We left Idaho Falls and went back to Wyoming!  and we are so glad that we did!  I keep thinking of a quote from Dr. Seuss :

“It’s opener there
in the wide open air.
OH!THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! …

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights!”

—-

and we are seeing the sights–believe me!

But first, let me say thanks to our friends in Idaho Falls– Jim, Susan and David, Jody and Megan–how sweet you are to open your homes to  these travelers! And John wants me to mention–what are the odds of us visiting two families who each have a very old dog (15 yrs) and 2 cats and a turtle???

When I told Jody about our blog she said, “oh yeah—’All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost’… it’s from the Hobbit, by Tolkien”.  I was very impressed! and I will put entire quote at the end of this entry.

So we headed to the Tetons–Grand Teton National Park…and are they grand!

WOW!

As Kathy S. wrote–there are no bad views in Wyoming!

We hiked and biked and then we backpacked in to Cascade Canyon—fantastic!

We hiked up to Lake Solitude….

and it was worth it!

Then…. on to Yellowstone! and, of course, Old Faithful!

We spent the day exploring all of the geysers in the area. It is amazing. It smells like sulphur everywhere, but it felt great to inhale the vapor–warm and soothing.  These are the result of sinter deposits–silica. The thermophores–bacteria that adapted to living in high temperatures–make these fantastic colors!  John thinks they would make great screen savers….

On Saturday night in Mammoth Springs, the elk were mating in the town square! There was one bull elk and serveral cows (his harem). The rangers had the wonderful job of directing traffic and keeping the tourists (us!) away from the herd. The next morning we heard some kids commenting that church service was great except for the mating calls of that bull! 

Click on this picture if you want a more explict picture:

On Sunday, we went to see the Mammoth Terraces–almost other worldly–it looks cold, but remember these are hot! Made of travertine deposits–calcium carbonate. I hope that you are impressed with my new vocabulary

So we had lunch on the banks of the Yellowstone River and what did we see when we where leaving the parking lot?

You won’t believe this……

It’s a movement!  That’s right…available at northernsun.com –order yours for 1.99! 

and then it was time to leave Wyoming (sigh!)…via the Northern entrance of Yellowstone…

And now we are in Bozeman, Montana. we stayed in a motel last night–it was cold and rainy–I know it’s still summer in the East!!! But this is a really nice college and outdoors town (Montana State University)–I couldn’t find local beer, so I had a Smithwick’s-always good! I’ve been sitting in their Co-op Cafe writing this entry… everybody here looks “vaguely familiar” as we say, eh, Peggy?

We’ll be heading North to Glacier National Park either later today or tomorrow. 

Here is the rest of Tolkien’s quote:

All that is Gold Does Not Glitter is a poem written by J. R. R. Tolkien for The Lord of the Rings novel. It forms an integral part of the plot. The poem reads:

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.^[1]