We hunted the big metropolis of West Yellowstone, MT this morning in search of swimsuits. The hotel we are staying in has an indoor heated pool with a waterslide, so of course that's where the boys have their sights. And knowing that it was going to be cold, we didn't come prepared for swimming. After we finished our shopping it was back to the park!
We were diving through what seemed like a blizzard when we first headed in, and all day the weather went back and forth from blowing snows to clouds and sun. We had called Brandy (Nathan's sister) to try to coordinate a time that she could watch us on the Old Faithful webcam. We told her that it would probably take us an hour to get there. Shortly after entering the park though we got caught up watching the wildlife. Nathan spotted a bald eagle perched WAY up in a tree by the river, and just a little bit futher down the road, we found a nest with another eagle in it. We also spotted more elk, ducks, trumpter swans, geese, ravens, herons, osprey, and bison today. We decided we had better get it in gear though and head on to Old Faithful or we would end up missing the projected eruption time. We got there with just a few minutes to spare and were able to wave at Brandy live on the webcam. http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm
The ranger's station just up the walk was open, so we then decided to check out what they had inside since they were already closed when we came by yesterday. The boys are now busy again working on another junior scout badge for this park. We took time to watch an educational film on Yellowstone. We learned more about the thermal layers and all that is happening beneath us. Kinda makes you rethink how safe you are standing out there on those boardwalks by the geysers. One hundred miles below us is boiling magma which causes the underground water to heat to boiling. As the pressure increases the water finds fissures and openings to escape through. There are signs all around warning about the fragile land around the walkways. There could possible be boiling mud or acidic liquids and gases just beneath the surface. Old Faithful erupts about every hour and a half and shoots out 4,000-6,000 gallons of water at each eruption. It spews for up to 5 minutes each time.
After our movie, we went back out to the webcam and waved to Tom, Marty, Rita, Katelin, and Brooklin. After this we hiked around a trail that led us past many other vents, pools, and geysers. We were able to see Beehive Geyser this time also. It actually shoots up to 200 feet at times, but only erupts twice daily. We have included pictures from our winter hike of some of the many wonders in the park. God is SOOOO awesome! All the pictures are wonderful, but be sure to notice the reflection of the sky in the pool. Old Faithful was gearing up again when we came back around at 5:05, so we called Brandy and she was able to share the experience again with us as she, Derek, Dameon, Brayden, and Bailey watched via the webcam.
Samuel has decided that he has seen enough snow for awhile. They were good sports, but it did get pretty brisk out on the boardwalk today when the wind was blowing the snow. They were thrilled to get back to the hotel and enjoy the pool and slide!
Pictures are coming. It seems to be running slow tonight and not cooperating.
We were diving through what seemed like a blizzard when we first headed in, and all day the weather went back and forth from blowing snows to clouds and sun. We had called Brandy (Nathan's sister) to try to coordinate a time that she could watch us on the Old Faithful webcam. We told her that it would probably take us an hour to get there. Shortly after entering the park though we got caught up watching the wildlife. Nathan spotted a bald eagle perched WAY up in a tree by the river, and just a little bit futher down the road, we found a nest with another eagle in it. We also spotted more elk, ducks, trumpter swans, geese, ravens, herons, osprey, and bison today. We decided we had better get it in gear though and head on to Old Faithful or we would end up missing the projected eruption time. We got there with just a few minutes to spare and were able to wave at Brandy live on the webcam. http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm
The ranger's station just up the walk was open, so we then decided to check out what they had inside since they were already closed when we came by yesterday. The boys are now busy again working on another junior scout badge for this park. We took time to watch an educational film on Yellowstone. We learned more about the thermal layers and all that is happening beneath us. Kinda makes you rethink how safe you are standing out there on those boardwalks by the geysers. One hundred miles below us is boiling magma which causes the underground water to heat to boiling. As the pressure increases the water finds fissures and openings to escape through. There are signs all around warning about the fragile land around the walkways. There could possible be boiling mud or acidic liquids and gases just beneath the surface. Old Faithful erupts about every hour and a half and shoots out 4,000-6,000 gallons of water at each eruption. It spews for up to 5 minutes each time.
After our movie, we went back out to the webcam and waved to Tom, Marty, Rita, Katelin, and Brooklin. After this we hiked around a trail that led us past many other vents, pools, and geysers. We were able to see Beehive Geyser this time also. It actually shoots up to 200 feet at times, but only erupts twice daily. We have included pictures from our winter hike of some of the many wonders in the park. God is SOOOO awesome! All the pictures are wonderful, but be sure to notice the reflection of the sky in the pool. Old Faithful was gearing up again when we came back around at 5:05, so we called Brandy and she was able to share the experience again with us as she, Derek, Dameon, Brayden, and Bailey watched via the webcam.
Samuel has decided that he has seen enough snow for awhile. They were good sports, but it did get pretty brisk out on the boardwalk today when the wind was blowing the snow. They were thrilled to get back to the hotel and enjoy the pool and slide!
Pictures are coming. It seems to be running slow tonight and not cooperating.
Trish, we found this hotel in West Yellowstone and got a picture just for you! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment