Incoherent Ramblings of an East Coast Sasquatch: Yellowstone Journal 2006
Sorry for the length, but here's what I've been up to so far...
Day 1: Sunday, June 4, 2006
We departed Westminster a few minutes past 6:00 AM. Mom drove to Morgantown. We stopped to eat brunch at Eat’n Park with Kerry. After a farewell (too short) with Kerry, we were back on the interstate. We drove about 1000 miles and slept in a hotel east of Des Moines, Iowa.
Day 2: Monday June 5, 2006
We woke up at 5:30 AM and took advantage of the continental breakfast at the hotel. We were soon back on the road. The drive through Iowa was surprisingly not flat In fact, it bore a strange resemblance to Carroll County. We continued on through Nebraska, were we saw the first pronghorn antelope of the trip. Western Nebraska is awful flat and roads go on forever. After hours of mindless driving and a brief stop in Cabela’s, we finally reached Wyoming. A phone call with Kenny resulted in my distraction and subsequent failure to get a picture of the “Welcome to Wyoming” sign. Mom actually cursed as we watched the sign go past. Wyoming could best be described as vast desolate prairies interspersed with decent numbers of antelope and cattle. Medicine Bow National Forest had some larger, dense forests and spectacular rock formations. The gas stations along I-80 in Wyoming were rather sparse. The price of gas ranged anywhere from $2.63 to $2.99 per gallon. The speed limit in Nebraska and Wyoming is generally 75 mph on the interstate, and almost all drivers travel between 70 and 80 mph. This makes for easy, fast transit. We traveled roughly another thousand miles today, and secured a motel room in Rock Springs, WY. Tomorrow we journey north, and aim to arrive at the Tetons around lunch. I’m missing Kerry a good bit, which has been worsened by all the sappy country songs on the radio stations out here.
Day 3: Tuesday June 6, 2006
Today we woke up around 7:00 AM in Rock Springs, WY. We drove about 4 hours north through some very barren country. I took some pictures of a cattle herder and some of his sheep. We also saw large numbers of pronghorn antelope, especially near the watering holes. Eventually we arrived at Jackson, WY. We elected to eat lunch at Pizza Hut. We stopped at a wetland along the road and saw coot, black duck, mallard duck, and yellow-headed blackbirds. Mom and I took a 5 or 6 mile hike around Taggart and Bradley Lakes. The hike was absolutely gorgeous, and the majestic Tetons loomed overhead. Among other things, we observed a pair of yellow warblers and numerous wildflowers. The mosquitoes were quite bothersome in certain locations. After the hike, we continued driving north. We stopped along the northern reaches of Jackson Lake and I captured a boreal toad. I also heard numerous western chorus frogs calling. There call resembles that of someone running their finger down a comb. We stopped at a crowd of people and saw a moose and her offspring in a wetland alongside the road. We also watched several groups of elk and a marmot. In addition, we saw ground squirrels, assorted hawks, crows, ravens, a strange warbler near the campsite (yellow and orange and black…doesn’t really narrow it down much). Mom and I watched 2 groups of elk on opposite side of Snake River from our campsite. Hearing strange noises in the dark as I am typing this. Bear spray close at hand. Deer? Elk? Bear? Aaah….a bugle…must be an elk. Mom is sleeping 20 feet away and oblivious. At any rate, we took a little journey into Yellowstone National Park this evening to do a bit of preliminary scoping. We cruised along the spectacular gorge of the Lewis River. There are some spectacular drop-offs combined with short, dilapidated and/or non-existent guardrails. As it turns out, there still is an awful lot of snow in certain expanses of the park. More noises now…chorus frogs, grouse drumming, another unknown frog, and various maniacal birds. Pretty cool. Not a bad place to have a summer job. I’m missing Kerry a bit more with each passing day. I really, really hope she comes out to visit. I am also going to miss the friends and family this summer, especially once the female maternal unit leaves (Friday morning). I suppose I’d better get some shuteye. The plan is to wake up fairly early and head back into Yellowstone National Park. It feels really great to have finished the marathon of driving.
