on the hood of my car. I turned quickly, but there was nothing there. I scanned the forest beyond the cub, but there was no sign of mama anywhere. We stayed a few minutes longer and got some nice pictures. By this time we'd backed up traffic quite nicely, so we resumed our journey.

Our next stop was a huge disappointment. We spent a couple of minutes visiting the petrified tree, and it was still a waste of time. Actually, we never got out of the car. We drove past it, noticing that it was more of a petrified stump behind a fence. It wasn't much to look at, and it couldn't be touched. We made a three-point turn and returned to the main road.

Shortly before Mammoth we stopped at a roadside view of Undine Falls, which was worth a couple of minutes. Then we continued into Mammoth. This turned out to be my least-favorite part of the park. First, the resident elk herd was nowhere to be found. Maybe they had the day off. Then we had an adventure trying to park. This reminded me of the parking lot at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving. It was complicated by the fact that some yahoo pulling a trailer big enough to house the space shuttle was trying to make a three point turn.

We eventually escaped from the car and instantly regretted it. It had been hot in other parts of the park, but it was an inferno here. The area around Mammoth is the lowest part of the park, so the cooler weather associated with higher elevations doesn't apply here. The vegetation was basically desert scrub, so there was no shade. Finally, boiling water and sulfur steam from the springs only added to the misery.

We had come to Mammoth to see the springs, and that's what I planned to do. We elbowed our way along the boardwalks, and saw some interesting features for our troubles. Many of the springs were dry and dormant, but there were a few highlights. Our favorites included Palette Spring, New Blue Spring, and Canary Spring. Actually, our walk to Canary Spring was interrupted by someone having a heart attack. This resulted in a circus of excited tourists. We decided it was well beyond time to leave. We gave up our hard-won parking space and headed north towards Gardiner.

We escaped Mammoth and drove to the Gardiner River just across the Montana State line. My first visit to Montana was perhaps a little disappointing as the noon heat was vicious out in the open desert. We stopped at a picnic area for lunch, and even found a table with a single pine tree for a little bit of shade. After eating, we walked back into Wyoming and followed a trail upstream along the river. Our afternoon destination was a swimming hole known as the boiling river.

The walk along the river was pleasant, as it didn't seem nearly as hot next to the water. We reached the swimming area, where a huge spring from Mammoth empties into the river. We were ready for a swim, and I headed in first. No Mom, we didn't wait an hour after lunch. Sometimes you have to live life on the edge. You know, run with scissors, pet the moose, or wade through scalding water. I took perhaps a bad angle on my entry, stepping into shallow water right where the spring water meets the river. Boiling water is hot! I jumped around a bit, to Christy's amusement. I waded into the cold river a bit upstream from the spring on my second attempt. Then I cautiously continued downstream until I found a spot where the temperature seemed ideal. There was no real swimming hole, but I found some nice rocks to lean back against as I eased into the water.

This was almost ideal, though it was hard to position myself for optimum comfort. If I leaned a little too far to the left, the water was cold. If I wiggled to the right, it quickly got hot. To add to the challenge, the temperature fluctuated like an old shower. Occasionally I'd get an alarming blast of hotter water. Perhaps that happens every time someone flushes a toilet in the Mammoth Lodge.

We lounged around until the swimming area started to get crowded. Then we headed back. Any cooling benefit we may have received from the swim was negated by the sweaty walk back to the car. There was only one way to get relief. Ice cream!

We returned to Mammoth and endured another parking nightmare. It may have been worth it though, as we got some wonderful ice cream at the store there. We enjoyed our treat and headed south towards Norris. Before we left though, we took the scenic drive through the upper terrace of Mammoth Hot Springs. We liked this area, as it was scenic AND air-conditioned. We did stop for a couple of highlights, including Orange Spring Mound and Angel Terrace.

We drove south, enjoying views of the Gallatin Mountains to the west. Then our banner wildlife day continued. A handful of cars pulled off the road alerted us to a field full of moose! There were about a dozen females lounging in a flooded field to escape from the heat. We watched them with binoculars before continuing on towards Norris.

We reached Norris Geyser Basin late in the afternoon. This was advantageous, as it wasn't as crowded as many of the other areas we visited. In fact, the Porcelain Basin was almost deserted. Although there didn't seem to be much activity there, I enjoyed the opportunity to explore it without having to jockey for position. Highlights include the well-named Crackling Lake and Porcelain Springs.

