tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33732433986612721882024-03-05T01:43:58.724-06:00Small Roads, Big ViewsSmall roads, big viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04160419852847068515noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-5059754126374040922021-12-28T08:50:00.001-06:002021-12-28T08:50:19.485-06:00Buc-ee'sSince it's Texas, we had to visit the world's largest convenience store: Buc-ee's, near New Braunfels. It is the size of a large supermarket, with over 200 gas pumps. The pictures don't really do it justice. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Inside are convenience store products plus a deli. Here is the jerkey selection: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>And half of a Reuben sandwich we split: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>Donuts in the parking lot: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-17344738239199017072021-12-24T09:29:00.001-06:002021-12-24T09:29:10.582-06:00Merry Christmas from the desert! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Christmas cholla cactus <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Mistletoe with white berries <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>A festive prickly pear </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-11201335962139524442021-12-22T19:29:00.001-06:002021-12-22T19:29:20.780-06:00Heading Back We were sad to leave Big Bend, but we're on our way home. First stop is back to Marathon, where we enjoyed the star party last time. The adobe courtyard is decorated for Christmas: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-87715546063125431422021-12-22T19:21:00.001-06:002021-12-22T19:21:38.143-06:00Odds and ends A big ammonite fossil in the trail: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>View over the Rio Grande, back to the Chisos, where we started: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div>An Eastern collared lizard: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div>A coyote in the middle of the campground: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div>Not a very good picture, but a roadrunner (blow it up) :<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-57132771904636857002021-12-17T19:30:00.001-06:002021-12-17T19:30:32.953-06:00More pictures near the River The ruins of an adobe farmhouse, the chimney is built of petrified wood: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>A javelina (collared peccary) grazing through our campground by the river: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div>Moon over the Chisos mountains, where our first campground was: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-86717352234130472612021-12-16T11:14:00.001-06:002021-12-16T11:14:23.348-06:00The River at Last After two weeks of fantastic mountains and desert, we made it to the Rio Grande. It's ... small. Between drought and both countries taking out lots of water, there isn't much flow. In all of these photos, the far side of the river is Mexico. Our first view: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>Then we hiked a short but spectacular canyon the river had carved. It is the notch in the distant wall above. If you blow the next photo up, you can see two tiny boats on the water. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-71096671189039262602021-12-08T16:19:00.001-06:002021-12-08T16:19:21.464-06:00Rock Formations Seen on some of our hikes: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>All the water that falls into the Basin flows through this chute over a cliff. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Another, much lower waterfall chute. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-59949623691642564432021-12-06T09:43:00.001-06:002021-12-06T09:43:41.273-06:00Wildlife <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>Aoudad, a wild sheep native to Africa, silhouetted on a ridge. They were brought over years ago as exotic game and are now invasive. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>These jays thought they should get some of our lunch. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Deer on the road near the campground. <br></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-74086777462550433542021-12-06T09:41:00.001-06:002021-12-06T09:41:36.706-06:00Hiking some of the mountain trails For the next few weeks, all posts will be from Big Bend. The first few hikes were in the Chisos Basin. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-38645019502004463472021-12-06T09:39:00.001-06:002021-12-06T09:39:43.734-06:00Big Bend, part 1We've been in Big Bend a week, and it has been even better than I expected. The park is huge - the size of Rhode Island according to the brochure. We drove in through desert, and into the mountains rising up in the distance. Our first campground is in the Chisos Basin, surrounded by peaks on all sides. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>The light changes and the scenery is different every few minutes. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-26566734537222401522021-11-30T14:42:00.001-06:002021-11-30T14:42:12.172-06:00Marathon, TX The day before going into Big Bend was chore day. We did grocery shopping in Alpine, then drove to the motel/RV park in Marathon for laundry. A nice surprise when we got there was the request to keep light use minimal at night since they are a dark sky park. That night two guys were giving an informal star party. We got to look at Jupiter and Saturn through a 20 inch telescope, which was pretty spectacular. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-8770342309181494782021-11-30T14:00:00.001-06:002021-11-30T14:00:51.314-06:00McDonald Observatory, Dude Ranch Leaving Guadalupe Mts we drove through a very empty part of Texas, going more than 35 miles without seeing another car. We did see a coyote cross the road. In the afternoon we visited the McDonald Observatory. It was very cold and windy up on top of the mountains. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>That evening we stayed at a historic dude ranch.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-79668418554891221792021-11-29T09:01:00.001-06:002021-11-29T09:01:55.672-06:00Guadalupe Mountains National Park Beautiful desert scenery, the campground is in a dramatic canyon. We had Thanksgiving spaghetti dinner and a great hike the next day. