Yellowstone: Take Two

Summer television reruns aren't my favorite. I keep seeing the ads for the new season, and I'm looking forward to more choices for evening television viewing. (We are not in a prime location for streaming, so I'm limited to the "million" or so channels from my Dish Network. Yes, I know that's ironic, coming from someone who grew up with four TV stations - ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS. My, how times have changed!)

Anyway, we had a "rerun" to Yellowstone during our trip. I had someone ask me why we'd want to go back. There were several factors. Even though we'd spent 12 hours in Yellowstone in 2011, we didn't see it all. If you're driving to Glacier, you have to figure out some way to get back home. Why not include the beauty of Yellowstone in the travel itinerary?

The Madison River

This time, we drove through different areas than we had the first time. Though we repeated the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, we didn't visit Old Faithful, Blue Star Spring or Grand Prismatic Spring on this latest trip.

Yellowstone has been a national park since 1872. But nature changes. It changes from day to day, much less since our visit 13 years ago or when it was founded 152 years ago ... and beyond.

Gibbon Falls

 

This was Beryl Spring. The violent agitation of the water is due to volcanic gases, mostly steam. The temperature of the water is usually a few degrees below boiling. It's one of the hottest springs in Yellowstone.

We took a short hike to the Artist's Paintpots.
 

The shot below wasn't nearly as pretty, but it shows the aftermath of all that boiling and bubbling.

We saw more geysers at the Norris Geyser Basin. It is Yellowstone's most dynamic - the hottest, most acidic and most dynamic geyser basin. It's part of one of the world's largest active volcanoes (according to a sign at the park.)

Norris Geyser Basin

It was named for Philetus W. Norris, who served as superintendent of Yellowstone from 1877 to 1882. He recorded the area's hydrothermal features in detail and also oversaw construction of some of the park's first roads, which still remain in the Grand Loop Road.

 

The next day, our trek along Blacktail Plateau Drive took us off the beaten path and onto a gravel road. (Our car is used to that.)

We only saw two other cars along the gravel road, which was a nice change of pace.

But, soon enough, we were back to the main road and heading toward some of the better known attractions - like Tower Creek. About 50 million years ago, volcanoes in Yellowstone and surrounding areas started to erupt, burying the land under volcanic rock. These ancient Eocene volcanoes left their mark with darker vertical cliffs that stretch up from the river. 

The 132-foot drop of Tower Creek, framed by eroded volcanic pinnacles has been documented by park visitors from the earliest trips of Europeans into the Yellowstone region. It has inspired numerous artists, including Thomas Moran. His painting of Tower Fall played a role in establishing Yellowstone National Park in 1872. 

Most of this visit's stops at Yellowstone were new to us. But the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was our favorite spot when we visited the park in 2011. Unlike the summer reruns on network television, this second viewing was just as awe-inspiring as the first. 

The canyon varies from 800 to 1,200 feet in depth and from 1,500 to 4,000 feet in width. It's about 24 miles long. 

 

Hot spring activity has continued through the ages, altering the lava rock to produce varied colors which are largely due to different iron compounds. 

 

We also saw Roaring Mountain ...

 ... and Yellowstone Lake. (It is huge.)

We packed as much as we could into our day and a half. I'm sure we didn't see all of it this time either. 

Visitors at Yellowstone seemed to form the United Nations of the world. As we walked around after supper in West Yellowstone, we heard many different languages - probably more that weren't English. But is it any wonder that the natural beauty attracts people from all around the world? 

It wasn't just the different countries represented. The National Parks also bring together people from all different parts of the country and different lifestyles. There were plenty of families with little boys skipping rocks into lakes. (It does seem little boys and rock skipping are universal. I'm not being sexist. Boys just seem to gravitate to the rock throwing more, in my observations.) I sat on a bench with a woman about my age who lives in New York City. She couldn't believe how "isolated" and "remote" everything was. I'm looking around at more people than I usually see in a week and thinking about how different our daily lives are. But we still had a wonderful visit while sitting on a bench. I "met" another woman while standing in line, waiting for a bathroom at Glacier. She said, "They say everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. I know yours." Ironically, my "twin's" name was Jill, and I told the lady that I had a daughter named Jill (who looks nothing like me). I happened to see her a couple more times, and each time, she said, "Hi, Kim!" 

It really is a small world. And it's a beautiful world, too. 

Yellowstone Critter Sightings

 

There were traffic jams in Yellowstone National Park. It wasn't caused by bumper-to-bumper commuters on their way to a big city job. 

Instead, the traffic snarls were caused by wildlife sightings. On our first evening at Yellowstone, we could tell that something ahead was creating a traffic jam. From the Yellowstone guide handed out at the entrance: "Do not stop your vehicle in the road or stand in the roadway. Do not block any portion of the road with tripods, chairs or other objects. Do not block the free flow of traffic."

