Such Majesty 2: Yellowstone

If ever there was a desire to further the personification of our Mother Earth, one possibility now obvious to me would be to tell tales of her flatulence, in the form of the volcanic springs and geysers of Yellowstone. Still, days after, the scent of sulfur lingers in my clothing. The park is home to several geyser basins, which contain hundreds of bubbling holes covered with bacterial colonies of almost unnatural colors and textures. Only a few look anything like I'd imagine a geyser would. Below is a shot of one that was true to my original mental image. This one just happened to go off as we were passing it by, and for close to ten minutes it drenched the walkway with a cool, sulfurous shower.

Such smelly Majesty

I've decided not to show a picture of Old Faithful as you can surely find much better photos easily. Also the only thing remarkable about it is its predictability, which is getting worse and worse as magma shifts the fissures and tourists throw shit into it. There are some geysers in the park that can explode up to 300ft in the air for the better part of an hour, but you need to be lucky to see it happen. But to get back to my point, the majority of the geysers are fairly calm, and are as I've said colorful, occasionally bubbly vats of bacteria. Check out a few in my Piscasa Album.

On wildlife spotting:

A certain acute sense of sight is developed when hours are spent carving the scenery for wildlife. The slightest movement, or simply anything remotely brown triggers it. This sense served me well, but after the trip it has become something of an annoyance. Even on the road back from WY, my eyes dashed back and fourth every few seconds focusing on the humdrum sights of pastured cows, horses, and tree trunks.

Allow me to now list the priority of wildlife spotting according to my father:

The Abridged List
-Grizzly Bear
-Bull Moose
-Black Bear
-Bald Eagle
-Bison
-Bull Elk
-Female Deer/Moose/Elk
-Rodents with fat tails
-Rodents with skinny tails
-Other Birds of Prey
-Birds with long necks
-Birds with no remarkable features
-Plants (green, et al.)
-Microbes (within bacteria mats)

I'd say that this is a pretty standard list for most people. I was able to observe these preferences based on what animals my dad stopped the car for. One near the top would merit a round of photos followed by a second drive-by, whereas further towards the bottom perhaps he would slow down to 5 below the speed limit (as opposed to his normal cruising speed of 3 below). And of course, once you've seen one of an animal, it loses it's place, only to return after a few hours of spotting nothing above a small rodent. Apparently once you've seen an elk, it not longer becomes worth stopping to see them. On any other day an elk sighting would be a story to tell for days. But, then again, how often do elk come marching down the road in Maryland. So anyway, I didn't even have to try to see this guy, as he was munching on dandelions right next to the road:

Such Majesty (and yet so adorable).

He must have liked people because he chose to stop right next to a stretch of road where several cars were pulled over taking pictures of the scenery. I assume it occurred in that order.

There is so much more I could talk about in Yellowstone, but I'll leave it to you to go and experience it for yourself. I was able to see most of the interesting sites in two and a half days, but as I had neither the time nor the right people with me, there were tons of trails and campgrounds I didn't set foot on. I end my post with a shot of Artist's Point, the most photographed view in Yellowstone for obvious reasons. I'd tell you to just Google it like I did with Old Faithful, but I just like my photo so much.

Such Majesty.
(With no sarcasm this time)

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Still, to be continued...