Day 4: Wednesday June 7, 2006
I write now from the dry retreat of the Subaru. We woke up around 6:00 AM this morning to the call of sandhill cranes and drove north into the park. We drove more or less the entire loop road, spare the segment from West Thumb to Madison. Wildlife seen today: hooded merganser, Barrow’s goldeneye, grizzly bear (within ½ mile of my dorm…yikes), black bear, American bison, mule deer, violet-green swallow, white pelican, elk, marmot, western grebe (very cool looking bird), bald eagle, mallard duck and red squirrel. We visited countless waterfalls, thermal features, and overlooks. At West Thumb Geyser Basin, we saw yellow monkey flowers. We scouted Mt. Washburn since we were driving by the trailhead. The trail looks quite snowy but tempting. Unfortunately, there were no vacant campsites anywhere near Mt. Washburn. Consequently, we had to drive all the way to Madison campground to find an available campsite. Unfortunately, thunderstorms followed us, and after a short nap in the hammock and a spaghetti dinner, a period of torrential downpour and cataclysmic lighting ensued. Today’s whirlwind tour allowed us to view a tremendous amount of Yellowstone’s natural beauty and grandeur.
While traveling by Lake Village, we elected to check out my housing for the upcoming 8 weeks. The building is called Utah Dorm. I couldn’t tell you why. It just is. At any rate, the building is older, but looks very livable inside. It will do quite nicely. Everything seems to be falling in line. The last variables are the coworkers. Hopefully they are compatible, and given the nature of the job, I think I will get along with them just fine.
As it turns out, I do receive patchy Verizon coverage in certain regions of the park (though not at the dorm ). The dorm does at least have a landline, which will be nice. I tried calling Kerry today, but she did not pickup. She is probably on her way back from ginseng sampling in New York. At least she’s done with that project for a little while. With some luck she will be able to come out this way around the time I wrap up work. Until then I’ll have to keep chugging on memories, phone calls, letters, and a certain green shirt. . She deserves a break from work, and I think she’d be in heaven out here. Might be able to scratch one of my promises off the ol’ to do list if she comes…
The rain seems to be calming down to a reasonable level. I might think about bed in a little bit. It is nice and dry in here though…
Day 5: Thursday June 8, 2006
Woke up early this morning, ate breakfast, and packed up wet tents. Drove to Dunraven Pass. En route we were caught in two Yellowstone traffic jams…buffalo herds in the road… We hiked the trail up Washburn (3 miles each way). About a third of the distance was covered in snow, making for a challenging hike. No sheep seen, but we did see some scat. After traversing a knife edge of snow, we arrived at the top. On top of the mountain, there is an old fire tower which has been converted into a cell tower. The lower floor is a warming station, complete with power outlets and working lights…never mind that we are at 10,000+ ft ASL and 3 miles from the parking lot! Very strange indeed! The wind on top was very intense (60 mph+) with temperatures around 50 degrees. There were some very unprepared people on the mountain, including one brave soul in socks and sandals. All in all, this was a very enjoyable hike.
After a second lunch in canyon village, complete with some top-notch carrot cake, we drove down to Old Faithful. We were very fortunate to arrive just minutes before an eruption. There was a decent size crowd at the geyser, but nothing compared to what prime season will bring. We continued on and hiked around some of the other thermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin. On the way back to camp, I stopped to fish in the Firehole River (fish jumping all over; mayfly hatch), but was forced to pack up due to looming clouds of death. Torrential rain ensued.
Wildlife list for today: Bison, elk, golden ____(mantled?) ground squirrel, red squirrel, gray jay, snow bunting (2 females on top of Washburn, a new addition to my life list), white pelican, lesser scaup, American widgeon, mallard duck, raven, osprey, American robin, and some miscellaneous sparrows.
In addition, I photographed a number of wildflowers today, some from the artic tundra zone on Mt. Washburn and others in the Upper Geyser Basin. All in all, today was a good day. I drop mom off at the West Yellowstone airport tomorrow morning, and after that I’m on my own for two months. Yikes! It has been really nice having her along for the ride out her and a relaxing a little bit before work starts. I think once she leaves I am suddenly going to be hit with how much I miss certain folks back home. I did at least get a text message from Kerry today, and that was exciting. I had not heard from her in a while, and I was missing her pretty badly. I love her.
