Dubois, WY to Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Chris sees the Grand Tetons!

We reached the Grand Teton National Park at about 9:30 am, Wednesday, I think. The lakes and land are already at 6,000 elevation. The granite Tetons rise another 5,000 to 6,000 feet almost straight up. The day we were there a layer of clouds drifted at about 7,500 feet in front of the Tetons. Another layer floated just above the peaks. It was a very majestic site. A few recesses had glaciers from the top many thousand feet down the face. It was truly a grand and majestic sight. Lakes and swampy land are at the base of the mountains. I read that wildlife is abundant, but we saw none on our drive north into Yellowstone.

At the visitors center we saw a short film about the 1988 fires which destroyed 36% of Yellowstone's forests.

In Yellowstone we drove straight to the campsite near Fishing Bridge because it is the only camp with electrical hook-ups we need for our c-paps. After getting our campsite, we drove one of the loops to Old Faithful.

While we waited a soft drizzle began, then it began to actually rain. We took shelter under a pine tree where we could still keep an eye on Old Faithful. We were told the geyser would erupt at 6 pm. Old Faithful went off right on schedule with a 5-minute gusher. One thing I noticed is that as Old Faithful was gushing, steam was also rising from the cone's surface, not just from the hole.

C. J. Box is honored to meet the Rippels.

After the eruption, Kathy and I walked to the historic Old Faithful Inn. It is very impressive with a cathedral ceiling and numerous atriums overlooking the central area. Wyoming mystery author C. J. Box was doing a book signing of his July 2013 book, The Highway, which takes place near Yellowstone.We discussed his books and ebooks, libraries, and publishers.

 On the way to and from Old Faithful we stopped at some hot springs. I had originally thought the colors are created by minerals in the hot water. Educational signs, however, the colors are are “mats” of thermophilic microorganisms, archaea and bacteria, that use the colors to absorb the specific colors of lighted needed for their photosynthesis. They are pretty and awesome. (http://www.nps.gov/ns/yell/planyourvisit/upload/r&i10_4.pdf)

After sleeping at the campsite, we drove to Mammoth Hot Springs in the northern part of Yellowstone, Thursday morning.

Elk asks for a ride, but we were going the other way.

Along the way, we saw forests of 12-foot trees, the regrowth from the 1988 Yellowstone fire. And
during our drives through the park, we saw herds of bison, a family of elk, a momma bear and her cub, geese and chipmunks. Kathy was disappointed that we did not see any moose.

One amazing feature of Mammoth Hot Springs is the formation of flat travertine terraces. In many places travertine terraces look like steps. At Mammoth, the travertine terrace reminded Kathy and I of pueblos. When fresh the terraces are beautiful, bright white. Weathering turns them gray. Travertine is a popular building stone in places such as Italy. Travertine terraces occur all over the world. (http://www.atlasofwonders.com/2012/11/travertine-terraces.html)

At around noon, we headed out of Yellowstone for Idaho. Our goal is Craters of the Moon National Monument.

On the way to our destination we learned about Spuds Drive In Movie Theater in Driggs, Idaho. We are going to try to visit it on the way back through Idaho to Kansas.

At dinner, Kathy relaxes reading.

We are now camping at the KOA in Arco, Idaho. We ate at a place called "Pickle's Place: home of the Atomic Burger", neither of us had an Atomic Burger. After dinner, Kathy read for awhile in their green rocking chair. Across the street was the "sail" of a retired nuclear submarine USS Hawkbill (666), known fondly as the "Devil Boat." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Hawkbill_%28SSN-666%29)

Arco is surrounded by small knobs. One knob is called "Number Hill" because each high school class, beginning in 1920, writes its year on a spot on the hill. Tomorrow we will visit "Craters on the Moon."