Day 5...Logan to West Yellowstone - Part 2

As we left Grand Tetons we pretty much went straight into Yellowstone. After Yosemite and then the Grand Tetons earlier today the first part of Yosemite was disappointing because we wanted grand and majestice vistas. Don't get me wrong they were there but the devastating fires of 88 had certainly taken their toll with the vegetation.

None the less the trees have begun regenerating and the great thing about what the Forest and Park Services are doing here is using the fact that fire is nature's way of cleansing things and have turned it into an oppotunity to explain what this actually means and the importance of it in the scheme of things.

  

As we moved further into the park the natural beauty of it began to come thorugh. This cannot be compared to Yosemite but nor should it be. It is different country. Volcanically active, the land has been shaped by entirely different forces than Yosemite, none the less I still expected to see bears stealing pic-a-nic baskets.

In this part of the park the centrepiece attraction is Old Faithful. Predictably erupting every 40 to 60 minutes we arrived shortly after an eruption. This area is set up for thousands of people and cars at any one time. Unfortunately I think they were all there when we arrived. Thankfully most were in the process of leaving. The area is well set up and there is plenty of seating which soon began to fill up. We sat down but immediately I found myself surrounded by people who had not read anything about what was going to happen.

I found (simply because I had read the material that was provided) I had become the "go  to" guy for all things geyserish. To alleviate my boredom I used this as an opportunity to stretch the truth about everything I was asked including the fact that when it erupted anyone hit by the spray would find their clothes rotting because of the acid in the water. As we were right in front a number of people moved back two or three rows and this gave us extra seating for the Naikey's who had wandered off to the food pavilion.  We waited for the big show (or should that be blow) and it duly came - but not without a few false starts.

What you notice first is the build up. The area is full of other geo- thermal vents which begin progressively producing steam as "Old Faithful" starts to kick off. Old Faithful itself then begins spluttering which in turn produces a flurry of "thar she blows" statements from everyone. This in turn creates a rush forward to photograph the event. The effect of this is a string of wave like movements that from the air probably look choreographed. The problem is that this goes on for the best part of thirty minutes. I remained calm and relaxed because - as I mentioned before - I had read the material supplied! 



 We all agreed it was worth the wait and the buildup was entertaining as much for the false starts as it was for watching the audience. Back on the bikes and on to Yellowstone Village for the night. As we road out of the park and into the Village it was early evening and we had had a big day. After a couple of beers around the bikes we called it a day. Tomorrow more of Yellowstone and then the formidable Beartooth Mountains and a ride through the fantastic Beartooth Pass which gets you across them.