Days 4 & 5

[hrj]

(to be posted when I get reception; pictures to be added later)

We open our scene in the late afternoon on Wwdnesday (day 5).

I'm looking at the hind ends of about 20 bison who are in no particular hurry to go anywhere. Based on some butt-sniffing and lip-curling, there also seems to be a non-zero chance of having a front row seat for some hot bison-on-bison action.

But now we return to Tuesday. Breakfast was eggs Benedict. I did manage to score a can of pre-made Hollandaise sauce. Making it from scratch under camping conditions is one of those things where it is sufficient to know that I could do it.

I drove down in the direction of Old Faithful, stopping for the walks at Fountain Paint Pots and the Midway Geyser Basin. I think my favorite feature for color is the ... hmm, the names start sounding all alike and it's awkward to switch from the LJ app to my notes. At any rate it's a deep blue pool that reflects blue off the rising mist, surrounded by rings of ochre and rust from the various thermophilic bacteria.

I did some minor souvenier shopping and took in another OF erruption then did the full walking tour of the OF basin. Managed to get the timing right for one of the less faithful but still regular geysers. Took lots of pictures that will look like everyone else's Yellowstone pictures once the thrill has passed.

I think the thing that really impresses my is not the big showy "named" features, but the thousands of little cracks and holes, emitting steam and bubbles everywhere you turn. What it must have been like to come upon this place not having any knowledge of what was here!

On my return to Madison I took in the Firehole Lake loop, but was getting a bit tired to get out and do all the walks. I was also running a little later than I wanted to, since I like being all cleaned up from dinner well before dark. So I ended up just having soup and crackers with cheese for dinner and taking my second mug of soup off to the ranger's nature talk -- the last one of the season.

Now we come to the amusement with my wake-up alarm. You see, Wednesday morning I needed to be at the Grant Village boat ramp at 9:45 for the kayak excursion. Working backwards, if I round off to 9:30, figure approx 1 hour driving time, add in another hour for waking up, getting on the road, and as a safety margin for that "approx", then I needed the alarm to go off at 7:30. Mountain time zone. This last might seem obvious, but the iPhone has been dithering about what time zone it's in. (Where "time zone" is shorthand for the actual displayed time.). Since I can't get a cell signal most of the time, I mostly keep the reception turned off. Monday I noticed that when I had reception turned on at Old Faithful, the phone started displaying Central time. Then later when I turned reception off, it reverted to Mountain time. (The phone sets the time from the local network, so if reception is off, it should continue using the most recently detected time zone.) Hmm, I said. On Tuesday, it did the same thing when I turned reception on: the displayed time jumped ahead an hour to Central time. Only this time it didn't revert when I turned reception off. So when I set up a wake-up alarm in the evening, I set it for 8:30 (Central time), which would get me up at the desired 7:30 (Mountain time). Nut then after the ranger program when I checked the time, it seemed too early, and a doublecheck against a neighbor verified that the phone had reverted to Mountain time finally -- dragging the alarm setting along, so now it would wake me at 8:30 Mountain time. Rather tight scheduling to get to the dock! So I reset the alarm to be correct for Mountain time (7:30) and went to sleep. You can guess what's coming, right? Some time during the night, the phone switched back to Central time -- once again dragging the alarm with it. I discovered this when I was up, organized, and on the road -- because the car's clock was cheerfully showing 5:30 (Pacific time). Ah well, better early than late.

The kayaking was perfect: warm, almost no breeze, cheerful guides, and everyone on the tour had been in a kayak at least once before. I found it much easier to keep the position without tiring this time (as opposed to the lesson I had several years ago), so I think it's a sign I should do some more.

I decided to "take the afternoon off", so after the boating I checked in to my new campsite at Bridge Bay then drove up to Fishing Bridge to take a shower and see if I could pick up a cell signal. (I'd gotten one briefly at Grant Village but then it disappeared.) One of the information booth attendents had a cell coverage map that suggested the nearest possibility was a couple miles down the road at Mary's Bay, so I meandered down there. No luck. However on the way back I encountered the aforementioned bison jam. Many entertaining pictures will be posted later. Nothing quite like having a thundering herd of bison passing between you and the next car, so close you could reach out and touch one. (But I didn't, because I'm a good girl.)

Ironically, for dinner I had the remainder of the ground bison, made up into a sort if sloppy Joe sauce and cooked with cheesy dumplings.

I got to know my camp neighbors over a borrowed toasting fork and ended up finishing the evening over there, discussing the politics of healthcare among other potentially dicey subjects. All quite amicably, despite our differing political positions.

Comments

[vnend.livejournal.com]

The colors at that hot pool sound amazing. Thanks.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

I will disagree on the Hollandaise. I have not found making it on a propane stove in camping conditions to be any more difficult than doing it at home. And it's much tastier made from scratch. Now, doing it over a wood fire without getting smoky taste and curdlage - there, I will wholeheartedly agree.