Our early departure that was supposed to happen didn’t
because we aren’t even halfway through this trip and we are already worn out!
Hopefully, we’ll get our second wind. I had heard that you should get to Old
Faithful early but we took our time getting there. Stopping to explore many of
the gurgling mudpots, paint pots, and other bubbling oddities. Mae said on the
back from Sulfer Caldron “No offense Mother Nature, but this stinks!”
You
haven’t lived until you've been engulfed in a cloud of sulfur steam. I’ll never be able to un-smell that. And,
hopefully my singed nose hairs will grow back.
Mile 2486- We arrived to Old Faithful with 2000 of our closest friends
and half the continent of Asia. Old Faithful erupted twice while we were there.
That sucker is huge! And quite faithful, every 90 minutes! Give or take a few.
It wouldn’t be a Bullington Family Vacation if I didn’t
force the entire family to tour some historic property. This year was no
different. We took the historic tour of The Old Faithful Inn that was built in
1904. It was built entirely of Yellowstone timber and has been kept virtually
the same since then. Our tour guide spoke in a hoarse whisper that was
impossible to hear and we ended up bailing halfway through. But, the Inn is incredible! And booked solid. Believe me, I tried!
Mile 2528- The highlight of the day was a completely spontaneous wildlife
viewing episode that made us look like a cross between Jack Hanna and a team of
storm chasers. There was a throng of
people gazing out over this valley. We
pulled over to see what they were looking at.
It was so amazing! Y’all, it turned us into binocular wielding maniacs! There was this herd of Elk that had been
driven into the center of the river by a pack of wolves. WOLVES!!!
Then this HUGE bull elk ran off the wolves and put himself between the herd and
the wolf pack. It was so exciting! We
remembered that we had our telescope in the car we went tearing through the car
in a frenzy looking for it. Throwing
dirty socks and sleeping bags hither and yon. After we got the scope all put
together we got the Elk in our sight again (I am not making this up) a freaking
bald eagle landed near the bull Elk. He stayed awhile, because I think he was hungry and expecting a wolf vs elk showdown.There were all of these
strangers hanging out together pointing out the different animals to each
other. It was a really cool vibe. What is funny is that all of the tourists get a glimpse of the wild and go along their merry way. But, the locals take this stuff really seriously. I overheard two ladies in the post office this morning. "Well I saw wolf #755 with my spy scope and it looked like he had a bloody nose, he's been fighting Mollie's pack and what with the new babies in the picture and that Alpha female catting around, who know's what's going to happen". There is no wifi or tv. And it shows.
We
would drive a bit and then spot something, Mr. Bullington would scream, “There’s another elk!” Then he’d swerve off the road. We’d gather the
scopes and take off running.
It was a site! Thomas has been taking copious
notes about all of the animals that we’ve seen and likes to share them with
whoever will listen. He especially likes foreign tourists who don’t speak a
lick of English.
Finally, we explored the canyons before dinner. They were spectacular and the boy didn’t fall
in. #winning
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