Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Day 7: Helena, Montana
Total Miles Traveled: 2,756
I spent the better part of the past three days at Yellowstone National Park. I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by volcanic activity, especially since seeing active lava flows in Hawaii. I was able see many different geysers, hot springs, steam vents and other thermal areas. Speaking of steam vents, I was reminded of work while I was in the Norris Geyser Basin area and saw several steam vents. See if you can guess how I was reminded of work from the following two pictures:
Well, these steam vents reminded me of some of my clients as they are basically just blowing a lot of hot air. The pictures only tell part of the story as they also smelled really bad. I thought I was going on vacation to get away from work….oh, well.
I’ve also seen a lot of different wildlife. I’ve seen elk, bison, deer, cows, turkey and tourista nipponus. This last creature, tourista nipponus, is an interesting specimen. They typically travel in packs and can only be found at national parks or other popular tourist areas, generally near a large Greyhound-style bus. They are generally docile, but will attempt to get you to take their picture, generally by holding their camera out with two hands and nodding their heads. Something else to watch out for when in the presence of tourista nipponus, is the invasion of personal space. I have experienced this invasion of personal space before in Hawaii, so I was on my guard this time and had no major issues (i.e. I didn’t almost toss some old Japanese woman in the water like I did in Hawaii!).
Seriously, I was able to see a lot of the park and really enjoyed my visit. I was able to take a lot of pictures. Enjoy this sampling:
I also was able to see several geysers, including Old Faithful:
and the Great Fountain Geyser:
I also made a side trip down to Grand Teton National Park. All I can say is WOW!
Tomorrow I’m off to Glacier National Park. I’m not sure when I will have internet access again, but will post an update as soon as possible.
I spent the better part of the past three days at Yellowstone National Park. I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by volcanic activity, especially since seeing active lava flows in Hawaii. I was able see many different geysers, hot springs, steam vents and other thermal areas. Speaking of steam vents, I was reminded of work while I was in the Norris Geyser Basin area and saw several steam vents. See if you can guess how I was reminded of work from the following two pictures:
Well, these steam vents reminded me of some of my clients as they are basically just blowing a lot of hot air. The pictures only tell part of the story as they also smelled really bad. I thought I was going on vacation to get away from work….oh, well.
I’ve also seen a lot of different wildlife. I’ve seen elk, bison, deer, cows, turkey and tourista nipponus. This last creature, tourista nipponus, is an interesting specimen. They typically travel in packs and can only be found at national parks or other popular tourist areas, generally near a large Greyhound-style bus. They are generally docile, but will attempt to get you to take their picture, generally by holding their camera out with two hands and nodding their heads. Something else to watch out for when in the presence of tourista nipponus, is the invasion of personal space. I have experienced this invasion of personal space before in Hawaii, so I was on my guard this time and had no major issues (i.e. I didn’t almost toss some old Japanese woman in the water like I did in Hawaii!).
Seriously, I was able to see a lot of the park and really enjoyed my visit. I was able to take a lot of pictures. Enjoy this sampling:
I also was able to see several geysers, including Old Faithful:
and the Great Fountain Geyser:
I also made a side trip down to Grand Teton National Park. All I can say is WOW!
Tomorrow I’m off to Glacier National Park. I’m not sure when I will have internet access again, but will post an update as soon as possible.
# posted by Marcus @ 10:09 PM 