Well, the battery on the laptop is almost dead now, I better wrap this up. The next entry will be from my dorm in Lake Village. It looks like I am sleeping in the Subaru tonight. Later…
Day 6: Friday, June 9, 2006
We woke up, ate oatmeal, and drove to West Yellowstone. Sleeping in the Subaru wasn’t bad, though by morning I had steamed up all the windows. The airport in West Yellowstone is tiny. Apparently they do 2 flights per day during the week, and three on weekends. A total of maybe 10 people staff the facility. The same lady who checked us in also gave incoming pilots weather updates, loaded baggage, and helped with security. Furthermore, the same lady ended up riding on the same plane my mother was riding.
I am now alone.
On the way back to the dorm, I stopped in West Yellowstone to get some groceries. Generally speaking, food was a bit more expensive than back home, although red meat was considerably cheaper. I called Kenny and Kerry before heading back into the park.
On the way back, it began to rain.
I managed to move the rest of my gear into the dorm during a pause in the rain. I spent the next few hours unpacking and catching up on personal hygiene. Then I went and checked for mail at Lake Station Post Office. Much to my delight, Kerry had sent me a letter. She is such a tease…silly girl.
In the evening, I took a drive up through Hayden Valley to Canyon Village. I got gas and saw some wildlife. Most notably, I saw common mergansers, which I had not positively identified prior to today.
Day 7: Saturday, June 10, 2006
I slept in a bit this morning. It was still overcast and raining. After a few hours, the rain subsided and I took a drive up to Fishing Bridge and out to Sylvan Lake. At Pelican Creek I stopped to observe waterfowl. I also discovered that I have a bit of cellular phone coverage there and called mom (made it home safe) and Kerry. Not far past Fishing Bridge, I stopped at a crowd of cars alongside the road. Up on the hill, a subadult grizzly bear was laying in the grass. Among the crowd of people were two men that may well have been professional wildlife photographers. They both had 400-600mm lenses, Gitzu tripods (one was carbon fiber), and very nice camera bodies (two Canons, one Nikon). I was pretty jealous of their setups.
Further down the road, I stopped alongside Yellowstone Lake and observed some gulls. Many photographs were taken, and I hope to identify these birds in the near future. The rest of the drive to Sylvan Lake was dominated by burnt forest underlain with a carpet of wildflowers, especially yellow troutlilies. At Sylvan Lake there were several pairs of Barrow’s Goldeneye.
One week away from home complete. About eight more to go.
Day 8: Sunday, June 11, 2006
Woke up this morning around 7:00 AM and drove to Pocatello, Idaho with Neil, Polly, and Debra. The drive was pleasant, and we got to know each other a little bit. On one of the roadside ponds we stopped briefly to watch some birds. Most noteworthy was a black tern (new addition to lifelist), which evidently are quite uncommon in this part of the world.
We stopped in a store in Pocatello and picked up some provisions. We even snagged a dish rack, of which we were in dire need. The drive back was rather uneventful, though I did manage to talk to the parents and the Kerry along the way.
Note to self: Call Jess sometime
Shortly after our return, Alex arrived at the dorm. After a brief introduction and a bit of eating, Alex, Neil and I took a drive up to Dunraven Pass and watched some wildlife. The western grebe hardly has moved since I first noticed him. When we got back from our drive, Jamie had made it to the dorm. Didn’t talk to her all that much, but she seems like she has a good sense of humor.
Well, I better be off to bed. We start real work tomorrow.
Day 9: Monday, June 12, 2006
I woke up, showered, ate and met the rest of the field crew in the common room around 9:00 AM for the official start of this position. We filled out a small mountain of paperwork and then were introduced to some of our field equipment. We did a trial exercise with our new GPS. Its is pretty awesome. It is full color, shows maps (with roads and topography), and is quite speedy. As an added bonus, it comes loaded with some games (note to self: bring extra batteries).
In the afternoon, we took a trip to Indian Pond and looked at some amphibians. We saw lots of boreal toad tadpoles and some Columbia spotted frog tadpoles. As we wandered back to the car, we found adult Columbia spotted frogs (~4), adult boreal toads (2), and a chorus frog. (Both frogs were new additions to my life list).
This evening we (Neil, Yale, Jaime, Alex, and I) took a drive in the Subaru down to West Thumb Geyser Basin. En route, we stopped to watch some elk alongside the road. I took a fair number of pictures. Kerry called while I had an elk about 15 feet away from me. Odd. I talked to Kerry on the phone for a while. She still does not know if she will be able to come out and visit or not. I really hope she comes out. After the elk stopped, we toured the geyser basin and ended up talking for a while in the bug-free sauna created by one of the thermal pools.
