Buena Vista

I took a Columbus Day holiday trip to Buena Vista this past weekend.  This was the view from my hotel's parking lot.

Unfortunately, it rained on Sunday, which was the only full day I was there.  So on that day, I went south to Great Sand Dunes National Park, where it wasn't raining (as much). 

 

  

I decided to climb High Dune.  This was the view from down below.

And this is a panorama from atop High Dune.  

Monday morning, I drove back to Boulder.  I liked this scenic view point showing the railroad through the valley.  

Yellowstone, Day 2

Wednesday, on our way to Mammoth Hot Springs, we passed by the Norris Geyser Basin. Julie and I were surprised at the amount of steam rising from the area:


We also passed by Roaring Mountain:


The highlight of Mammoth Hot Springs was the hillside, with terraced pools oozing minerals.


The day before, I had remarked that I hadn't seen any small mammals yet. At Mammoth Hot Springs, we saw a black-tailed jackrabbit:


and a chipmunk:


Then we headed off to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We weren't able to access the North Rim, but we were able to see the Lower Falls from Artist Point:


Then we went back to the Norris Geyser Basin and hiked around the geysers there. My favorite was the Steamboat Geyser. Not only was it fairly active (with occasional 10 foot spouts), but it had a neat little vent that looked like a mini volcano (the gray mound in the foreground).


On our way out of the park, we saw either a wolf or a coyote:


We also saw an elk that still had its antlers:


We drove to Jackson that night, and home to Boulder on Thursday. It was a great little trip -- now Julie and I both want to go back in the summer when the whole park is open (and we can enter it from Wyoming instead of Montana)!

Yellowstone, Day 1

Our day started out in Jackson. Here I am at one of four gates made from discarded elk antlers at the town square:


A few hours later, we were finally in Yellowstone National Park. The first thing we saw was an elk close to the road:


Then several bison passed us on the road:


We saw dozens of bison and geysers today. Here is combined photo of the two!


One of the geysers contributing to that steam was this one:


This geyser area also had a bubbling pool of mud:


Most of the steam in the bison picture came from this geyser:


After many stops, we eventually made our way to see Old Faithful.


This is a picture of (L to R) me, Old Faithful, and Julie:


We then walked around the Old Faithful area checking out other geysers.


We spent enough time wandering that we saw Old Faithful erupt a second time!


We stopped by the Midway Basin after Old Faithful.


Then we drove around looking for wildlife. We saw this bald eagle, which was perched nicely on the top of an old burned tree until just before Julie was about to snap his picture, at which point it flew away, leaving Julie to frantically take its picture as best she could:


Then we came upon a bison traffic jam:


We eventually had to turn around and head for our hotel in West Yellowstone. Just when we thought our day was over, we came upon this wolf eating a carcas:



It was the first time I'd ever seen a wolf in the wild. A professional photographer was in another car that had pulled over to watch. Through her scope, we saw the wolf up close. It was like watching a National Geographic special! There were three other wolves sitting and waiting off to the side. Eventually, this wolf finished gnawing at the bones, left the remains to the crows, and headed off with the other three wolves. It was the highlight of the day!

Boulder to Jackson

Julie and I are taking a short trip to Yellowstone. Yesterday, we drove from Boulder to Jackson, Wyoming. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. Fortunately, Julie remembered hers!

We stopped for lunch in Laramie. We're using a 15-year old Lonely Planet guidebook, which has so far been surprisingly up to date. For example, it recommended Jeffrey's Bistro for lunch, which is still in business!


Julie took some nice pictures along the way. We passed through some heavy rain in Southern Wyoming, but eventually the skies cleared.



We even passed through the town of Boulder!


Eventually (finally!) we drove into mountainous terrain.


We arrived in Jackson just before sunset. Our hotel is at the base of some ski slopes. I took this picture of the sunset.


And finally, here I am just before we headed inside for dinner.


Today, we go to the park!

Highlights From Terri's Camera

A kiwi in Franz Joseph:


Great white herons:


A flying spoonbill:


My Dad took this picture of Terri and me luging in Queenstown:


The yellow-eyed penguin at Curio Bay:


Close-up:


The family at the Florence Hill lookout:


Yellow-eyed penguins swimming ashore at Roaring Bay:


The baby blue penguin at Pilot Beach:


The family along the Tunnel Beach walk (it was windy that day!):


And finally, an albatross:


Thanks Terri!

The Trip Home

Now for some pictures I took out of airplane windows.

I liked this river delta, somewhere near Arthur's Pass in New Zealand:


Our approach into Sydney:


The sunset on my trip to L.A.:


The Hollywood sign:


I think this is near Bryce Canyon, in southern Utah:


I'll research it more once I'm home (I'm at a coffee shop right now) with a faster internet connection.