Driven to delirium

Finally saw some elk, but got only one good photo.  I dunno.  I think I'd obsess if my butt were a different color than the rest of me.  It looks too much like a target.  Why do dark brown elk have light brown butts?

We're finally home after a marathon push to finish the last several hundred miles.  To accomplish this traveling feat, we went through 6 states in one day, and I'm not talking about east coast states where you can visit several of them in the span of a couple of hours. Yesterday we drove from Fargo, North Dakota, through Minnesota (lost hours stuck on 694 in the Minneapolis area due to construction), Wisconsin, Illinois (more hours lost to construction traffic woes) and Indiana before finally entering Michigan.  We pulled into our driveway at 5:05AM, said hello to Leo who showered us with dog kisses and went promptly to bed.  Gotta say, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.  I have officially seen enough fields of wheat and corn to last me a lifetime.  And I'd like to apologize to the beavers I ran over on I-94 in North Dakota.  There were 3 of them crossing the road at midnight and there was no place for me to go with the car racing at 75 miles per hour.  At least I think they were beavers.  Could have been possums but I couldn't see because my windshield was covered in bug guts.  It kind of made me sick to think I'd hit them and for the whole day yesterday, I could only think of those beavers as road kill lying on the side of the freeway in full rigor-mortis with their little beaver paws pointing stiffly up toward the heavens.  Oy.  I think too much.  

Today I'm curled up on the sofa with a dog, a cup of coffee and my remote control.  Last week, I was taking pictures of signs warning me to beware of snakes near the Missouri River.  This week I'm thankful not to see more road signs--especially toll signs in Illinois.  I lost count, but I think it cost close to $15 to drive one way from Indiana to Wisconsin.  Every time I thought we were making progress around Chicago, it was time to pull over and pay another toll.  I'm sure a hundred years ago, we likely would have met highway robbers along the way.  I'm here to tell you they're still around, only now they're state sponsored.

On our way west, we listened to the audiobook, Undaunted Courage, while driving.  Signs of the Lewis & Clark trail were everywhere we looked, especially throughout North Dakota. The book helped me imagine how difficult it must have been to accomplish what Lewis and Clark did without the Rand McNally Road Atlas, or a Tom-Tom.  They were undaunted, and incredibly courageous and maybe a little nuts.

There were lots of these signs within Yellowstone.  There are also signs warning the water bubbling out of the ground is both toxic and hot.  That didn't stop one teenager I saw from sticking his finger in the water.  I overheard him say, "Ow! That's hot!"  Now there's a genius in the making for you.

I saw absolutely no bears in Yellowstone.  Of course, I did no back country hiking, either, so I'm not surprised.  I wasn't disappointed though.  There was plenty of beauty to feast the eyes upon in this very rugged country without having a bear cross my path.

As proof of how picturesque this place is, here is a picture of the falls on the Yellowstone River.  This picture of the lower falls takes the sting out of the knowledge that my pictures of the upper falls didn't quite turn out the way I thought they did.  My iPhone got a better picture than the Nikon with the zoom lens.

Since I'm all over the place with this post, I think I'm still rather tired today and though I didn't get up until noon, I think it's time again to make an appointment with my Tempur-pedic mattress.

Do you think there is a beaver heaven?

Meet the neighbors

Yes, that's an apple in her mouth. I couldn't resist sharing the market's bounty and she rewarded me with a great photo.  

Color Affection

Artist's Paint Pots

It's hard not to be influenced by the beauty that surrounds me here in Southeastern Montana.  One only has to look to find something interesting.  The color alone is simply amazing.  We've gone into Yellowstone two days in a row, and while we took separate routes both days, the major difference to color was yesterday's lack of sunshine.  It was cool, overcast and drizzling most of the day.  By the time we left the park around 6 PM, torrential storms struck the area.  Since there are a few fires already burning in the park, it was probably good that the 300 lightening strikes Yellowstone received yesterday were accompanied by heavy rain.  Hopefully they cancel each other out, but it is awfully dry there and fire risk is extreme in some areas.