Well, early day tomorrow, time to turn in for the night.
Day 1: Sunday, June 4, 2006
We departed Westminster a few minutes past 6:00 AM. Mom drove to Morgantown. We stopped to eat brunch at Eat’n Park with Kerry. After a farewell (too short) with Kerry, we were back on the interstate. We drove about 1000 miles and slept in a hotel east of Des Moines, Iowa.
Day 2: Monday June 5, 2006
We woke up at 5:30 AM and took advantage of the continental breakfast at the hotel. We were soon back on the road. The drive through Iowa was surprisingly not flat In fact, it bore a strange resemblance to Carroll County. We continued on through Nebraska, were we saw the first pronghorn antelope of the trip. Western Nebraska is awful flat and roads go on forever. After hours of mindless driving and a brief stop in Cabela’s, we finally reached Wyoming. A phone call with Kenny resulted in my distraction and subsequent failure to get a picture of the “Welcome to Wyoming” sign. Mom actually cursed as we watched the sign go past. Wyoming could best be described as vast desolate prairies interspersed with decent numbers of antelope and cattle. Medicine Bow National Forest had some larger, dense forests and spectacular rock formations. The gas stations along I-80 in Wyoming were rather sparse. The price of gas ranged anywhere from $2.63 to $2.99 per gallon. The speed limit in Nebraska and Wyoming is generally 75 mph on the interstate, and almost all drivers travel between 70 and 80 mph. This makes for easy, fast transit. We traveled roughly another thousand miles today, and secured a motel room in Rock Springs, WY. Tomorrow we journey north, and aim to arrive at the Tetons around lunch. I’m missing Kerry a good bit, which has been worsened by all the sappy country songs on the radio stations out here.
Day 3: Tuesday June 6, 2006
Today we woke up around 7:00 AM in Rock Springs, WY. We drove about 4 hours north through some very barren country. I took some pictures of a cattle herder and some of his sheep. We also saw large numbers of pronghorn antelope, especially near the watering holes. Eventually we arrived at Jackson, WY. We elected to eat lunch at Pizza Hut. We stopped at a wetland along the road and saw coot, black duck, mallard duck, and yellow-headed blackbirds. Mom and I took a 5 or 6 mile hike around Taggart and Bradley Lakes. The hike was absolutely gorgeous, and the majestic Tetons loomed overhead. Among other things, we observed a pair of yellow warblers and numerous wildflowers. The mosquitoes were quite bothersome in certain locations. After the hike, we continued driving north. We stopped along the northern reaches of Jackson Lake and I captured a boreal toad. I also heard numerous western chorus frogs calling. There call resembles that of someone running their finger down a comb. We stopped at a crowd of people and saw a moose and her offspring in a wetland alongside the road. We also watched several groups of elk and a marmot. In addition, we saw ground squirrels, assorted hawks, crows, ravens, a strange warbler near the campsite (yellow and orange and black…doesn’t really narrow it down much). Mom and I watched 2 groups of elk on opposite side of Snake River from our campsite. Hearing strange noises in the dark as I am typing this. Bear spray close at hand. Deer? Elk? Bear? Aaah….a bugle…must be an elk. Mom is sleeping 20 feet away and oblivious. At any rate, we took a little journey into Yellowstone National Park this evening to do a bit of preliminary scoping. We cruised along the spectacular gorge of the Lewis River. There are some spectacular drop-offs combined with short, dilapidated and/or non-existent guardrails. As it turns out, there still is an awful lot of snow in certain expanses of the park. More noises now…chorus frogs, grouse drumming, another unknown frog, and various maniacal birds. Pretty cool. Not a bad place to have a summer job. I’m missing Kerry a bit more with each passing day. I really, really hope she comes out to visit. I am also going to miss the friends and family this summer, especially once the female maternal unit leaves (Friday morning). I suppose I’d better get some shuteye. The plan is to wake up fairly early and head back into Yellowstone National Park. It feels really great to have finished the marathon of driving.
