Monday Grand Teton, Yellowstone park

This is mostly a photo entry because I simply have not had any time to write. Even now I am skirting my hotel's rule of being out by 11 because I just wanna finish something! In order to appease you, here are some pretty photos. -Bug

I wrote this while sitting in my car early on Monday:

I am finally learning what the phrase “breathtaking” means. The mountains in Grand Teton National Park are met by the calm waters of Jackson Lake. Still covered in snow, the mountains rise up along the horizon and create an atmosphere of strength and serenity. I could stay here forever. As I was driving up (searching for bears to no avail), my stomach started to ache. It was weird, like the beauty of this landscape is painful. The Grand Tetons are the youngest mountain peaks in the Rockies. This area is very popular amongst Ansel Adams students. The name les Grand Tetons translates to “the big breasts”, so I know a couple of you who will want to visit. Must be time for me to move on. I am sitting here at Jackson Lake with my door open, typing away and a bee keeps visiting me and having a hard time finding his way out of the car. I guess he thinks I should move along. I didn’t know park rangers came in such small sizes. How do they fit them for the uniform? There he is again. Okay sir! I am going!

Grand Teton

Jackson Lake, Wyoming

Then I drove into Yellowstone where I got to witness beautiful rapids.



But Yellowstone is still affected by the wildfire of 1988. It is sad, really. It looks like (quoting my mother) toothpicks stuck into a hill. You would think it would have regenerated by now. That was 20 years ago.
On my way out of the park, it started to rain. (Seriously, I have seen rain practically every day I have been driving in my car. Enough already.) The fire warnings were high, so I am sure the rangers were grateful, but the ground could not absorb it, and we drove through some seriously high rapids that formed on the street. It was a little scary. I don't know if you can see it in the following photo, but look at the lower left hand corner. Plus, there's me! Adorable me!

What's this traffic jam for?
Someone saw some elk.
And a bison
I found a bison skeleton. I asked the ranger about it and he said that the bison had died of starvation in the winter. I asked where it's head was and he shrugged, saying he did not know. I said a bear probably took it for a late night treat. And he said, have a good day.
This is a pool by Old Faithful. I decided to walk to the morning glory pool and found this on my way. See it is boiling.


This is the morning glory pool. Isn't it pretty? Doesn't smell pretty. Sulfurous odor that washed over you with a slap of heat. That baby is boiling, too.

It is just sad that people need to throw coins into bodies of water. I wish they would address why people throw things into fountains.

Here is a video of Old Faithful erupting. I was a little slow in filming, but you get the tail end. Enjoy!