A Family Reunion - Part 6

While Mick and Lisa continued to wander higher along the boardwalks I looked around me, contentedly waiting while enjoying the solitude of this moment and snapping occasional pictures.

I was in no rush to move on and I knew that LC and Kory would be fine for a while longer.

The weather continued to alternate between mild and cold, but there would be little sunshine on this day.

When you are in a place like Yellowstone National Park though, the weather means nothing.

 It is magical no matter the time of year and no matter the weather.................

And then finally I caught site of them.

They were having a good time.....................

Bison were everywhere in this section of the park.

Throughout our trip we encountered multiple big and small herds (containing both the huge behemoth-adults and the cute light browned calves).

We saw no bears on this trip, and the only elk we ran into were those in Mammoth Hots Springs proper...............

At one of our many stops we were greeted with the sign above, warning of a recent bear sighting.

A group of three visitors walked right by the sign without a glance, and continued down the trail seemingly unperturbed.

Mick and Lisa wandered past the sign as well, and then quickly split up - Lisa headed down the trail while Mick veered along a trail to the left.

Stunned, I turned to look at LC and we shared an unspoken communication.  We did not have time for extended stays at any one place, so my sister and her husband had a few hundred feet.

Beyond that we'd caution them to come back towards us.

Neither of them were armed, and LC and I had lived in the west long enough to be bear-aware.

Bear aware at all times of year, but especially in the spring when adults were hungry and had young.

LC watched Mick.

I watched Lisa.

My puppy happily waded out into the freezing cold pond that was still surrounded by a foot of compacted snow......................

Thankfully my sister and Mick did return to us quickly.

The other three tourists disappeared around a bend in the trail....................

In all the times that LC and I have been to Yellowstone, we had never been to Old Faithful.

We drove by it during one trip, looked over, saw the huge and commercial-looking compound of structures, saw the huge and packed parking lot, and decided that we didn't really need to see Old Faithful THAT badly.

Especially with so many other unexplored places inside the park.
But with Old Faithful being such an international favorite, we knew that we had to stop on this trip.
As LC, Lisa and Mick continued to wander down the wooden boardwalk headed for the geyser, I stayed back to snap a few quick pictures.
As I wandered from sign to sign, I looked down the boardwalk and saw water spraying from the geyser.
In my mind Old Faithful sprayed water hundreds of feet into the air, and so the spray I was seeing was obviously some kind of precursor to the main show.
Or so I thought.
Quickly I snapped my sign pictures and then rushed down the boardwalk to meet up with the others, not wanting to miss the big show.
By the time I found the others they were already turning away from the geyser.
The hundreds of other people who had been standing at the edge of the boardwalk, also turned.
I had MISSED it??
 That was IT??
I had seen it from a distance and had expected so much more...................         

Inside one of the information centers...................

 

Picture taken of me and Lisa at the YNP West Gate entrance.....................

Once back in the community of West Yellowstone, we all wandered a couple of gift stores, and I absently snapped random pictures of random things.

Like garbage cans painted with rustic and rugged western themes, western themed restaurant decor while waiting for our buffalo burgers, and a sign inviting tourists to participate in "Big Gun Fun".

It had been a very long day and we were still about 2 1/2 hours from home.

We only saw one small portion of the park on this day.

There was so much more that we wished we had time to explore with these Australian tourists.

But it was a quick one-day-trip and that would have to be good enough.

The next night they would be heading for the west coast on a bus.................

Maybe you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but like every American, you carry a deed to the 635 million acres of public lands.  That's right.  Even if you don't own a house or the latest computer on the market, you own Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Golder Gate National Recreation Area and many other national treasures...............John Garamendi.

Maybe you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but like every American, you carry a deed to 635 million acres of public lands. That's right. Even if you don't own a house or the latest computer on the market, you own Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and many other natural treasures. John Garamendi
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/yellowstone.html

Maybe you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but like every American, you carry a deed to 635 million acres of public lands. That's right. Even if you don't own a house or the latest computer on the market, you own Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and many other natural treasures. John Garamendi
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johngarame512694.html?src=t_yellowstone