WY #3 - YELLOWSTONE, Thermopolis and more of Dubois.

Monday, July 13^th – YELLOWSTONE!!!   Wow……. Now I know what everyone has raved about in this amazing national park, called “Mother Nature’s Wonder!” 2015 is their 143^rd Anniversary, and each year, over 3 million people visit the park.  It is home to more geysers than any other place on earth. It encompasses 2.2 million acres.  There are fantastic scenic vistas, mountains, lakes, rivers and streams galore, making it a spectacular feast for the eyes. We were advised to stay at least 100 yards away from bears, and 25 yards away from all other wildlife, but hey, as you’ll see as you read this blog, sometimes they come to YOU!   We were disappointed that we didn’t see any bear today or moose or elk.  Perhaps when we visit Yellowstone again from the northern entrance in Montana, we’ll see more. 

 Another "hot pool", one of many in the park.  Can you see the steam? There's always barricades so you can't get close enough to be burned.  Pretty amazing.

Check out the steam all over the place in the photo below.

 We saw several buffalo roaming around.

I showed you where we'd seen several buffalo or bison, whichever you want to call them, throughout the park, but as we were driving through and suddenly THIS happened!!!!

I was pretty excited.  Only after the fact did we think about the things that could have happened. We were warned that while these large animals may appear tame, they can charge without warning, so we were really really thankful this one did not feel inclined to charge our car! 

These are just a FEW of the many photos we took.  What a paradise for beautiful photography!

The weather could not have been more perfect today!  It was 60 degrees when we left Dubois, and after arriving in Yellowstone, it was about 70 and got up to a high of 76, sunny, clear and perfectly beautiful.  Even here in Dubois, when it's in the 60's you'll see lots of the locals wearing shorts and tank tops!  This is part of their 2 month summer.  By late August, winter will start arriving and then as it progresses becomes brutal.  We talked to one person who just hates winter, but she's always lived here, and family is here, so she stays.  We talked to several other people (which I hope is more common) that absolutely love it.  That's how Earl's brother feels about living in Canada - he'd never want to live where there were not long winters!  NOT this Florida girl.... no way Jose!  Florida's winters are plenty cold enough for me. haha

Tuesday - July 14th - A day of catching up and rest for us.  We spent several hours at the library where I finished the first 2 Wyoming blogs.  Thank goodness for good internet there.  We have lousy internet at our RV park. We need to go again tomorrow to get our phones and iPads synced and some other stuff.  But we thoroughly enjoyed our quiet day and then several hours of reading sitting outside this afternoon.  We are just across from a fenced area of woods and as I was quietly reading my book, I looked up to see a deer just calmly watching  me.  I moved quickly to get my camera but he darted away.  Phooey.  We cooked dinner in the RV and just had a relaxing evening.  Loving this lifestyle!

Wednesday - July 15th - Today was combination work and play.  We went into the library again to work on my blog and catch up on everything we needed by internet. We went to the P.O. to get our mail Lisa had forwarded to us. Then time to work...  caught up on several loads of laundry.  We've found that for long-time RVing like we're doing, it's easier to just go up and use the laundromat in the park and get several loads done at one time.  In the past when we RVd for only a few days or up to 2 weeks, the washer/dryer I have in the RV is fine, but because it's a combination one load takes about 2.5 hours, so rather than be doing laundry every day or so, we just let it pile up and catch up at one time.  We get to read while it's being done. Exciting news for y'all to read, I know.  haha 

We then enjoyed a scenic drive around the area.  We happened to see a very nondescript sign that said  "Scenic Drive" and it was just a gravel road, but we decided to take it and see what might be up there.  Oh my goodness, we kept climbing and climbing (it was COLD up there!) and got to the top and had a 360 degree view of the area.  BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Thursday, July 16 – We left fairly early today to drive through Wind River Canyon to Thermopolis.  What a drive! Part was through the canyon and much of the drive was through the Wind River Indian Reservation. As you come out of the canyon the Wind River joins the Big Horn River and it is beautiful! In 1896, a treaty was signed with the Shoshone and the Arapaho that gave the public use of one of the largest mineral hot springs in the world. The hot mineral waters are as much as 135 degrees! 

We went to Hot Springs State Park for most of the day, after a lunch in downtown Thermopolis.  We took a leisurely stroll along the Big Horn River and the boardwalk across the mineral terraces offered us outstanding views of the park’s major features and colorful living formations.

The swinging bridge across the Big Horn River was built in 1916, the removed in July 1991 and replaced in 1992.  It offered us a unique vantage point from which to view the Big Horn River and the Mineral Terrace.

 There is a State Bath House that is maintained at 104 degrees for public safety, and the public is allowed to go in and soak for 20 minutes.

 We came across this area with the most unusual rock formations we'd ever seen!  Can you believe this?  Of course Earl had to climb all the way up there and then talked me into climbing up there to see it up close.  Really amazing.

 Here's what it looks like up really close!  Weird, huh?

 And then of course we came across Spirit Hole!  Another place Earl felt compelled to explore!

Earl is asking, "Should I do it?"

 And he did!

We got our chairs out and enjoyed a shady spot by one of the “pools” and read for an hour or so...heavenly temperatures.

The Hot Springs State Park Bison is the central herd for the Wyoming State Park.  We just saw a few of them, but apparently there is a large herd that was established in 1916 and is a great example of the conservation efforts to preserve this magnificent species.

 What a simply spectacular day!  As we headed home we still had scenic views on all sides.

 Beautiful horses grazing are a common sight in the west.  Just lovely!

This was a scenic TINY Catholic Church.  I assume the priest might live in the tiny little house, and notice Mary up on the hill.... pretty.

 As usual, I’m almost sorry to be leaving here.  What a beautiful final week we've had in Wyoming!  We leave in the morning for an overnight in Rock Springs, WY and then on to Salt Lake City, Utah.  Stay tuned….