Road Trip to Yellowstone
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The Art of Packing
Building a stable mound of 50 pound duffel bags and floppy backpacks requires both patience and a good sense of humor.
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The Last of Summer
One last sip of the verdant Pennsylvania summer. It will be fall on our return home.
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First Stop Niagra Falls
Plumes of black smoke loom over the skyline. on the U.S. side of the river. I keep my eye on the sky but no sign of the Justice League or Superman.
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Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States. Located on the Niagara River, which drains Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, the combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in the world.
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Luminous
A violent torrent of water and blasting mist frozen in time to reveal an incredible serenity.
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Only to the Beholder
From where we stand we see a bird flying through a rainbow. To the bird the rainbow is somewhere else entirely.
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I Spy Porcini
Fall mushroom season is just beginning, and we spotted some delicious Porcini buttons peering out of the needle covered earth.
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Meet The Crew
Three couples hitting the road together! Introducing from left to right. Francelys and I (Joseph), Meredith and David, Brenda and Pasquo (my awesome parents). This is our first day on the journey to Yellowstone and back. We first head up around lake Superior through Canada and will enter back into the United states through Michigan. Let us now take the Road Trip Oath. Though our will may be shaken and our patience tested we are bound to each other and vow to see our fellow travelers safely home.
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Lake Superior
What lies ahead of us is a tiny fraction of Great Lake Superior. It will take us an entire day of driving to get around this massive body of fresh water.
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Pasty Pronounced (Pass-T)
As we traverse the Upper Michigan Peninsula we learn of an intriguing local gastronomical anomaly known as the pasty. The art of pasty making was originally brought to Michigan from Cornish miners, leaving England to seek a fortune in the Americas. Over centuries the pasty has become a cultural symbol for inhabitants of the Upper Michigan Peninsula who call themselves Yoopers. A pasty closely resembles a pot pie without the pot.
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There Be Giants in These Parts
What is that beast upon the hill top?! A 38 foot tall and 50 foot long Holstein cow, the largest in the world.
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An Unexpected Stop
North Dakota has been a mostly flat affair till now. For a while we had thought the largest hill in the state was probably the one the giant cow inhabits. Who knew North Dakota also had badlands?
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Winding Across the Prarie
A cargo train stretches for what seems like miles across the North Dakota country side.
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It's Snowing!?
Approaching ever closer to Yellowstone the weather becomes contrasted to the warm embrace of summer we left behind.
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Montana
After many miles of flat plains the first real mountains come into view. The passing clouds leave snow upon their towering peaks.
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Calling To Me
The land calls to my spirit, tempting me to wander it's hills and climb it's peaks.
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A Purpose For Everything
One grain may seem insignificant when compared to a mountain; yet this plant feeds entire civilizations. One person may seem insignificant when compared to the universe; yet they have the capacity to love.
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Welcome To Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles comprised of lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. Did you know that half of the worls geothermal features reside here!? The Yellowstone ecosystem is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles including several endagered and protected species.
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Porcelain Basin
Pools of cobalt blues and emerald greens pock the landscape, boiling and spewing forth super heated water. The cold weather accentuating the show of billowing steam.
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Boiled Alive
The constantly shifting thermal activity can prove fatal to trees whose roots my be boiled alive by a newly forming hot spring just below the surface.
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Sleepy Morning
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Morning Frost
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Cold Breakfast
Bison chomp down on frosted grasses. For them this is just a mild taste of the winter to come, when night time temperatures commonly drop below 0 and the average annual snow fall is 150 inches (12.5 feet).
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Old Faithful
Yes, everyone goes to see Old Faithful. That is because it's flippin cool and you are unlikely to see activity from the other large geysers. Steam Boat in Yellowstone is the tallest geyser in the world, but major ereuptions range from 4 days apart to 50 years. 50 years! I think I will stick with the 90 minute intervals of old faithful.
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Alien Landscapes
It's hard to imagine that trillions of organisms thrive in the boiling waters of the hot springs, some so acidic they can burn holes through fabric. Microorganisms do not only survive here but require these conditions to live. Algae, protozoa, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and archaea all call these hydro thermal vents home. Individually these organisms are invisible to the naked eye but large colonies can be seen in mats of vibrant color and odd textures.
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Thermophiles
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Old Faithful Inn
People stand in admiration of the largest log hotel in the world. I think of ways to get a job in the park, this place is incredible.
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Rustic Architecture
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I Coul Stay for Hours
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Shared Journey
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Chipmunk Hideaway
Visiting with a friend at his home along the lake front.
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It's Queit Now
The sun is setting and the temperature begins to drop again. Most of the visitors are already back at their camps and cabins. The chill of the air barely registers as I stand quietly in this moment...
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Yellowstone Lake
The magenta sky of dusk creeps over Yellowstone Lake. My fellow travelers gracefully take over my cooking duties on the camp stove. I thank them and scurry off, camera in hand.
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Monster Mushroom
When hiking with a mushroom hunter don't be alarmed upon turning around to find that your companion seems to have vanished. The urge to seek out a fine porcini or chanterelle has gripped them and they are sure to be foraging the woods several yards off the path. This particular behemoth is an overly mature porcini (Boletus edulis), too old for eating but still an impressive specimen.
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Hello Baby!
A passing beauty catches this male Elk's attention.
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Stumbling Into Fantasy
Jim Henson's "Labrynth" immediately comes to mind upon visiting the Mud Volcano Trail. We must be getting close to the Goblin Kingdom.
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Mud Volcano
Vast quantities of steam bellow forth from a fissure of cracked earth.
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Mud Volcano Trail
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Kings of the Sky
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Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Words do not describe the beauty of this canyon. Many stand in jaw dropping silence between words of exclamation. Painted cliffs of red and yellow drop 1,000 feet to the swift moving waters of the Yellowstone River.
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