Monthly Archives: March 2010

Countdown!

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14 days to go—it’s hard to believe.  We are no-where near ready to take off–but we’re working on it.  The big challenge right now is getting the right containers for the car–they have to be extremely flexible–so we’re thinking about buying several large laundry bags.

I can’t help but wonder what it will be like at Mammouth when we get there.  You can see from this picture what it was like when we first visited on May 12th last year.  There was an icy snow falling that didn’t last long but it felt like a real blizzard.  The Mammouth area of the park had no snow left on the ground–but the southern end of the park still had 4-6 feet.  It’s really two different ecosystems.  Apparently they haven’t had a lot of snow in the mammouth area this year–so that will have an impact on the summer.  The park relies, to some degree, on snow melt for summer moisture.

For current forecasts, if you go to Weather in Yellowstone you actually get Riverton, WY–that’s good for the southern end of the park;  if you try Gardiner, you’ll get the northern part of the park.  They are due for lots of snow in upper elevations tonight and tomorrow–so I think the decision to take my heavy winter coat has probably been made.

The route

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We’ve laid out the travel route from Arlington, VA to the northern entrance to Yellowstone  (it’s the only one that’s guaranteed to be open–the other entrances may very well still be snow-covered).  Google Maps says that it’s 2, 231 miles–and 37 hours of driving.  We are going to take 9 days to do the drive.  Some of that time we know we will spend visiting family and friends  (including a stop in Milwaukee to visit Happy the Hippo) , but we’ve put aside 3 days to get from Milwaukee to Gardiner.  That give us 3 days to spend in the Badlands of North Dakota….now the question (and we’d love some advice) is where should we stop–what’s worth the time?

Contrast

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Life is about contrasts.  We went up to the Philadelphia Zoo this weekend to practice shooting, hang out with friends and see the baby Orangutan.  Contrast was the theme of the day.  We started off in layers and end up in t-shirts;  as you walked, the sun warmed up your face but a cool breeze caressed your back; trees that were in bud at the beginning of the day were in bloom by the end.  Isn’t life about appreciating the contrasts that we experience;  savoring them for the delight that they bring?  Yellowstone is a study in contrasts;  out challenge will be capturing and conveying them in both words and images.  I’m better with images than words-but the goal of this trip is to hone my skills with both.

Karen

Preview

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Take at look at some of the “water features” from our last trip.  How many different types are there?  How would you figure out what they are called?  And do you ever just sit back and wonder at the craziness of the things that Mother Nature comes up with?

Be sure and turn your audio up–and listen to the amazing sounds!

The adventure begins…

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After much ado–we finally got our contracts today.  We will both be working as “front desk agents”.  Tim gets the Snow Lodge & I get the Old Faithful Inn.

I would have to admit that there is some trepidation.  This will be like going back to college; living in a dorm with bathrooms at the end of the hall;  eating in a cafeteria.  There is little doubt, however, that the environment will be wonderful.  I will be able to walk out the door of the hotel during a break and watch old Faithful erupt–and see the buffalo grazing in the geyser fields.  (The background image on this blog was taken from the parking lot of the Old Faithful Inn).  Here’s the google map of the old faithful area

Over the next few weeks we will have to decide how to “deacquisition” ourselves–what’s the minimum we can get by with  (I think the baseline will probably involve cameras, computers and knitting).  There is no TV reception in the park but the dorms promise wireless Internet.  It will indeed be a lifestyle change–a refocus.  I can’t help but wonder which of these changes will hold over when we return.

Karen