Monday June 27

Flathead Lake, Montana to Yellowstone National Park

Crossing the Continental Divide east-bound...    the first time...

This continental divide is the line which separates the watersheds that
drain into the Pacific Ocean from those that drain into the Atlantic Ocean

 It's amazing how quickly the geology can change - suddenly we're in a field of boulders the size of Volkswagons -

and yet the highway continues to course its way through mountains, hills, plains and on to the horizon

another abandoned homestead

we travelled scenic by-ways as much as possible but there were times when we needed
to cover the miles quickly and the Interstate can be rather efficient for that

a wildlife crossing bridge to keep them safely off the roadway - and out of our way

Anyone need a good used cow?
low miles, dual horns, genuine leather upholstery, all-weather traction control...
we'll make you a great deal 'cause we need to moooove last years' models...
Come to Mentzer's Used Cow Lot in beautiful downtown Drummond, Montana 
for a deal you won't get from the udder guys...   no bull  -  just cows

day after day of clear skies and fantastic views

Saw this beast of burden at the last fuel station
before Yellowstone National Park.
That's a Kawasaki KLR650 under all that stuff - and yes, that is a kayak across the back of the seat.
...for you Donno, inspiration

streams & rivers are over-flowing their banks out here too

just think of living here and looking at this every day

some decide to take a more sedate mode of transportation

a new homestead?

The abrupt changes in landscape are truly astounding

what's missing from this picture is the VERY STRONG smell of sulfur!
Eeewwww... Dad - did you do that???!!!!!

Although Steamboat Geyser is the world's tallest active geyser, with major eruptions up to 300 feet high, it does not have a predictable schedule. Recorded intervals between major eruptions range from four days to fifty years. The last major eruption was May 23, 2005.

Minor eruptions are 10 to 15 feet high and are much more frequent. 

The steam venting we see here is common.

We didn't wait around for a major eruption.

Hey there's a waterfall down there...

and we're lovin' it

Bison

more Bison...

Yes, I'm a bison too - and I'll nap anywhere I want to

Yellowstone public transit

Geyser fields near Yellowstone Lodge

Old Faithful is not the tallest geyser in Yellowstone but is is the most predictable.
Average eruptions are 145 feet tall and will erupt 65 minutes 
after an eruption lasting less than 2.5 minutes 
or 91 minutes after an eruption lasting more than 2.5 minutes.


This evening, Old Faithful was expected to erupt at 8:24pm, unfortunately

without an available campsite, we couldn't stay in the park long enough to wait for it.

We want to be off the road by dark before bambi and friends start running out in front of us.

at Old Faithful

This is the third time crossing the divide today - fourth (and final) for the trip

A steam vent on the shore of Yellowstone lake

check out this shaggy fellow - working on loosing his winter coat

Yellowstone Lake at sunset

We continued out the east gate of the park - a fantastic motorcycle road through a very narrow gorge.
It was dark by this time so unfortunately we couldn't get usable pictures.
The first two campsites east of the park were 'hard-side' camping only due to being in grizzly bear territory. We continued on to the fourth campground and set up camp in the dark.
We placed our food items in the bear-proof steel box at our site just to be sure.

Four days after arriving at home we learned that a 57 year-old man and his wife were hiking in Yellowstone and were attacked by a momma grizzly. The man died but his wife survived.
A sobering reminder that this is still a wilderness area.