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Pics for the day
Had a little adventure of sorts in the morning. Roommate went off to work. His wife worked to make breakfast for us. Their toddler daughter climbed up the stairs. Mother was not overly concerned, but I went up to look after her. She showed me a toy in her room and then went to climb back down the stairs. I hesitated, not sure how to get past her safely on the narrow staircase. And, as I looked away for a sec to examine the toy she'd handed me (after the mother gave me a little of its history)... the baby slipped. When I turned back, she was already down the first step. I said something, I don't remember what, but basically I froze in horror. She tumbled all the way down.
Fortunately, the stairs were carpeted and there was a rubber mat at the bottom. And she ended up tumbling so that she rolled sideways down the stairs. Scared the living heck out of all three of us, but she was okay. I later learned that by the end of the day she was happily climbing back up the stairs. Still... scary. Mother felt awfully guilty about it, and I don't think I felt much better. I stayed long enough to make sure things were okay, but I think the mother (though very polite, even under the circumstances) was happy to see me go.
So I got back on the road and went to explore Yellowstone.
There was a fire in the park back in '88. Much of the area is still recovering. There are entire hillsides covered with the burnt-out trunks of trees. In some places, you can see newer growth mixed in.
There are also herds of bison and other animals that roam the park. And whenever any one (even a single animal) appears by the roadside, everyone stops. Major rubbernecking. Which can be amusing, helpful, or frustrating, depending on your mood and your plans. I saw a moose in the forest on the way into the park and several herds of bison on the way through it.
Headed towards Old Faithful, but the (anticipated) schedule wasn't posted anywhere outside the geyser's visitor's center, so I had no idea what time to aim for. I decided to just take it easy, explore, and either catch an eruption or not. As it happened, I got there midway between eruptions (which happen approximately every 90 minutes). So I took a picture of the base of the geyser and moved on. I'd already seen other geysers, and there was plenty more to see in the park. I don't regret the decision.
Did some walking on the trails, saw a waterfall, mountains... so many beautiful things.
I'd planned to leave the park around sunset, and did actually start heading out around then, but the park is huge and traffic moves slowly even when there aren't bison by the roadside. It was full dark by the time I got out the far side of the park. I used my high beams where I could, but tried to shut them off when I saw I was going to be passing a campsite, not wanting to disturb anyone. It was tense at times. I didn't get to see much. Later, looking over the AAA guide, I saw that the road I'd traveled from the park to my hotel for the night had been described as "the most scenic 52 miles of highway in the country."
It was pretty late by the time I got to the town of Cody, Wyoming, and I was very tired. Fortunately, I'd called ahead to the hotel to warn them that I'd be late. They'd told me there was a restaurant just up the street from them that would be open for a late dinner. I stopped there.
My waitress was nice and friendly, but her shirt had some trouble covering her... rather full chest. I wasn't staring or anything, but I was tired enough that I wasn't looking up too much, either. And I think I was probably blushing a bit. Went to take my insulin after dinner (which meant standing in a bathroom stall, since I don't like to take the injections anywhere public, for a number of reasons). I think the host might have come in to check on me. Not sure. But I found my waitress talking to a coworker behind the counter when I came back. "He probably went to *whisper whisper*," she said, and my waitress had this reaction... part horrified amusement, with a mix of other things...
Too tired to clear things up sensibly, though, even if they had been talking about what I suspect. Ah well.
Drove the last couple of blocks to my hotel for the night, the Buffalo Bill Cabins. Each room is its own freestanding "log cabin" with parking space, and there's a stuffed buffalo waiting to greet you on the bed (with a note attached that you need to leave him there to greet the next guest). There's also a sign in the room to let you know that if you leave anything behind, they'll happily mail it home for you - and they can do that because they have your license plate number. A friendly way to hide a subtle warning.
I got to the hotel just after the main office had been locked for the night. As I parked, I met the guy who'd done so. He told me he'd dropped my key off at the hotel next door (on the same property, owned by the same people), and took me there in his golf cart. Waited for me to sign in and get the key, carted me back to my car, and then drove ahead of me to show me to my room. Refused a tip to thank him for staying late to show me around.
I settled in, found a shaky wireless signal from the hotel next door (there was a somewhat better one for guests of the cabins, but I didn't have the password), and went to sleep.
