This day we sang, "Rain, Rain, Go Away." We began the day at the Lower Falls. In the rain we began going down the steep trail that went on for about 3/4 of a mile. I was so happy that I had my new Merrill hiking shoes with the wet surface of the trail. When we got to the bottom of the very steep winding path we began to see lightening. Even so, I was thrill that I had made it to the bottom. We were at the top of the falls and could see and feel the vast energy of the water as it rushed over the precipice. I am not sure how far the drop was, but It was simply spectacular. There were some interesting Chinese tourists. The men in the group were in suit coats, dress shoes and no rain protection. They spent a long time taking pictures. I was very concerned because they were soaked. A woman with their group was wearing high heeled shoes. She had reached the bottom, but I don't know how. I spoke to three of the women, but they spoke almost no English and I don't speak any Chinese. However, we said, "Hello," and smiled at each other. Later as I began to trudge up the path, I kept meeting them and they were taking lots of pictures which required me to stop rather than interfere. They smiled and thanked me each time. At one point one of the women dropped a plastic bag and I picked it up for her. After that they asked to have picture with me. I said I would. Then they each proceeded to pose with me individually. It was so sweet and I wonder what it meant to them to have a picture with me. Viv was having a good bit of difficulty getting up the steep path. So she and Dick went at a much slower pace. I would wait until they got close to me before I proceeded on my way. When I got to the top. It really began to lightening and hail. I couldn't get into the car because I didn't have the keys to the van. I was getting really uncomfortable and a little scared. I was about ready to ask someone to let me sit in their car, but before I felt I could wait no longer Viv and Dick appeared. What a relief that was. Next we went to the Upper Falls. This was a much easier trip to reach these falls and the rain had let up a bit.
From there we went to the Grand Canyon of the North. This was just breathe-taking. I can't wait to see the real Grand Canyon if it can be better than this.
We then stopped to see some of the many hot springs. In some cases it was sill raining. However, we made the best of it.
The sounds were surprising they ranged from hisses, to belches, to roars. Also the heat and the sulfur smell was not alway pleasant, but it was amazing to find plant life that grew near the hot and sometimes very acidic conditions. Also we learned that bacteria play a big part in making some of the sulfur smells and the colors.
After this we went off to see the geyser field and the famous Old Faithful. We were very surprised to find ourselves in quite a traffic jam. There was a park ranger trying to solve the situation. Look below for pictures of the scene. The first picture is of a calf. The rest are of a giant bull. They calmly walked across the road. There were about 30 bison trying to cross the road. The question was how did the ranger know to come and deal with the situation?
We finally arrived at the geyser field only to find that we had just missed the big event which was made even more special because another geyser, Beehive, that rarely erupts had erupted along with Old Faithful. We were about to walk around the geyser field when a ranger warned us to stay near the visitor center due to the threat of heavy rain and lightening. Believe me she knew what she was talking about. We stayed in the center and waited for over an hour. About 15 minutes before the geyser was to erupt we went to sit in front of the windows to view this from the safety of the building. I should tell you that the times are not exact. The geyser was to erupt at 7:08 and the time can varying 10 minutes early or ten minutes late. Well, at about 7:05, Dick decided to go outside and I joined him. We stood in the rain waiting and of course it was late. The wind and rain whipped as we waited. Finally, the moment came and it was quite impressive.
I don't have pictures for the parts that it rained because I was afraid the rain would damage my iPad. Dick has promised to send me pictures and I will add them to a later blog.
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