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-8953301809871210412021-11-28T11:15:00.001-06:002021-11-28T11:15:37.737-06:00Carlsbad Caverns We got to Carlsbad caverns the day before Thanksgiving. Normally reservations are required, which had been filled ahead of time, but there were cancelations that let us go in. We spent a great afternoon walking 2 1/2 miles and descending the equivalent of 80 stories underground. Phone photos don't do it justice, but here are a few. In the entrance, look for people on the left for scale. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-31747795200767568402021-11-28T11:14:00.001-06:002021-11-28T11:14:22.329-06:00Leaving White Sands White Sands was the farthest west point of this trip. It is a large flat basin between two mountain ranges. As we climbed up out, there were views back across. If you look closely at the gap between the hills you can see the white sand, and very faintly, the mountains beyond. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-37508593576179584372021-11-23T09:24:00.001-06:002021-11-23T09:24:34.624-06:00Alamogordo and White Sands Sunrise at the campground: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>White Sands National Park: the sand is gypsum, and really bright white. It's big enough to be seen from space. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div>It's also on a missile range, apparently they sometimes shut down the park road and highway 70:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>We stopped for a wine tasting and pistachios. </div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-17823297944951792222021-11-20T19:32:00.001-06:002021-11-20T19:32:55.244-06:00Roswell, NM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-12584161869597943832021-11-20T19:15:00.001-06:002021-11-20T19:15:04.883-06:00Texas, part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Metal hitchhiker in Benjamin, TX<div><br></div><div>We spent three days driving across north TX. One night in a county park near Bowie, and one in a city park in Levelland. Not much stopping for sightseeing. Saw lots more wind turbines than oil rigs. The land has started to open up, dry out, and look western. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-35565001906761644582021-11-20T19:12:00.001-06:002021-11-20T19:12:43.135-06:00Arkansas and Oklahoma Since I last had wifi we've taken highway 70 across southwestern AR (hilly and very rural) and extreme southeastern OK.<div><br></div><div>Taxidermy in the convenience store in Dierks, AR:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div><br></div><div>The view from our state park campsite near Fort Towson, OK. It was 79 degrees that afternoon, then dropped 30 degrees overnight. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div></div><div><br></div><div>Then we crossed the Red River into TX. More to come. <br></div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-63170896989642522612021-11-16T20:24:00.001-06:002021-11-16T20:24:03.375-06:00On the road again Well, we're off! It's been a long time since I've posted. Just getting started, so no great pictures yet, but here's our little camper in the midst of large ones at a rest area. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>It's always a special day for me when I see the Mississippi River, but when we crossed it yesterday, you could only see a little strip of blue from the I-55 Bridge.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>We're just outside of Hot Springs AR tonight, heading for Oklahoma tomorrow. More to come ...</div>Small Roads, Big Viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05236781994666198098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-70086032824579786842015-05-29T18:38:00.000-05:002015-05-29T18:38:37.266-05:00Yellowstone, Part 2We have spent a second week in Yellowstone, at the Mammoth campground. As I mentioned before, it stays a little warmer here, so the elk like to spend most of the year. They especially like the lush green lawns around the developed areas, and hang out by the park headquarters, hotel, etc., causing traffic jams. They also came browsing through our campground most evenings. We saw LOTS of elk, mostly very pregnant female ones. They were just starting to calve while we were there, but we did not see any of the babies - they hide them until they can keep up. We also saw a couple of large bulls with velvety antlers.<br /><br />We also saw a bear. Actually, we first saw a traffic jam. When we were able to get off the road, there was a bear a long way off across a lake. We had binoculars, and there was a ranger with a telescope so we got a pretty good view. It was a large male black bear. He had found a dead elk that had been frozen in the lake, and was eating it. He was surrounded by lots of ravens and one bald eagle hoping to get some. There were a lot of bear sightings in the area, but this was the only one we have seen so far. A grizzly was spotted just behind the campground one morning.<br /><br />We took some really enjoyable hikes. One went out to several beaver ponds, where we saw the beavers' lodge, the dam, and even one of the beavers. Another was to the top of Bunsen Peak, a 1300 foot climb with terrific views from the top (there was still some snow of the trail up there, too). And Mammoth has some hot springs, but they are very different from the ones in the southern part of the park. The hot water comes up through limestone, which is too soft to build up pressure for geysers. Instead, the limestone dissolves, and then is deposited as the spring comes to the surface, building up intricate terraces, with formations like cave stalactites, etc. They are very beautiful.<br />Small roads, big viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04160419852847068515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-58442441096567274042015-05-29T18:37:00.000-05:002015-05-29T18:37:11.557-05:00MaybruaryNo, I didn't invent that word, I read it in a novel by Craig Johnson set in this area. But it fits. This is what we woke up to the third morning in Yellowstone (May 16, almost 2 weeks ago) - 6 inches at the campground and still coming down. There was less elsewhere. The daytime temps got up into the upper 40's or 50's, so not too bad to be out in. We deliberately came early in the season to miss the worst crowds, and are glad we did. One steep hike did climb up into heavy snow over slush and mud, pretty slippery and grueling, but we were rewarded with great views and a geyser basin all to ourselves.<br /><br />Finally, yesterday, May 28, we were driving out of the park for a day of shopping and laundry in Cody, WY, when we came to a "Road Closed" barricade. Dunraven Pass, at over 8800 feet high, was closed because of blowing snow and heavy drifts. We had to take a two hour detour through unpaved, one-way construction zones to get out of the park. As we got into the eastern end of the park which is at higher elevation, there was quite a lot of new snow on the ground, but the roads were clear.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hot spring in the snow - it has melted the snow right around it.</td></tr>
