Double hit today, stopping by Craters of the Moon National Monument on the way to Yellowstone. Fairly short drive from Twin Falls, which was good because we (I say we but mean Marilyn) slept in a bit. But that was fine, allowed the camera store to be open so I could pick up a 77mm Circular Polarizer (mmm geek photo speak). Got to Craters about midday and yes, it was hot. It’s a big place, with a 7 mile or so driveable route around it. We took that option and stopped at various places, including the Devil’s Orchard, Inferno Cone, Spatter Cones and the North Crater. Drove past the Big Sink, which had a lot of lava flows to look at (long since stopped, don’t worry). Devil’s Orchard had many lava rocks and dead trees, along with new growth:
Again too many pics to post with this blog. I’m going to be very busy when we get back figuring out which 5 out of 100 I keep ;).
Anyhow, made it to Yellowstone at about 5:30 local time (Mountain Time) and proceeded to drive through the park as our Motel was in Gardiner, MT which is north of Yellowstone. We came in through the west side via Idaho…
I’m thinking of writing the park to suggest a name change to Jellyhead. I’m pretty sure tourists have to check their brains at the door because oh man they lose all ability to think. Mini rant coming up. The driving speed in the park is a maximum of 45mph. OK, no problem, that’s pretty darn fast. But not fast enough to stop people from stepping out in front of your car because they thought they saw a furry photo op across the road. And not fast enough to stop people from screeching to a halt for the same type of furry photo op. Stopping right on the road and clicking away. It was a zoo, to say the least, just to keep from hitting people or cars, nevermind small creatures (one marmot tried hari-kari with our car, but missed by 6 inches). Anyhow, hoping tomorrow won’t be as bad but won’t be surprised to hear about someone from Malibu seeing his first bear and his first Dodge bumper at the same time.
I’ll post on Yellowstone and have some pics for you all tomorrow – for now it’s R&R in the Motel overlooking the river and bustling Gardiner. Oh, and for the record, the local bartender called Gardiner “Godawful Gardiner” and wondered what a couple of Canadians were doing here….
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