Portland 2019: Pictures from Yellowstone

Zach and I just returned from a whirlwind five-day trip to Montana, where we visited my brother Christian, who works at Yellowstone National Park (department of inventory— you never think about how many office jobs are needed to sustain a park of that size). Although it rained on and off the whole time we were there, we still managed to get in a few hikes and a bit of sightseeing. Here are some pictures!

The next several pictures are from the Beaver Pond Loop near Mammoth Hot Springs

Beautiful gumweed was growing everywhere!

Driving toward the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone

Grand Prismatic Spring! We had never seen it before. Although we weren't able to get parking at the boardwalk that takes you to the edge of the spring, we were able to hike to this overlook. 

Grand Prismatic Spring from ground level

We drove past this smallish male right after seeing a gigantic bull further up the road (and a stupid tourist standing ten feet away to get a good shot). 

Driving down toward Mammoth Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs!

Looking up a hill toward the mountains swathed in clouds— this was on a hiking trail just outside of Gardiner, MT

Cactus!

Sunset on the Columbia River on our drive home

The Grand Gallivant: More About Yellowstone

The view from Bunson Peak

I’m beginning to realize that I don’t have the resources (or electrical outlets) to write a proper day-by-day account of the trip thus far, so welcome to another summary, this time with photos!

The North Entrance

Our site at the Eagle Creek Campground, just a few miles from the park entrance-- only $7 a night!

As I said, Christian did a great job of showing us around to the highlights of the park. We visited Old Faithful, of course, even though Christian says he thinks it’s underwhelming. I was quite impressed with the huge geyser, but looking back on the memory, it feels more like we were seeing a sight at Disney World, what with the huge crowds gathered on the boardwalk that forms a huge semicircle around the geyser. The lodge was also very impressive, and I’m glad we got to see it.

Obligatory Old Faithful photo.

On one of the clear days, we took a proper hike, up to Bunson Peak and down the opposite side into the valley to see Osprey Falls. If you’re in decent shape, I highly recommend the hike! The trail winds through lodgepole pines, and the peak offers a breathtaking view of the park. (We encountered some snow fields on the way up, and near the peak I had a moment of raw terror, much as I experienced in the Sierra. I knew by now to take some deep breaths and let it wash over me, and it did. We summitted without trouble.) It takes approximately eighty million switchbacks down the valley to reach Osprey Falls, but the huge foaming beast of a waterfall is well worth it.

Backside of Bunson Peak

Osprey Falls

As I said, Norris Geyser Basin was probably my favorite feature of the park... it feels like you’re on a different planet! The boardwalk hikes are short and easy, making this area accessible to everyone.

On May 25th, we said goodbye to Christian, spent the night, then headed out for a long drive to northern Montana. About seven hours later, we reached our destination: Pine Needle Farms. But more on that later...

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The Grant Gallivant: A Summary of Yellowstone

The only pics I have on my laptop so far: Christian, me and Zach getting ready to leave Portland

Good grief, I had forgotten how hard it is to blog and camp at the same time, especially with a laptop that has no battery and is therefore a tiny desktop. But I have a few minutes at the cafe/pharmacy in Gardiner, MT, with an outlet and some wi-fi, so I thought I’d post a brief update.

First of all, Yellowstone is amazing! Yes, you already knew that, and so did I, but I’m glad that I finally got the chance to visit. We’re camping at Eagle Creek Campground, which is in a national forest (mostly sagebrush land) outside the park, then driving into Mammoth Hot Springs in the park every day to fill up on water. From here, we’ve driven to several different parts of the park: Roosevelt, the Lamar Valley, Old Faithful, and so on. My favorite so far was the Norris Basin, with its geysers, billowing steam vents, and bizarrely-colored pools— when I have photos on my computer, I’ll post them to try to give you a taste of just how incredible that area is.

We’ve also seen lots of animals, of course: herds of bison blocking the road, bighorn sheep grazing just off the shoulder, elk running around everywhere getting annoyed by tourists, antelope roaming the sagebrush hills. On our very first hike (Beaver Ponds Trail at Mammoth), we saw a black bear and her two cubs about thirty feet away! A couple days later, we glimpsed a grizzly and her cubs from the car, but we didn’t stop because the road was choked with tourists running toward the bears and rangers running after the tourists screaming at them to get back in their freaking cars before they got mauled. Ah, tourists!

The past few days we’ve had a few too-close encounters with bison; they’ve decided that our campsite is a great place to graze— early morning, mid-day, and even the middle of the night. The bulls that have wandered through are as tall as our Nissan XTerra, and the one who walked through yesterday glared at us pointedly, then snorted, stamped his hooves, kicked up some dirt, and peed all over the ground next to our tent before rolling in it, tearing up the grass. So when we woke up at 1:30am last night and heard a loud snort a couple feet away, we fled our tent and hid out in the car until he left. I’m glad we’re having run-ins with bison rather than bears, but it’s sometimes unnerving!

Well, I’ll write a longer post later, but there are the highlights of the past few days. Tomorrow we’re heading to northern Montana to work on a cashmere goat farm for a couple weeks, so that’ll be a nice change of pace. Until next time!

~Lisa

10 Photos of Mirrors and Reflections

I have a fascination with mirrors and reflections— I love the strange perspectives they give to reality. As a kid, one of my favorite road trip activities was staring at the rearview mirror while watching the reflections in the windows in my peripheral vision. If I did it too long, I got dizzy, but I would stare as long as I could. Now that I’m grown up, I still do that. And sometimes I take pictures, too. Sometimes multiple pictures of the same reflection. Don’t judge me. Mirrors are cool.

Self-portrait in Wyoming.

Tucson, Arizona.

Antelope Island, Utah.

Library, Seattle, Washington. It's a whole building made out of mirrors!

A tiny town whose name I cannot remember, Germany.

Same mirror from a different angle.

St. Elisabeth's Church, Nuremberg, Germany.

Building on the side of the highway, St. Peters, Missouri.

More Wyoming.

De Young Museum elevator, San Francisco, California. Also, this is the greatest picture I have ever taken.

A Photo for Sunday

Usually I don’t blog on Sundays. However, today I decided that every Sunday, I’m going to post a photo that I’ve taken, to remind us of the amazing world God has given to us. Enjoy.

Southwestern Wyoming