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<br />Small roads, big viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04160419852847068515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-54509422567466701382015-05-29T18:34:00.000-05:002015-05-29T18:34:08.456-05:00Geysers and Hot Springs... are hard to really photograph! They are so much more impressive in person, with the boiling, hissing, steaming, and the smells of sulpher and hydrogen sulfide. I took all these pictures during our first week in the park, while we were down in the thermal areas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The colors in this pool are produced by different species of thermophiles - microorganisms that thrive in very hot, mineral laden water. Different species grow at different temperatures, with the clear dark blue at the center being water too hot for anything to grow.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the delicate structures built up around the edge of the pool as dissolved silica precipitates out of the water.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boiling out of the ground.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sometimes the thermophiles build up elaborate mats.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBjV3l1VT3zz3TqRDKT6Hf5NXm18lRDJpt0ad8u4cE_l-_6UzxVH2npS5un_QY0fRO4hooY4V-ZybVlKZhbg0GMA420_66f2veq_jBybhn1p1MIxWFa0-qwrifO1pksGN7uQICFU2iKXY/s1600/13-mat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBjV3l1VT3zz3TqRDKT6Hf5NXm18lRDJpt0ad8u4cE_l-_6UzxVH2npS5un_QY0fRO4hooY4V-ZybVlKZhbg0GMA420_66f2veq_jBybhn1p1MIxWFa0-qwrifO1pksGN7uQICFU2iKXY/s640/13-mat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvHzm2tBE_s9qenWlpe72arssdsFmU9rf-nPmYBtO2Zvo5lZ6WPQTy-DvS8PqJ3cf56teJ75b4r5AE2a81sesfQr8pRvahGdZWY7lVzKLTKrkoz9gmZzt-oopkaoTAFkYpxngWSC4Xfvi/s1600/14-mat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyvHzm2tBE_s9qenWlpe72arssdsFmU9rf-nPmYBtO2Zvo5lZ6WPQTy-DvS8PqJ3cf56teJ75b4r5AE2a81sesfQr8pRvahGdZWY7lVzKLTKrkoz9gmZzt-oopkaoTAFkYpxngWSC4Xfvi/s640/14-mat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mud pot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfall on the Gibbon River.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Geyser erupting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lone Star Geyser erupting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riverside Geyser erupting.</td></tr>
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<br />Small roads, big viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04160419852847068515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-55798954626782203442015-05-21T21:59:00.000-05:002015-05-21T21:59:35.646-05:00Yellowstone, Part 1Yellowstone was the one place I most wanted to see on this trip. So far, it has exceeded my expectations. We stayed at the Madison campground, on the western side of the park, giving us access to Norris geyser basin, the hottest thermal area, and the Old faithful area, with 1/4 of the world's geysers in 1 square mile. We saw several big geysers erupt: Old Faithful, Daisy, Riverside, Grand (which is!), and Lone Star, as well as quite a few smaller ones. We also saw hot springs, boiling mud pots, and fumaroles (steam vents).<br /><br />We had to brake for bighorn sheep, mule deer, and often for bison. We saw elk, bald eagles, lots of osprey, great blue herons, and yellow-bellied marmots, which were very entertaining running around and tussling. We haven't seen any bears, but saw their tracks and scat. I woke up during the second night and heard a VERY large exhalation just outside the wall by my head. After a quick worry about bears I could hear several big animals moving around quietly, and realized it was a herd of bison! Right around us! We later found out it was a group of 11 that came through.<br /><br />It's been a long, busy chore day, and I don't have any scenery or geyser photos ready to post yet, but here are a few animal shots. We're heading back in to the Mammoth area tomorrow. It's on the northern side, but since the elevation is lower, it's a bit warmer<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow-bellied marmot</td></tr>
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<br />Small roads, big viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04160419852847068515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3373243398661272188.post-81846210310841022162015-05-13T18:50:00.000-05:002015-05-13T18:50:06.664-05:00WyomingWe've spent the last week working our way up from Moab, UT, through western Colorado and eastern Utah and finally into Wyoming. We visited Dinosaur National Monument, which is an amazing museum built over the side of a hill with an amazing accumulation of partly excavated dinosaur bones still in place. Lots of fossils were removed from here in the early 1900's and sent to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, but what remains is really impressive.<br /><br />Along the way we had to go over the Douglas Pass, a narrow, twisty, bumpy, hairpin filled road. The speed limit dropped to 15 mph, and it was hard to go even that fast, especially when it started snowing/sleeting near the summit at 8268 feet.<br /><br />Finally we got to Wyoming. We drove some scenic roads over high, gently rolling plains of sagebrush, with views of even higher snow covered mountains around. We saw lots of pronghorn antelope, a herd of wild horses (and occasional herds of cattle). Tomorrow we are heading into Yellowstone! I'll be away from internet access for at least a week, hope to be back after that with some more photos.Small roads, big viewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04160419852847068515noreply@blogger.com1