Quake Lake

On our first day in the park, it was quite hot and sunny.  I'd forgotten to put the polarized cover on the lens of the camera, which probably would have given me better color description in the photos I took.  The second day, Mother Nature provided her own cover, so the polarized one wasn't necessary, which was good because I don't have one for the wide angle lens.

Gibbons Falls

After walking miles around Mammoth Hot Springs, dodging rain drops (not successfully), and stopping at just about every scenic spot we could find, we made one last stop at Artist's Paint Pots.  It's about a 1/3 mile easy hike into this beautiful spot and I had only brought the wide-angled lens.  I for sure wasn't walking back to get the other.  I even forget my iPhone which has a decent camera.  Oh well, you get closeups shot with the only lens I had here.

The bridge to Mammoth Hot Springs

The colors have inspired me to want to knit another shawl using the milky light blue with rich salmon colors.  Will it be another Cameo?  Or maybe Color Affection?  Whatever it is, bobbins and butterflies won't be involved.  I haven't been knitting much here, though I did finally cast on the second Lismore Cable Sock last night so there is hope for an actual pair of socks coming out of this trip.  The porcupine blanket sits ignored for the time being.  Maybe later today.  Or maybe not.

More Mammoth Hot Springs because one picture is never enough to show the beauty that surrounds us here.

I know why I haven't been knitting...it's because I literally can't take my eyes off the path.

The plan for today is not fully formed, but I think it will involve walking down to the farmer's market and maybe taking in the local art fair.  I hope your weekend is great!

Eye Candy Friday

Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone National Park

I have no words for this natural work of art, nor the mystifyingly beautiful road we took to get there.  Sadly, I think the elk had the day off.

Photo: Rudeek

Greetings from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

After a couple of days acclimating to the altitude here, we finally took on Yellowstone.  I'm so glad we waited because if 5,000 feet of elevation gave me trouble, I know 8,000 would have been awful without the wait.  Anyways, I've talked enough.  Here are a few snapshots of the most beautiful day I've had in a long time:

We drove many miles without seeing any wildlife, just enormous ravens.  I began to despair there were no Bison.  Just then, one appeared so close to the road, I could have stuck out my arm and touched him.  Still no bear or elk sitings.  Maybe we'll get lucky on our next trip in on Saturday.

Bacteria growing in sulphur & heat

The colors are magnificent

Rapids on the Yellowstone River

Yellowstone National Park

All photos Rudeek

That's all for now.  You can thank me later because between 3 cameras, I snapped about 200 photos. Hope you're all well.  I'm off to soak in the hot tub.

P.S.  Seeing Old Faithful in person, well, it's nothing like it is on a National Geographic documentary.  Take my word for it and pencil this park into your agenda.

Classic way to end disputes

Rock, Paper Scissors statue, Gillette, WY.

Greetings from Gillette, Wyoming, where I am just about to pour myself back into the car for another long day.  Thought I'd say hey and share this statue I found.  Next stop, Montana and home base for a week.

Gillette is a modest town that looks to be dependent on the energy industry.  They have a Starbucks here though, and for someone who has driven about 1500 miles with mostly awful coffee, I can now state emphatically that today, at least I'll be driving awake!

Have a good one.

Following in some big footprints

Though we won't follow the entire route, we're sure to bump into more than a few areas first described by Lewis and Clark.  In the spirit of things, we've downloaded the unabridged audiobook, Undaunted Courage, to listen to along the way.   We have Last of the Mohicans as a spare. The gas tank is full (ouch) and we're well stocked on water, Twizzlers, gum, maps, coffee, yarn, patterns and peanuts.  The batteries are charged on the Tom-Tom, laptop, iPad and iPhone.  We will make much better time than those brave explorers who blazed the path, thanks to the Toyota, and expect to hit Montana no later than Tuesday.

See you here and there with pictures from our trails and adventures.

Stay tuned.

Photo: Wikicommons