Had a little adventure of sorts in the morning. Roommate went off to work. His wife worked to make breakfast for us. Their toddler daughter climbed up the stairs. Mother was not overly concerned, but I went up to look after her. She showed me a toy in her room and then went to climb back down the stairs. I hesitated, not sure how to get past her safely on the narrow staircase. And, as I looked away for a sec to examine the toy she'd handed me (after the mother gave me a little of its history)... the baby slipped. When I turned back, she was already down the first step. I said something, I don't remember what, but basically I froze in horror. She tumbled all the way down.
Fortunately, the stairs were carpeted and there was a rubber mat at the bottom. And she ended up tumbling so that she rolled sideways down the stairs. Scared the living heck out of all three of us, but she was okay. I later learned that by the end of the day she was happily climbing back up the stairs. Still... scary. Mother felt awfully guilty about it, and I don't think I felt much better. I stayed long enough to make sure things were okay, but I think the mother (though very polite, even under the circumstances) was happy to see me go.
So I got back on the road and went to explore Yellowstone.
There was a fire in the park back in '88. Much of the area is still recovering. There are entire hillsides covered with the burnt-out trunks of trees. In some places, you can see newer growth mixed in.
There are also herds of bison and other animals that roam the park. And whenever any one (even a single animal) appears by the roadside, everyone stops. Major rubbernecking. Which can be amusing, helpful, or frustrating, depending on your mood and your plans. I saw a moose in the forest on the way into the park and several herds of bison on the way through it.
Headed towards Old Faithful, but the (anticipated) schedule wasn't posted anywhere outside the geyser's visitor's center, so I had no idea what time to aim for. I decided to just take it easy, explore, and either catch an eruption or not. As it happened, I got there midway between eruptions (which happen approximately every 90 minutes). So I took a picture of the base of the geyser and moved on. I'd already seen other geysers, and there was plenty more to see in the park. I don't regret the decision.
Did some walking on the trails, saw a waterfall, mountains... so many beautiful things.
I'd planned to leave the park around sunset, and did actually start heading out around then, but the park is huge and traffic moves slowly even when there aren't bison by the roadside. It was full dark by the time I got out the far side of the park. I used my high beams where I could, but tried to shut them off when I saw I was going to be passing a campsite, not wanting to disturb anyone. It was tense at times. I didn't get to see much. Later, looking over the AAA guide, I saw that the road I'd traveled from the park to my hotel for the night had been described as "the most scenic 52 miles of highway in the country."
It was pretty late by the time I got to the town of Cody, Wyoming, and I was very tired. Fortunately, I'd called ahead to the hotel to warn them that I'd be late. They'd told me there was a restaurant just up the street from them that would be open for a late dinner. I stopped there.
My waitress was nice and friendly, but her shirt had some trouble covering her... rather full chest. I wasn't staring or anything, but I was tired enough that I wasn't looking up too much, either. And I think I was probably blushing a bit. Went to take my insulin after dinner (which meant standing in a bathroom stall, since I don't like to take the injections anywhere public, for a number of reasons). I think the host might have come in to check on me. Not sure. But I found my waitress talking to a coworker behind the counter when I came back. "He probably went to *whisper whisper*," she said, and my waitress had this reaction... part horrified amusement, with a mix of other things...
Too tired to clear things up sensibly, though, even if they had been talking about what I suspect. Ah well.
Drove the last couple of blocks to my hotel for the night, the Buffalo Bill Cabins. Each room is its own freestanding "log cabin" with parking space, and there's a stuffed buffalo waiting to greet you on the bed (with a note attached that you need to leave him there to greet the next guest). There's also a sign in the room to let you know that if you leave anything behind, they'll happily mail it home for you - and they can do that because they have your license plate number. A friendly way to hide a subtle warning.
I got to the hotel just after the main office had been locked for the night. As I parked, I met the guy who'd done so. He told me he'd dropped my key off at the hotel next door (on the same property, owned by the same people), and took me there in his golf cart. Waited for me to sign in and get the key, carted me back to my car, and then drove ahead of me to show me to my room. Refused a tip to thank him for staying late to show me around.
I settled in, found a shaky wireless signal from the hotel next door (there was a somewhat better one for guests of the cabins, but I didn't have the password), and went to sleep.
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