Back Basin was a little busier, both in visitation and thermal activity. Minute Geyser is rather small, but it was the first one we saw erupt on the trip. Our favorite there may have been Vixen Geyser, which was a little larger and actually erupted for us twice. After the eruptions, the water drained from the pool like it was going down a toilet.

Echinus Geyser looked like it would be impressive, but it didn't seem to be inclined to erupt while we were there. The Green Dragon Spring featured a cave with a lively mud pot. We ended our tour with a visit to Steamboat Geyser. Steamboat is the highest geyser in the world, but its eruptions are unpredictable and rare. While we were there it was spouting water in 10' bursts, which would qualify as a full-blown eruption for many geysers. This was exciting, but nothing compared to the 300' eruptions that it is capable of.

It was early evening when we finally left. We headed for Madison and endured serious road construction along the way. We'd originally planned to visit the Artist Paintpots and Monument Geyser Basin one day that week, but we were out of energy and the construction deterred us from returning. We reached Madison and found our campsite for the next three nights. Then we headed to West Yellowstone for groceries. The drive along the Madison River was nice, and we rounded out a great wildlife day by spotting elk and a bald eagle.

We weren't impressed by West Yellowstone. Except for one block with some interesting bars and restaurants, the town looked dumpy. In fact, it's probably generous to call it a town at all. It looked like nothing more than a row of cheap hotels. Christy suspects that it isn't a town, but is rather just a front run by the park service to make more money. She might be right.

We returned to camp. We had a decent campsite that was more private than the one at Canyon. We were near the river, too. However, the West Entrance Road was nearby, so it wasn't as quiet. We finished off our day with a grilled chicken dinner. Did we really do all of that in one day? Yes, believe it or not. Fortunately, we planned to take it easy the next two days before we started our backpacking trip on Friday.

MYSTIC BISCUIT

We started off Wednesday with Blueberry Pancakes. Then we headed for the geyser basins. It was a relaxed morning, as we didn't have to relocate to another campground for a change. The drive got interesting when we reached the lower geyser basin. The road followed a vast open field along the Firehole River. In the distance, numerous spires of steam reached for the sky. We drove among them, and made our first stop at the Fountain Paintpots.

We paid for our late start. The area was already hot and crowded. We wandered along the boardwalks with the rest of the throng, avoiding the clouds of steam, which only added to the heat. There were some colorful features though, so I suppose it was worth the discomfort.

We continued towards Old Faithful and made our next stop at Biscuit Basin. We planned an honest hike here, though it was only a couple of miles. Our destination was Mystic Falls and an overlook of the entire area. First though, we toured Biscuit Basin. This was a small but interesting area, featuring a few minor geysers and several impressive springs. The highlight was probably Sapphire Pool, which is a deep blue hot spring that appears endless.

We followed the trail beyond the basin through a burned forest. There was no shade, and the heat was oppressive. Luckily it was an easy walk along the Little Firehole River. We reached a nice viewpoint of Mystic Falls. We thought about having lunch there, but it was fairly crowded so we continued on.

We switchbacked up a significant hill, enjoying more views of the falls along the way. We reached the top of the ridge and followed it through more burned forest. We reached an overlook at the end of the ridge, which provided a fine view of most of Yellowstone's geyser basins. Biscuit Basin was directly below us, while the Upper Geyser Basin (home of Old Faithful) was just across the road. We'd just missed an eruption of Old Faithful, but there was plenty more to look at. We scanned the various basins with the binoculars. We watched eruptions in Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin before we decided to head down.

On the way down we passed an idiot who informed us that he'd seen 3 rattlesnakes on the way up. I think he was trying to impress his female companion, but I don't think it was working. I didn't have the heart to inform him that there aren't any rattlesnakes in Yellowstone except near the northern boundary. On the way down we completely failed to spot a single snake of any kind, though there was an abundance of crickets. This provided an ongoing joke for Christy and I through the rest of the trip. Every time we heard a cricket we'd holler "rattlesnake" and go into hysterics.

We reached the base of the hill and walked back through Biscuit Basin. We returned to the car and drove back north to Midway Basin. This turned out to be one of my favorites. It really only consists of two or three features, but they are amazing. The first was an immense blue spring the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Then we arrived at the famous Grand Prismatic Spring. This large blue pool is surrounded by orange, red, yellow, and brown algae. As the water cools near the edges of the pool, different types of bacteria are able to survive. These various forms of bacteria create the unusual colors. Anyway, that's enough science. The spring was really pretty, and we spent significant time trying to photograph it.