Day 4: Wednesday June 7, 2006
I write now from the dry retreat of the Subaru. We woke up around 6:00 AM this morning to the call of sandhill cranes and drove north into the park. We drove more or less the entire loop road, spare the segment from West Thumb to Madison. Wildlife seen today: hooded merganser, Barrow’s goldeneye, grizzly bear (within ½ mile of my dorm…yikes), black bear, American bison, mule deer, violet-green swallow, white pelican, elk, marmot, western grebe (very cool looking bird), bald eagle, mallard duck and red squirrel. We visited countless waterfalls, thermal features, and overlooks. At West Thumb Geyser Basin, we saw yellow monkey flowers. We scouted Mt. Washburn since we were driving by the trailhead. The trail looks quite snowy but tempting. Unfortunately, there were no vacant campsites anywhere near Mt. Washburn. Consequently, we had to drive all the way to Madison campground to find an available campsite. Unfortunately, thunderstorms followed us, and after a short nap in the hammock and a spaghetti dinner, a period of torrential downpour and cataclysmic lighting ensued. Today’s whirlwind tour allowed us to view a tremendous amount of Yellowstone’s natural beauty and grandeur.
While traveling by Lake Village, we elected to check out my housing for the upcoming 8 weeks. The building is called Utah Dorm. I couldn’t tell you why. It just is. At any rate, the building is older, but looks very livable inside. It will do quite nicely. Everything seems to be falling in line. The last variables are the coworkers. Hopefully they are compatible, and given the nature of the job, I think I will get along with them just fine.
As it turns out, I do receive patchy Verizon coverage in certain regions of the park (though not at the dorm ). The dorm does at least have a landline, which will be nice. I tried calling Kerry today, but she did not pickup. She is probably on her way back from ginseng sampling in New York. At least she’s done with that project for a little while. With some luck she will be able to come out this way around the time I wrap up work. Until then I’ll have to keep chugging on memories, phone calls, letters, and a certain green shirt. . She deserves a break from work, and I think she’d be in heaven out here. Might be able to scratch one of my promises off the ol’ to do list if she comes…
The rain seems to be calming down to a reasonable level. I might think about bed in a little bit. It is nice and dry in here though…
Day 5: Thursday June 8, 2006
Woke up early this morning, ate breakfast, and packed up wet tents. Drove to Dunraven Pass. En route we were caught in two Yellowstone traffic jams…buffalo herds in the road… We hiked the trail up Washburn (3 miles each way). About a third of the distance was covered in snow, making for a challenging hike. No sheep seen, but we did see some scat. After traversing a knife edge of snow, we arrived at the top. On top of the mountain, there is an old fire tower which has been converted into a cell tower. The lower floor is a warming station, complete with power outlets and working lights…never mind that we are at 10,000+ ft ASL and 3 miles from the parking lot! Very strange indeed! The wind on top was very intense (60 mph+) with temperatures around 50 degrees. There were some very unprepared people on the mountain, including one brave soul in socks and sandals. All in all, this was a very enjoyable hike.
After a second lunch in canyon village, complete with some top-notch carrot cake, we drove down to Old Faithful. We were very fortunate to arrive just minutes before an eruption. There was a decent size crowd at the geyser, but nothing compared to what prime season will bring. We continued on and hiked around some of the other thermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin. On the way back to camp, I stopped to fish in the Firehole River (fish jumping all over; mayfly hatch), but was forced to pack up due to looming clouds of death. Torrential rain ensued.
Wildlife list for today: Bison, elk, golden ____(mantled?) ground squirrel, red squirrel, gray jay, snow bunting (2 females on top of Washburn, a new addition to my life list), white pelican, lesser scaup, American widgeon, mallard duck, raven, osprey, American robin, and some miscellaneous sparrows.
In addition, I photographed a number of wildflowers today, some from the artic tundra zone on Mt. Washburn and others in the Upper Geyser Basin. All in all, today was a good day. I drop mom off at the West Yellowstone airport tomorrow morning, and after that I’m on my own for two months. Yikes! It has been really nice having her along for the ride out her and a relaxing a little bit before work starts. I think once she leaves I am suddenly going to be hit with how much I miss certain folks back home. I did at least get a text message from Kerry today, and that was exciting. I had not heard from her in a while, and I was missing her pretty badly. I love her.
Well, the battery on the laptop is almost dead now, I better wrap this up. The next entry will be from my dorm in Lake Village. It looks like I am sleeping in the Subaru tonight. Later…
Day 6: Friday, June 9, 2006
We woke up, ate oatmeal, and drove to West Yellowstone. Sleeping in the Subaru wasn’t bad, though by morning I had steamed up all the windows. The airport in West Yellowstone is tiny. Apparently they do 2 flights per day during the week, and three on weekends. A total of maybe 10 people staff the facility. The same lady who checked us in also gave incoming pilots weather updates, loaded baggage, and helped with security. Furthermore, the same lady ended up riding on the same plane my mother was riding.
