Saturday, July 14, 2007 ;
4:07 AM
July 12
Thurs
Dh set off for his solo hike at 7am. I stayed n tent. These are the pics he took with the Olympus. I like the 1st 2 best.
Then we set off for Yellowstone, 2-3 hrs north of teton.
On the way, we detoured to Huckleberry Hot Springs to see the springs and also bears and moose. We heard there could be some there.
True enough, when we reached the trailhead parking, there was a couple there who told us they saw bears. Dh was so excited, he went alone. We waited in the van for 1h+! It got very hot and I thought he was dragged away by bears already. No cell phone signal too, so can't contact him.
He finally returned with muddy soaking feet and pants! He didn't see any wildlife, so he was quite angry at having to cross this creek in order to see the hot springs, which are pictured below, and he said they weren't anything great. Good that me and kids didn't go! Wanted to laugh, but didn't dare, cos he looked really pissed off. And the pants and socks really smelt bad, cos the creek must have run-off from the springs and smelt like sulfur.
Had lunch at the Flagg Ranch, very nice place, then continued on to Yellowstone. Didn't need to pay extra admission, cos Teton's one applied to Yellowstone too.
Was at once wowed by the geothermal features. And cos everywhere may be thermally active, it's like a lot of action going on all at once, and well, anything can erupt too!
Took a pic of one of the many signs thruout the park: generally warning pple not to step off the boardwalks, or marked trails, as many areas only have thin crusts and you can fall right thru into the active thermal area below, which can be boiling.
Below: vigorously bubbling hot springs. I think it was at the Mud Volcano and Sulphur Cauldron area.
Actually I found out from Facebook that I have 2 ex-students who worked there in 2005 and one of them returned again this year. So if you are reading this blog, confirm for me ok? I forgot where I took certain pictures, and if I describe it wrongly, let me know!
We did meet a lot of Xanterra (the company that runs many of Yellowstone's services) staff, and each staff member has a name tag that states his name with the country or state he is from.
It was very fun, because at every lodge or cafeteria or souvenir shop, you have pple from all over the world greeting you. And, as my student told me, they have a lot of fun, because they get to stay there for an extended period of time, free lodging and food, plus some pay, so they can travel. I think it's great cos they get to stay in Yellowstone! It's so enjoyable that we wish we could stay longer, and my students got the whole summer there!
They also get to make friends from all over the world. Let's see, I was served by Polish, Czechs, many Americans, HKers, Taiwanese, Chinese from China, Indians, many Europeans too. I chatted up some of those from HK and Taiwan, cos I thought they were from Spore. :-)
Unfortunately I didn't meet my student, cos I only knew from her ltr on in Facebook that she was there the whole time I was there too! What a pity! She was from my very first batch, the 2001 S7 group.
We also saw the huge huge Yellowstone Lake (below). Where the friends of our friends died some years ago during a storm. It was so big, you couldn't see the other side. Looks like the sea or ocean to me. Really, as a child, I always pictured lakes as being small, since they had to be inland. Must reeally be more widely-read or travelled to see such exceptional places.
rainbows every day, do not worry for the morrow
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