Let's just say there were plenty of rule breakers when wildlife was around. Thankfully, we found a parking spot and wandered down to see what the fuss was about.  (I'm a rule follower from way back. It's that firstborn child thing.)

In this case, the road block was caused by a mother elk and two babies, eating and drinking along the river. We had seen elk before, but we were just as enamored as the rest of the interlopers to watch the mama and two babies.

As I've mentioned, a bear sighting was on Randy's bucket list for this trip. (Click HERE for our first bear sighting. Don't get too excited. There's no photographic proof.)

 An NPS brochure said to "Enjoy them at a distance."

Well, that wasn't a problem. We kind-of-sort-of saw another bear in Yellowstone the next day. We saw people stopped along the road and asked what they were looking at. I could see a brown speck moving in the distance. Randy found the bear in his binoculars. My extreme nearsightedness doesn't mix well with binoculars, so I wasn't successful locating the brown bear, which was probably 200 yards away. 

Randy assures me there was a bear out there - somewhere.

During our trip, we also heard a loon - also a first - and saw some antelope in fields in Wyoming. We saw one big-horned sheep in Glacier, but, again, there is no photographic evidence to support the sighting. (I wasn't the only one on the Red Bus tour to miss the photo op. It was quick!)

There was no problem seeing the buffalo that dotted the Hayden Valley along the Yellowstone River.

 

 

Believe me, I know none of these photos is spectacular. But they were taken from the car window ... as we were moving. (See above for note about firstborn rule following.)

Earlier in the day, we'd found what seemed like a "hotel" for chipmunks at the Sheepeater Cliff. 

Though it was named by the Shoshone Indians for bighorn sheep, we saw the area's much smaller mammals.

Next time: More from Yellowstone

Livin' the High Life: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

 

Alex, the Caddy

A caddy is not something that Randy usually has on a golf course. It's not a feature at the Stafford Country Club ... or anywhere else he's played.

He has a "cheerleader" on occasion - if I look up from my book at the right time.

As I texted the kids: "Dad is living the dream. His golf game today includes a caddy named Alex."

At the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, the caddy was a requirement. (So was the gratuity that came at the end of the golf round.)

They have a gated course and your name has to be on the list. (I'm convinced that's so another employee can meet you at the car and collect yet another tip for unloading your clubs and getting them down to the driving range and start area.)

Alex was definitely a better cheerleader than I am. 

Alex also had better eyesight. My eyesight is just one other excuse I have for not playing golf ... oh, yeah, and being hopeless at the game. (I tell people that after trying the game, I opt to go along for the ride, along with a book. I'm a champion reader.) One of Alex's jobs was helping find where the golf balls landed for the four golfers to which he was assigned that day. Since each group had an assigned caddy, it helped move the games along - more people, more greens fees, more tips, more trips to the pro shop ... you get the idea.

The floating green in the lake to the left of Randy in the photo.

Another of Alex's jobs was to give advice about where to direct the ball on the unfamiliar course for his foursome that day - Randy, Stewart, Michael and Cole. His unwavering enthusiasm and optimism generated some laughter from the foursome throughout the game.

"We'll find it."

"That's OK. There's a free drop zone from there."

And so on and so forth.

They did keep their editorial comments about Alex's unwarranted enthusiasm among the four of them. 

 

 

The caddy and the gate weren't the only unusual features. The course also is home to the only movable floating golf green.

Alex was able to use his unrelenting optimism when two of the four golfers - including Randy - had to take a second shot to get it to the green.

Once they'd teed off, they went down to a dock, where a boat transported them to the green. I stayed on dry ground so I could take photos.

The 14th hole - which included the floating green - was not the only beautiful hole on the course. 

What's not to love about greens surrounded by waters?

There was one other big difference. While many golf courses play host to geese who like to roam the manicured lawns, the Coeur d'Alene course had another kind of birds - sea gulls.

***

The golf course wasn't our only stop in Coeur d'Alene. We also roamed what the city calls "the world's longest floating boardwalk."

It is 3,300-foot long, 12-foot wide and offers views of the marina and the lake. There was definitely some money represented there!

That wasn't the only place we saw fancy boats and yachts. If we'd had one, we could have arrived via boat to our evening supper spot, The Cedars Floating Restaurant.

It was our favorite meal of the trip.

 

 This was a view from the window. 

Randy took a video of the lights swaying in the floating restaurant and sent it to the kids. 

I didn't get a photo of Randy's meal, but I did of my cedar-plank salmon, asparagus and roasted potatoes. Their salad bar was phenomenal, too. (Not many restaurants offer salad bars after the pandemic, so that was a treat, too!)

We splurged on dessert that night, too. Randy had the chocolate mousse cake (right) and I had the half order of the Mile High Mud Pie (with an Oreo crust, espresso ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate and caramel sauces.) Yum!