It was only mid-afternoon, but we'd had enough heat for one day. We decided to go for another swim. We took the Firehole Lake Drive on the way, and spotted a small erupting geyser on the edge of the lake. Shortly before we reached Madison we drove the Firehole Canyon Road. We followed it through an impressive rocky gorge past Firehole Falls. We drove until we found the first cars pulled off to the side of the road. We parked and headed for the swimming hole.

We walked up the road past a long row of cars. The Firehole River swimming hole isn't exactly a well-kept secret. We found the official trail down to the river and wandered around among the sand and boulders in search of a spot to leave our towels. There were probably 100 people at the swimming hole. Luckily it's huge. We waded into the river just upstream from a rapid and were amazed at the temperature. It wasn't warm exactly, but it certainly wasn't cold. The Firehole River drains many of Yellowstone's thermal features, and all of those geysers and springs must keep the water at a pleasant temperature. In fact, it was perfect for a hot day.

We tried walking upstream in chest-deep water. There was enough current to make it difficult, so Christy swam. I floundered along after her, but somehow managed to make progress. We passed a high rock where kids were thumbing their noses at the posted rules and jumping into the water. Beyond, we swam into a dark, narrow gorge. The current was strong here, and I didn't swim so much as pull myself along the rocks. We reached a sharp bend in the river and found the perfect eddy to relax in. The water temperature was perfect, and there were submerged rocks that were actually comfortable to lounge on. I've been in hot tubs that were less comfortable.

We relaxed for awhile, watching kids jump into a large rapid just upstream. It was a little harder for Christy to relax, being a former lifeguard. Nobody managed to kill themselves while we were there though. Finally, it was time to return to camp. We had steaks waiting in the cooler. We worked our way upstream a little farther, and simply floated back down. This was exciting, as a strong current swept us through the narrow gorge and rapidly returned us to our starting point.

We left the second-best swimming hole I've ever experienced and returned to camp. Actually, at the time I declared it the best swimming hole I'd ever seen. However, it held that designation for only a few days.

We returned to camp and enjoyed steaks, a campfire, and entertainment from our neighbors. It was late evening when we caught a bit of heated conversation from the next campsite. Apparently mom wanted to visit Old Faithful, but dad wanted to stay at camp and drink beer. We heard him claim that Old Faithful doesn't run at night, and could barely stifle our laughter. The minivan left camp a few minutes later, so I don't think she bought it.

VALLEY OF FIRE

I got up at dawn on Thursday to run. We really hadn't done that much actual hiking over the past couple of days, so I was looking for some exercise. I also wanted the experience of running somewhere unique. To really enjoy it, I knew I'd have to get started when the animals were still out and the tourists weren't.

I drove to the end of Fountain Flats Drive in the Lower Geyser Basin. I started my run at 6:30 on the old gravel road that continues past Grand Prismatic Spring. There wasn't a soul around as I finished stretching and started up the road. My route led across a bridge over the gorgeous Firehole River. The Firehole runs through vast meadows, collecting the runoff from the geysers and springs in the area. The road led through a mixture of burned forest and meadows. It also passed several small ponds, as well as numerous steaming thermal features. The smoking landscape in the early morning light was enthralling. I continued until I could see Fairy Falls spilling over a high cliff in the distance. At that point I returned the way I'd come.

I'd half hoped and half feared that I'd encounter a bear or another wild animal. I didn't see anything more threatening than birds though. I passed Ojo Caliente Spring at the end of the run before returning to camp for Omelets. Then Christy and I prepared for our visit to Old Faithful.

We had planned to visit Old Faithful early, when everyone else was still waking up. It took us a while to get going though, and we didn't arrive until after 10AM. At first I thought our timing was bad, until we reached the visitor's center. We discovered that Old Faithful was expected to erupt in the next few minutes. We joined hundreds of people on the benches surrounding the geyser.

We didn't have to wait long for the eruption. Old Faithful seemed to tease the crowd with a few initial bursts, but finally the main event arrived. Yes, Old Faithful is everything it's made out to be. It erupted in a column over 100' high for a couple of minutes before dying down. Afterwards, a portion of the crowd applauded. I found this amusing. If they were expecting an encore, they'd have to wait about 90 minutes.

