Grizzly

The Sottung girls slept in while Kyle and Laura tried again to go run up a mountain. Unfortunately, they found the most exciting trails closed, due to the stubborn snow that refused to melt. They came back from the high altitudes to pick up the girls and take us to Yellowstone Falls. The waterfall itself was gorgeous, but it was the in the canyon when we finally realized why it's called 'Yellowstone'. The walls of the canyon are yellow. Go figure.

We stayed at the tourist viewpoints, noting the exceptional number of Japanese and waiting patiently to squeeze into a spot on the rocks for the obligatory waterfall backdrop photos. As we waited, the grey rainclouds overhead finally cleared a bit. The sunshine poured through and rainbows cut through the canyon. The Japanese cameras went nuts.

On our way back to the campsite, at the Fishing Bridge junction, there was another traffic jam. "Must be the bear jam," Kyle said. "Should we pull off?" We figured the bear would be far off in the field again, scavenging, but decided it was worth a second look. We pulled off to the side, last in line, when we realized that all the people were running towards us. The ranger was shouting, "Get in your cars! Get in your cars, now!"

The Grizzly bear appeared from behind a scanty row of trees, on our side of the road, not 30 yards from us. Oh my God. . . it was huge! Our eyes widened and we all gasped like startled prey. It was intimidating.

It was foraging again, clawing at the ground trying to snag roots. Mary Lou clicked photographs from the passenger seat as it moved closer and closer. When it stopped to look up and assess the massive traffic jam it had caused on the road, Mary Lou whispered loudly in terror, "Kyle! Is your finger on the window button? Kyle! Are you ready to close the window? Kyle!" Kyle assured her that he would close the window if it got any closer, and as it lumbered towards us, flashing its giant white claws, all the windows went up fast.

The Grizzly carried on down the hillside, barely bothered by the Japenese guy that tried to sneak around his car for a better shot or the ranger that shouted at him, "No! No! Are you freaking crazy?" We watched him sniff and pounce and dig for a few more minutes. It took that long for our heartbeats to slow and our blood pressure to drop. To come so close to something so powerful, so wild. . . unforgettable.


In the afternoon, we drove to Old Faithful. There was already quite a crowd when we reached, so we figured it was about time for the never fail 90 minute showtime. We waited patiently, readying our cameras at each teasing breath of steam that rose out of the small cone. Finally, eruption. It was fun. Not as exciting as some of the other things we had already seen, but, you have to see it once, right?

We spent some time in Old Faithful Lodge, admiring the log treehouse-like structure, taking advantage of the mobile and 3G signal that's nowhere else to be found in the park. 90 minutes later, it was time for Old Faithful to erupt again, and this time, it was much more impressive. Higher and longer than the first eruption, it definitely deserved an applause.

We walked around the rest of the geyser basin, oohing and aching over all the fantastic geysers. The centers of hot water were crystal clear, electric blue, the sides brilliant yellow and orange from the different thermopiles growing in the hot water. We saw lots of elk, bison and a yellow bellied marmot scampering around the valley.

For dinner, Mary Lou cooked up some yummy chicken and we finished off a few bottles of wine while playing pitch, a family favorite game. We taught Laura how to play, and she caught on in no time. She partnered with Mary Lou, so Nicole and Kyle were forced to be partners, a motherly preemptive move to reduce bickering.


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