Welcome to Yellowstone by the Buffalo! Today we took a hiking tour of the south and north rim of the Yellowstone river overlooking two waterfalls. Racing, rapid, pounding waterfalls Wow. We saw a mother offspray with her two chicks perched precariously on the top of a rock pinnacle. The hike was really interesting with pine forest tunnels that opened out to magnificent views of the waterfalls with its delicate but extensive spray. The visual of the moment was a glorious rainbow waxing and waning in the pure white waterfall spray! We saw more buffalo (Bison actually) – what a majestic animal! A slow-moving, meandering menacing chocolate brown hunk. We got closer than we'd liked at one stage. Try this – cars, bridge trail all blocked by a BIG buffalo, I followed angela who crossed the road and hid behind a car, Ed: on a rock. If they charge the National Park warning sign states that they can move at 30mi/hour (approx 50kms/hr!).
Hot diggerty dog! The world famous Old Faithful faithfully performed for the thousands! Geothermal activity, how fascinating and the colours. Wow! Beautiful turquoise, deep golden, canary yellow and iridescent green. We saw more large elk bathing in the warm waters as we headed off for some more hiking, it was hot and the waves of hot misty steam added to the heat. We saw a popular and heavily populated river swimming area at Firehole canyon and decided to go back to our waterhole. It is at the junction of the the Firehole, Madison & Gibson. We followed a local and found dead freddies Eddie. A wonderful warm corner flowing straight from Old Faithful full of healing minerals. To add to the delight we found a girl elk had set up camp behind us and I got to watch her swishing ears as she joyfully munched on the nearby grass. After she lay down for a snooze I left her in her riverside haven. We also saw an offspray swoop and dive (almost towards us!). What delights in Americas first National park!
Today is the day I saw my bear.
A black bear wandering along side the road looking for yummy roots at the bottom of trees. Of course it was when we were least expecting it. He had a playful spirit. The Shoshone Indians say that every encounter with a bear is a spiritual experience. We had a very early rise and went animal watching on the road to Mammoth Hot Springs. There were bison grazing, bison sleeping and bison blocking the road for hours! I saw big herds of elk and elk resting on the sulphur crusted terraces. A falcon perched ready to swoop and marmot's(like ground hog) scanning for falcons ready to swoop. Our coyote stopped traffic after feeding on a fallen old man bison. A sad sight watching the aged animal floundering to get up. A girl coyote had the scent too but stopped to squat on the right right in front of us, the cheeky thing! The surrealist landscape of the lava terraces with trees captured in their spot reminded me of some Beckett play about the desolateness of our existence. ..............................But really it was all about the bear. How amazing! How wonderful! May animals rule this planet like they do Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming USA.
MOOSE!!! Our final gift was at the beautiful Ox bend lake – closed for bald eagle nesting, after a drive to Jackson through the picturesque Tetons. All week we had scanned for moose and was presented with TWO! Gorgeous velvet covered racks of antlers grazing leisurely alongside the marsh. A boat cruise captained by Rob gave us uninterrupted vies of the Teton ridge including Mt Moran & the Grand Teton. Another glorious American National park. The camping was wonderful and again the wonderful Americans made it possible. Seems the place is set for the outdoor adventure. I learnt a great deal from Ange, Rob and Ed. What a privilege!
