Leaving Yellowstone, looking back

My entries are still a few days behind, mostly due to high internet traffic during the times that I am able to use the computer.  The high traffic makes uploading pictures, or even getting onto the blog page, very slow to impossible.  These next days, we’re just traveling through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, on our way to New York.  So hopefully, without much else going on, I can get caught up. 

June 25:

I was very sad to be leaving Yellowstone, then happily surprised that our route out of the area would take us right back through the park to get to the other side and continue on through Wyoming.


We stopped at Mud Volcano, an area of pools and caves that we didn't get to see on our main Yellowstone visit. 

Taking a break along the steep walkway.

The cave above is called the Dragon's Mouth Spring.  It actually makes a loud, growling noise as the huge puffs of steam come out.  It sounds like a very large dragon is inside the cave, huffing and puffing.  I can only imagine what ancient people must have thought about this particular spot. 

This was a frequently repeated admonition, and became a running joke between Claire and Eric.  Eric even wants a T-shirt with this on it!  Apparently, the ground is prone to crumbling beneath one's feet, opening up new spots for the underground steam to escape.  According to one lady we heard yelling at other sightseers who were walking off trail to get closer to the bison, "Breaking through the ground is the NUMBER ONE cause of DEATH in Yellowstone!  That and the bison."

After the Dragon's Mouth Spring, we were on our way out of Yellowstone.  It was still about an hour's drive to leave the park, and we saw more awesome vistas.

Ray already told you about the stop for Eric to play in the snow.  Eric threw a few snowballs and really had a good time. Claire wanted to go, but she didn't have the right kind of shoes on to cross the creek.  Who knew we would encounter this opportunity?

In this next picture, Eric's arms are up in the air not as a way to balance while crossing the creek, but in a show of triumph and joy about playing in the snow in the summer time!

Later in the day, driving through this area was really pretty, with the green grass and hills, aqua blue water, oranges and browns of the near mountains, purple mountains beyond, and the cobalt blue sky with puffy white clouds.  I don’t know if the photos do justice to the natural beauty we saw.