I am now alone.
On the way back to the dorm, I stopped in West Yellowstone to get some groceries. Generally speaking, food was a bit more expensive than back home, although red meat was considerably cheaper. I called Kenny and Kerry before heading back into the park.
On the way back, it began to rain.
I managed to move the rest of my gear into the dorm during a pause in the rain. I spent the next few hours unpacking and catching up on personal hygiene. Then I went and checked for mail at Lake Station Post Office. Much to my delight, Kerry had sent me a letter. She is such a tease…silly girl.
In the evening, I took a drive up through Hayden Valley to Canyon Village. I got gas and saw some wildlife. Most notably, I saw common mergansers, which I had not positively identified prior to today.
Day 7: Saturday, June 10, 2006
I slept in a bit this morning. It was still overcast and raining. After a few hours, the rain subsided and I took a drive up to Fishing Bridge and out to Sylvan Lake. At Pelican Creek I stopped to observe waterfowl. I also discovered that I have a bit of cellular phone coverage there and called mom (made it home safe) and Kerry. Not far past Fishing Bridge, I stopped at a crowd of cars alongside the road. Up on the hill, a subadult grizzly bear was laying in the grass. Among the crowd of people were two men that may well have been professional wildlife photographers. They both had 400-600mm lenses, Gitzu tripods (one was carbon fiber), and very nice camera bodies (two Canons, one Nikon). I was pretty jealous of their setups.
Further down the road, I stopped alongside Yellowstone Lake and observed some gulls. Many photographs were taken, and I hope to identify these birds in the near future. The rest of the drive to Sylvan Lake was dominated by burnt forest underlain with a carpet of wildflowers, especially yellow troutlilies. At Sylvan Lake there were several pairs of Barrow’s Goldeneye.
One week away from home complete. About eight more to go.
Day 8: Sunday, June 11, 2006
Woke up this morning around 7:00 AM and drove to Pocatello, Idaho with Neil, Polly, and Debra. The drive was pleasant, and we got to know each other a little bit. On one of the roadside ponds we stopped briefly to watch some birds. Most noteworthy was a black tern (new addition to lifelist), which evidently are quite uncommon in this part of the world.
We stopped in a store in Pocatello and picked up some provisions. We even snagged a dish rack, of which we were in dire need. The drive back was rather uneventful, though I did manage to talk to the parents and the Kerry along the way.
Note to self: Call Jess sometime
Shortly after our return, Alex arrived at the dorm. After a brief introduction and a bit of eating, Alex, Neil and I took a drive up to Dunraven Pass and watched some wildlife. The western grebe hardly has moved since I first noticed him. When we got back from our drive, Jamie had made it to the dorm. Didn’t talk to her all that much, but she seems like she has a good sense of humor.
Well, I better be off to bed. We start real work tomorrow.
Day 9: Monday, June 12, 2006
I woke up, showered, ate and met the rest of the field crew in the common room around 9:00 AM for the official start of this position. We filled out a small mountain of paperwork and then were introduced to some of our field equipment. We did a trial exercise with our new GPS. Its is pretty awesome. It is full color, shows maps (with roads and topography), and is quite speedy. As an added bonus, it comes loaded with some games (note to self: bring extra batteries).
In the afternoon, we took a trip to Indian Pond and looked at some amphibians. We saw lots of boreal toad tadpoles and some Columbia spotted frog tadpoles. As we wandered back to the car, we found adult Columbia spotted frogs (~4), adult boreal toads (2), and a chorus frog. (Both frogs were new additions to my life list).
This evening we (Neil, Yale, Jaime, Alex, and I) took a drive in the Subaru down to West Thumb Geyser Basin. En route, we stopped to watch some elk alongside the road. I took a fair number of pictures. Kerry called while I had an elk about 15 feet away from me. Odd. I talked to Kerry on the phone for a while. She still does not know if she will be able to come out and visit or not. I really hope she comes out. After the elk stopped, we toured the geyser basin and ended up talking for a while in the bug-free sauna created by one of the thermal pools.
Well, early day tomorrow, time to turn in for the night.