We headed for the visitor's center along with everyone else. Our goal was to check the eruption predictions for some of the other geysers. Unfortunately, most are unpredictable, and the few that are regular have a window of 2 hours or more. However, we noticed that Daisy Geyser had only a 1 hour window, and was expected to erupt in about an hour. We were going that direction anyway, so we decided to stop and watch it.

We hurried down to Daisy Geyser and arrived in plenty of time to wait. In fact, we waited for over an hour. Daisy was running late. While we waited, we were entertained by a ranger who was on duty to answer questions. We had lunch to kill some time. Then we saw an eruption of Beehive Geyser in the distance. This was a treat, as Beehive is unpredictable.

Daisy finally began to bubble and gurgle, indicating an imminent eruption. It finally let loose, sending a jet of water 75' high. As it erupted, all of the water drained from adjacent Comet Geyser. After it stopped spraying, Daisy emitted a series of steam bursts that sounded like a chugging locomotive. Daisy's name should be changed to Train Geyser.

We hiked downstream passing Castle and Riverside Geysers. Both looked impressive, but neither was expected to erupt until late that afternoon. Then we arrived at Grotto Geyser, which looks like the head of a Gnome or a Troll. It features a bizarre series of formations, including two arches for eyes and a long column for a nose. We continued on to the Morning Glory Pool, which is one of the prettiest springs we saw. We even continued on, passing the turnaround point for most tourists. We didn't see anyone beyond Morning Glory Pool, and really didn't see many people at all except at Old Faithful. There were certainly people around, but the Upper Geyser Basin is big enough that it's easy to separate yourself.

We turned around after visiting Gem Pool. We continued upstream along the Firehole River on a different trail. We passed Grand Geyser, which is supposed to be one of the most impressive in the park. It wasn't expected to erupt for a couple of hours though, and I was pretty sure that Christy wouldn't want to wait there for it. On our next trip we'll have allow enough time to see it.

We hiked up Geyser Hill just as Old Faithful began erupting again. We had a great view of it, without the crowds. We were farther away, but it's large enough to be seen clearly from quite a distance. We then continued through the rest of the basin. We saw another small geyser erupt, as well as Anemone Geyser.

We were nearly worn out on geysers, so we spent the rest of the afternoon eating ice cream, buying gasoline for $1.75 per gallon, and touring the visitor's center. Then we stopped at the ranger's station to get our backpacking permit. I was relieved to find out that all of the trails on our route were open and in good condition. There were several wildfires burning in the park, but none in the area where we were heading. The ranger told us that all of the river fords were passable. This had been my biggest concern, as we were heading into the backcountry early in the season. Wading a river with a backpack on can be dangerous at any time, but especially so in high water.

The ranger's were largely concerned with bears. We endured the obligatory safety video as well as a lecture on camping in bear country. Most of the suggestions, such as hanging unattended food, sleeping away from the cooking area, and not sleeping in the same shirt you spilled spaghetti on made good sense. It got a bit silly though. For example, the ranger suggested that we sing while on the trail to keep from surprising the bears. Right. As if we were going to spend the next 8 days singing while we hiked 70 miles. If I wanted to spend my summer singing in the woods, I would've picked up a job as a camp counselor. We finally escaped from the ranger station with permit in hand.

We returned to camp and went for a swim in the Madison River. It had actually been a little cooler today, with lots of threatening clouds. It still didn't manage to rain, but we were thrilled to get a break from the sun. Despite the more pleasant temperatures, our day didn't seem complete without a dip. The Madison is a pretty river, but doesn't compare with the swimming hole in the Firehole. Afterwards, we went to town to get final supplies for the backpacking trip. We enjoyed another nice drive along the Madison River, and spotted a Moose, a Bison, and a herd of Elk.

We attempted salmon cakes for dinner that night, but that went badly. We'd bought canned salmon from wal-mart. Bad move. Apparently they run entire salmon through a blender and dump it all in the can. Our can contained everything, from meat, to skin, to bones, to little bits of unidentifiable things that I'd rather not know about. Needless to say, we gave up on the salmon cakes and fashioned dinner out of some random things we dug out of the car. It certainly wasn't the ideal meal before embarking on an 8 day backpacking trip, but we made the best of it. If there's a lesson to be learned from any of our adventures thus far, it's this: never buy salmon in a can from wal-mart. I suppose that should've gone without saying, huh?

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