Fiske BISON COUNT for the day? 202--woohoo!
Some huge bison (about 1,500 lbs.) come very close and they are quite stoic--perhaps they have seen too many visitors or perhaps they think that they own the park. OK--perhaps they do. You probably know we call them buffalo by mistake, based on early visitors who thought they looked like water buffalo. They are actually bison....
And here are two of them--a mother and child we saw today--we were priviledged to see two little ones, this one sleeping and the other nursing....
Yelowstone resides on top of a volcano and here is evidence of that--the Norris Geyser Bason. Like most geyser basins, Norris is lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. The rust color in the basin below is iron based. Many geysers and hot springs here are acidic. No one will probably tell you this but they stink. Rotten eggs? Sulphur? Someone said to Rick "you could fart here and no one would notice!"
In thermal areas, the ground looks fine but it might be only a thin crust above boiling hot springs or scalding mud. I have yet to find some boiling mud but trust me, I'm looking. Anyway, you don't know what is a safe path so you have to stay on the wooden path ways. Some pools are acidic enough to burn through boots and some people have been scalded to death or badly burned and scarred. So, the message is, don't go there!
OK--you can't actually see the eagles' nest but it is there on the pinnacle with a slight little white spot. I saw it using a man's telephoto lens. Others saw mom and dad eagle flying in and out. Another amazing experience.
At Lookout Point you can see the river in waterfall....
And Grand View is certainly that--the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. The river cuts through more than 1,000 feet to the canyon floor and the river is still working downward today. The canyon is 24 miles in length and the lovely colors on the sides are made by hot spring activity altering the lava rock. There are steam vents and geysers still at work on the canyon walls though we can't see them in my photo. Ahh for that ipone telephoto lens....
Construction worker, Jessie, took Rick closer to the gate at the North entrance of the park so he could get this photo even though the gate is closed off and under construction. Thanks, Jessie!
And here we are on the way out of Yellowstone in a snow storm, looking forward to "home" at our "You Cater" airbnb in West Yellowstone....
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