The Yellowstone lake is vast, and we knew we wouldn’t be able to see it all on our schedule, so we targeted “West Thumb”. As we drove to the lake we went up in elevation and the air became cooler, we even saw patches of snow in areas of shade. As soon as the mountains started making an appearance we knew we were close. We arrived at the lake and needed our coats. This was encouraging; we had been trying to escape the heat of Texas the whole time. West Thumb was back-dropped by snow capped mountains and pine trees, the view was nothing less than spectacular.
I wanted to stay, I wanted to kayak! Yes! They had kayaking on the lake. Note to self, remember to stay longer. Though it was very windy again today and not the best conditions for getting out on the water, I still would have. The water, by the way, is crystal clear, and if I had a cup, probably would have tasted it. Walking back to the car we saw our first Yellowstone Park Ranger. Seriously, they are as scarce as big foot out here!
The Grand Tetons
Had I known, had I only known that The Grand Tetons were so magnificent I would have allotted more time. I couldn’t take my eyes off them, they were so amazing. The weather wasn’t the best for taking pictures; some clouds had moved in and were obscuring the tops of the three namesakes. We finally found a place to pull in called North Jenny Lake Junction. Lo and behold ANOTHER park ranger! We couldn’t believe it! This ranger was showing skins/furs from the animals native to this area and answering questions about the park. My parents started talking to him and found out that this time last year there was still four feet of snow on the ground! Glad we came this year. The current weather was delightful in my opinion, though as I mentioned before, not great for pictures of mountains. The temperature was around 68°F, breezy with light drizzle. Loved it!
You know those moments when you know you’ve stayed longer than you meant to but really don’t want to leave, this was one of those moments. The air here is different, probably because it’s clean. I kept taking deep breaths, not wanting it to end, not wanting to ever forget how the air smelled fresh and clean. “NERD ALERT” It reminded me of a character in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Treebeard, and he was an Int or a living tree. He told a story about an area of his forest where he could spend a week just breathing, I understood.
I didn't want to stop taking pictures, I couldn’t stop enjoying the view, I couldn’t stop taking those deep breaths of clean mountain air. I wanted to stay, I wanted to stay forever!
We headed for the park exit; my dad fared the worst having to keep his eye on the road, mine was fixed on the mountains. One last stop before we left was the Visitor Center. I have a tradition of buying pins from places I visit and affixing them to a NASA hat I got when I was a boy. While leaving the Visitor Center something familiar caught my eye. It was a Cooperative Observer site, maintained by NWS Riverton. I had to detour and check it out.
On the far left you have the 8-in rain gauge; the funnel is removed when snow is expected. In the middle is the Cotton Region Shelter. This houses the Max/Min thermometers, and possible a soil thermometer. Finally, the far right you can see the snow stick. This made me stop and rethink wanting to live here. If the stick is that tall it means they need it to be that tall so they can see it...when it snows...a lot!
Wyoming
I learned an important photography lesson while on this trip. When shooting from a moving vehicle, because you really want to get to your destination and don't want to stop, open your aperture as much as possible and crank up the shutter speed to at least 1/600 sec. They may require additional post-editing to correct for being underexposed, but you’ll at least have a good shot. Here’s two examples. The first is taken at 1/200 sec, and as you can see there is still motion blur at the bottom. The second was taken at 1/800 sec, and has no blur. If you have the sunlight, use it!
The road through Wyoming goes on and on and on and on and on! We learned a few thing on our journey. 1: The northwestern portion is most likely the prettiest it’s going to get. and 2: They have no trees anywhere else!! This made for an uneventful trip to Rawlins. Mile after mile we’d see these fences that were perpendicular to the highway. Turns out, when they received the mountains of snow every year, these fences prevent the snow from being blown by the wind and becoming hazardous to the roadway. I suppose they act like sand bars for the north. Finally, we made it to Rawlins, comforted by the fact that Colorado was less than a days drive away.
For more photos of Yellowstone visit Yellowstone!
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