Liz and Eli on the Move

We had one sunny and gorgeous day and thankfully got a great hike in that took us through a dramatic canyon and past some sulfurous spouting steam-hole thingies. There are a lot of those in Yellowstone. The temperature dropped our first night there and the next two days were gray and chilly. We slept on the lower level of the van rather than in the pop top because we weren’t allowed to have any exposed canvas at our campsite- too much grizzly bear risk! Don’t worry, eli bought some bear pepper spray and carried with him always.

We felt a little suckered into gathering with a few hundred other humans to watch a big geyser spout. That said, she really is an impressive geyser. Equally impressive are the miles of smelly bubbling sulfur pits that surround her.

I was appropriately shocked and awed the first time I saw a bison up close. However, by the time we left Yellowstone, we had seen easily 500 of these suckers and I stopped reaching for my camera. They are some crazy-looking, super furry-on-top mammals which are individually accompanied by swarms of bugs. Though they nonchalantly stroll within a few feet of you and your car there were many signs all over Yellowstone warning us that human visitors to the park are gored and seriously injured or killed on an annual basis. So, we stayed in the car and didn’t try to pet any.

He’s there- squint and you’ll see him (or her). We saw a bunch of cars pulled over on our way into Yellowstone- everyone had their cameras out and we knew there was something special (and probably furry) to see. If you look really close you can see his or her bear friend. The two of them eventually sauntered off together.

it doesn’t mean you have a problem…

Looked very different from the set of the beloved HBO series. Apparently, the town has burnt down and been completely rebuilt twice. Today, its main economy is casino tourism, not gold panning.

No Cary Grant or Eva Marie Saint sightings.

A day hike in the badlands turned out to be a challenge, not only because the signs make you paranoid about tussling with these guys but also because it’s about 100 degrees by 11am…