Yellowstone National Park Video
Camping in Yellowstone was sold out the 1st night so we had to go to Gardiner, Montana. The little town was able to charge astronomical prices for everyday items and lodging because of the proximity to the park. We ended up spending about $100 on groceries and $135 for a little cabin (for one night!) where the only view was the back of a restaurant’s fry pit. If you remember from our last blog we had tried to bypass Montana and go straight into Yellowstone but I guess we were destined to be there just to have our olfactory glands aroused by old vegetable oil.
The Hat Fairy
It was expected to be between 27 and 30 degrees at night while camping in the park. As we were preparing dinner, I already had two of everything on except for shirts, of which I had four. A group of 5 people approached our campsite. The old guy in the middle was being pushed in a wheelchair and was proudly donning his Veteran’s hat. After being gouged to death up in Gardiner, my mind went to an appropriate exit routine in case they were asking for money. This type situation has become more difficult for me since the departure of a regular paycheck. Instead of buying the little trinket, candy bar, etc. now I have to say I would love to help your cause but we find ourselves on a limited budget. I am usually using my huge laptop or required to answer a call on my complicated “phone” device at the time. I feel awful either way, for I know that I have been given so much in my life and I always revert back to the question “what if this person really needs it?”
Anywho, I walk over to the crowd that is lead by the man who served our country in a war that he didn’t want to be in and I say “hi”. “We were wondering if you guys would like a free hat?” the lady said. “It is supposed to get down below freezing tonight and I had these extra hats I knitted in our camper” she continued. I look down into the box that is nestled in between the immobile legs and sure enough there are about a half dozen cute wool hats with big pompoms on the top. My eyes dart around the lap to looking for a donation box half stashed and I see none. I then with pure joy start rifling through the box of warm, woolen wear. We pick out two, and the group are then on their way to the next campsite. Later that night and the next morning in the “brush your teeth” line at the common bathroom everyone I see has the same hat but with different colors. They must have given away 35 just at our campsite alone. It looked like page 11 of any Dr. Suess book. See video.
Photography in the Park
Barry got an awesome shot of a Bison in the mist that I am attaching for your pleasure.
Yellowstone is basically an old volcano. The mountains that encircle were once the building blocks of the cone and the interior is a mix of newly created soil and vents that allow the moist, hot center of the earth to be part of our reality. Volcanic steam pots, called fumaroles, are part of our Great Mother Earths release system it’s kind of like when you or I take a deep breath. We breathe out to release all that pent up steam and it allows us to cool down.
