Yellowstone National Park

What can I say about Yellowstone other than it exceeded all of my expectations for beauty, nature, wildlife and geology? No wonder it's the first and probably the most famous national park in the America, designated as such by President Ulysses Grant in 1872. 

Since it's the peak of summer, we wanted to beat the crowds and see the bison during their early-morning feeding and mini-migration from the hills to the valleys, so we left Bozeman at 4 AM and drove 2.5 hours to the Lamar Valley at the north end of the park. Our timing couldn't have been better, as the bison were everywhere.

Bison calves have the nickname "red dogs" because of their rust colored coats. This one was probably born in early May, so it's only a month or two old.

This guy looked right at me!

We were lucky enough to get stuck in two bison traffic jams...

As dozens of adults and babies moved together from the hills to the Yellowstone River as the sun rose and the valley floor warmed up.

In case you're wondering, we took these photos from the truck or very near it. Bisons can charge if they feel threatened.

The weather was perfect all day, cool and sunny with blue skies.

Wildflowers were in bloom all over the park.

Look who else we stumbled across by the side of the road!

This black bear was helping itself to roadside flowers, grass and whatever it could find digging in the dirt. As we slowly passed, he smelled like wet dog.

We stayed away from most of the geysers and fumaroles because of the crowds, but we did walk around some fascinating mud pots, in which the mud was boiled by steam and sulphuric gasses that arise from deep under ground.

These mudpots are highly acidic, so much so that they literally dissolve the earth around them. The pH (power of hydrogen) in Sulphur Cauldron is 1, nearly as low as battery acid. As with the bison, you don't want to get too close.

Yellowstone River

Picnic spot on Yellowstone Lake. 

Spent the night at a campsite in Flagg Ranch, between Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Park, forthcoming. With so much to see and do in Yellowstone's nearly 3,500 square miles, we hope to visit again, but for today, we are so grateful.

Montana Shakes

 We've been having SO MUCH FUN that I've fallen behind on my blog posts. To catch you up, we spent a few more days in Bozeman and enjoyed a hike in Bear Canyon and a picnic with the Montana Shakes folks while we enjoyed Much Ado About Nothing that Johamy directed. Here are a few pix to enjoy.

Always fun to see Shakespeare outdoors

Charcuterie, naturally

Mi amiga

John took his Nikon on the hike and caught this pretty butterfly

Goofing on the trail

Summer flowers

X-ing a stream. No one fell in today!

Blue skies, only blue skies from now on...

Next post: Yellowstone Wildlife!

Bozeman, Montana: I Can't Think of Anyplace I'd Rather Be

Perhaps I'm channeling a past life as a mountain man or a black bear, but I feel 100 percent blissful in the Rocky Mountains. The last two days in Bozeman have been super special. Not only have we spent time with our good friends, but we've hiked some gorgeous trails, seen stunning vistas, eaten some great food, relaxed in a very chill Air BnB in Bear Canyon, and enjoyed an excellent production of The Merchant of Venice directed by Kevin Asselin at Shakespeare in the Parks. 

Hyalite Reservoir and Palisade Mountain

We're at about 6,000 feet and it feels like the Swiss Alps.

John and Matt on the trail

Hello from a mountain meadow

I feel like spinning and singing, The hills are alive...

A happy place for both of us

Our Air BnB called Bear Canyon Casita, which is the house on the right. The architect-owners live in the main house.

Another perfect day in paradise!

 

Day 1: Montana

It's a fool's pursuit to post photos of Montana and Wyoming because the scenery is so grand that no photo -- especially a tiny, lo-res one taken on my iphone -- can possibly capture the scale, the beauty, the awesomeness of earth and sky. But because I am still foolishly posting to this blog after more than a decade, here I go again.

Our first glimpse of the Tetons in the distance, taken from the west.

The rushing Gallatin River, between West Yellowstone and Big Sky, Montana, in the Custer-Gallatin National Forest. Noted for being one of the nation's best fly-fishing waters, the Gallatin was featured in one of our all-time favorite films, A River Runs Through It.

Horses grazing in a sunlit valley.

After arriving in the Bozeman area, we drive to Blackmore Campground. At 6600 feet, it was a little cold and wet, but also quiet and peaceful. The best part of our stay there was meeting up with Matt and Johamy for a yummy dinner and nourishing conversation around the campfire.

Johamy and Matt

Chicken grilling over the fire.

John loves his Sasha time!

Next stop: A warm, cozy AirBnB house in Bozeman, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (Merchant of Venice on Saturday and Much Ado on Wednesday). 

Did I say Life is Good? I hope you're enjoying your summer, too. 

 

On the Road Again

Both John and I got home late Tuesday night, and 12 hours later we were on the road again for our summer vacation to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. 

So far, the road has been clear and the weather sunny. The truck is always happy on the highways.

Day 1 was boring and hot driving through the desert, but Day 2 took us up I-15 to  northern Utah, which is green and mountainous.

We arrived at Malad Summit Campground around 5 PM, time for a nice walk among the aspens and evergreens.

Manmade waterfall into the stream that ran by our campground.

Mossy rocks.

We miss the teardrop, but sleeping in the truck bed was cozy and comfortable, considering we're now old enough to qualify for half-price campsites at National Parks. At $10/night, it cost less than our Starbucks order in the morning. :)

Chicago, Chicago

First I have to apologize to all my fans for not posting since last year. I have no excuse. Life has been more than adequately interesting. I simply forgot. 

OK, so thanks to The Glory of Groveling, that's done. I'm free and happy to move on.

Posting today from Chicago, where it's been a whirlwind of activity, starting on Friday with my first-ever baseball game at Wrigley Field. Despite a long rain delay and a miserable performance by the home team, we felt very sporty and Chicago-y amidst 40,000 very loyal Cubs fans.

By "we," I mean Charlotte, Hannah, Sean and me.

The old green scoreboard is still updated by actual people.

Pete Crow-Armstrong at bat against the Giants pitcher Robbie Ray.

Me and my gal pal

         After the game, Hannah and I went to an Andersonville pub for dinner.

Cheers to my best travel pal!

On Saturday, we all visited the Museum of Science and Industry. I wanted to see the touring exhibit of the Anne Frank House, which includes not only a retrospective of her life and the legacy left by her diary, but also a to-scale version of the annex in which she and her family hid in Amsterdam. While the Anne Frank exhibit was a solemn time, we had lots of fun afterward, as you can see below, when Hannah and Sean stood in the middle of a mock tornado.

And I saw one of the Apollo Command Modules.

The highlight of the museum was an exhibition about costume designer Paul Tazewell, who designed the costumes for Broadway's Color Purple and Hamilton, as well as for the movie, Wicked. His story is so inspiring, and his designs and artistry are a delight to witness, on stage and in person.

We capped off a busy weekend with the BEST dinner at the Michelin restaurant, Galit, which serves Middle Eastern food (my fave) that is so delicious, I wanted to hug the chef/owner Zachary Engel when he walked by. (I did not do so, however.)

Two kinds of tahini hummus, pickled vegetables, ezme, labneh, spring pea salad and house-made pita to start.

Charlotte and Sean in front of the Michelin awards.

Lamb stew, turkey shwarma, pastrami, and lobster for the mains.

Mezze: Kubbeh, falafal, borek and a ribbon of foie gras on house-made challah toast garnished with raspberry jam. And for dessert...

Chocolate babka and a coconut pudding with strawberry swirl.

We stuffed ourselves, rolled home and watched videos 'til we fell asleep. A perfect day, and a special weekend with my favorite people. Life is good.