Yellowstone...day 2

Day 4, Friday - August 22.

So today started a lot like the day before. We woke up in Yellowstone with a new all time low temperature. When we finally dared to get up out of our sleeping bags and step outside, we could see frost on the windows of the cars. The only good thing about it being so cold is that you wake up quickly and realize that you may as well get up and get moving. I've never gone from sleeping to exercising so fast in my life. I think Bambi and I both got up, stepped out of the trailer and just kept walking until we found a sunny spot to warm up. It's not that we wanted to get up - it was only 6 am - it's just that you can really only lay there and shiver just so long before you start chipping your teeth. Ok, so here is where I would normally say... oh, it wasn't that bad. But it was!!

We decided to use the day to finish driving the Yellowstone loop. We left the Canyon campground after a breakfast of granola bars and headed toward the West side. Before we left for our drive though, we thought we'd check into getting on a horseback trail ride that morning. We arrived at Canyon stables just prior to their 2 hour ride. Unfortunately, the ride was full. However, there were still two spots available for the next morning which was a one hour ride so we reserved the two spots and were on our way.

As we were leaving the parking lot, there was an unusual amount of commotion coming from the stables. Apparently, a wealthy cattle baron had lost his prize possession, a two year old colt with rich blood lines that he had purchased for his daughter Jessica. He rode in with his posse, raised his pistol in the air and fired off two shots. He yelled, "I've got ten thousand dollars and my gratitude for any of you who are able to find my colt. She's been missing now for nearly 36 hours and we think she headed toward the canyon where she may be running free with the wild Brumby herd". He fired off two more shots and just like that, his entire posse, all of the stable trail ride wranglers, and even a few of the tourists took off to the East in search for the colt. I looked at Bambi and she said "Go, you know you have to do this to prove yourself". Like a flash, I jumped on my faithful steed Klondike and we were gone, though by now the only sign of the posse was a cloud of dust. Klondike gave her best and in no time, I could see the posse in the meadow below - just in time to see the best tracker in the region, Clancy, rounding up the entire herd of Brumbies with a crack of his whip. It seemed that the chase was over... until... the leader of the Brumbies circled around and reared his head. Like a shot, the herd was off and broke free of the containment circle the wranglers had set up. The horses were gone and so was Jessica's prized colt. The men gave chase with me and Klondike bringing up the rear. We ran the horses hard, right up to the edge of a canyon cliff where the Brumbies made the jump, stampeding down the side of the canyon wall. All the men in the posse pulled up, refusing to make the jump... knowing that the pack was gone. Suddenly, the posse spread apart at the precipice of the canyon wall. They could hear the crack of my whip and the thundering of Klondike's hooves as I urged her on. The next few seconds felt like they happened in slow motion. I leaned back hard on the saddle and pulled up on Klondike's reigns as we cascaded down the huge cliff. Leaning left, leaning right, we missed the trees and suddenly, we were on the canyon floor... right behind the pack of Brumbies. The posse at the top of the cliff could only see a cloud of dust. They returned back to the stables with their heads hung low, knowing that the Brumbies had taken the colt forever. Suddenly, the men in the posse turned their heads and looked off into the canyon valley when one of them yelled "look, over there!" (music starts) In the distance there they came, the entire herd of Brumbies, including Jessica's prized colt. I coralled the herd and said to the wealthy baron. "They're all here... there are five or ten good horses in that pack... I'll be back for them tomorrow... along with my money." Then, Bambi jumped on Klindike behind me and we rode off into the sunset... Wait. That's the plot from the movie The Man From Snowy River. But we did make reservations for a one hour trail ride the next day.

So anyway, we took off driving around the North part of the loop and down the West side in order to see Old Faithful and the other sights on that side of the park. We took several different short hikes to see some brilliantly colored Sulfur pots and smaller guysers. Finally, we came upon Old Faithful. It's a really cool place, starting with the Old Faithful Inn which was originally built in 1904. To say the Inn is grand would be an understatement... especially considering its location only a few hundred yards from Old Faithful. We checked the place out and found out that it was designed by a very young architect at the time (29 years old) and was built from lodge pole pines which are so readily available in the area. The inside of the Inn is huge and wide open, three stories up in the lobby with the ceiling soaring to a height of 76 feet. The architect did this knowing that the average height of the surrounding pines was 75 feet... he wanted the building to blend with the nature around it. He even built in a really cool tree fort at the peak of the lobby but tourists are not allowed up there. It also has a door up there which lets people up on to the roof to an observation deck. Apparently, when the Inn was first opened, guests could go on the deck to watch Old Faithful from up there. This is also no longer allowed but must provide a great view.

Anyway, we found a spot around Old Faithful and while we were waiting, struck up a conversation with a woman and her son from New York. They were on a trip similar to ours and we found out that we had done a lot of the same things through SD, WY and now Yellowstone.
After waiting for about 20 minutes or so, we were rewarded by natural spectacle which is Old Faithful. The guyser began to bubble and steam and then exploded, shooting steaming water about 130 feet in the air. The whole thing lasted about 4-5 minutes and was really something to behold. To think, this thing has been doing this for generations now. Although, it seems like she's not quite as faithful as she used to be. We went to get something to eat at the restaurant next door and waited to see her go again. This time, she was a good 4-5 minutes behind schedule. According to the brochure, she may go anytime between 40 and 90 minutes in between bursts but usually, it does still go like clockwork every so many minutes.

We decided to get headed back across the park to Canyon Lodge where Bambi took up her favorite spot on the leather chair... right next to the fire place. That night was very cold again, only this time, I was alone in the trailer. Bambi decided to clear out the back seat of the truck and sleep there. She ran the truck for about 15 minutes with the heater set on 90 until even she had to admit it was hot in there. She shut off the truck and snuggled down deep into her sleeping bag where she says she finally got some sleep. As for me, I slept ok... I was in my sleeping bag with workout pants under my blue jeans, a t-shirt, an under armour long sleeved jacket and my hooded sweatshirt (hood up) and gloves. It's hard to sleep with that many clothes on but it was better than freezing to death. I guess I mostly was able to stay warm because of the adrenaline still pumping through my veins from my previous adventure... I drifted off to sleep still saying... go Klondike, after those Brumbies...