Happy 4th of July from Catalina Island in sunny Southern California.
About to head back to the mainland and our drive to Phoenix, Arizona.
And off we go.
Catalina Island – Day 1
On a 4th of July weekend trip out to Catalina Island in Southern California with Ruby and Axel Rieke.
Only Caroline and Ruby braved the cold waters. Our underwater camera took mediocre photos, while our first-generation digital camera took seriously mediocre images. But at least we have the memories.
Disneyland With Friends
Caroline and I, along with Ruby and Axel Rieke, left yesterday for a trip to Los Angeles, well Anaheim in particular, so we could attend Anime Expo 2000.
After loading up with anime swag, we headed over to Disneyland. Does Caroline look a bit pensive to you, too?
Axel had a bit of a breakdown in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, finding it all a bit too real…Ruby had to steal control of their car and get them out of that house of psychedelia as quickly as she could.
Going to California
Driving west to Los Angeles is about all I know of this image; well, that and Ruby and Axel are with us. I should note that these early digital photos got moved around and apparently, a bunch of photos went missing as I cannot find images from July 1st and 2nd, which was Saturday and Sunday before the four of us heading over to Catalina. I’m certain that we did not go back to Arizona for the weekend, but of those days, nothing remains.
Yellowstone – Day 6
When you wake in Mammoth Hot Springs you go out and explore Mammoth Hot Springs because that’s the way we do things.
We were travel noobs when we made this trip, no warm weather clothes, no rain gear, just enthusiasm, and these cheap orange plastic rain ponchos from the gift store that, while they worked, also sucked.
And then it had to go and start snowing.
It’s love.
And mud.
It’s grass, water, and algae.
It’s unidentifiable weird stuff that feels like half-cooked chicken.
And then it’s almost over.
We had to drive back down south through the Tetons once more and through Jackson to make our way to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where we flew in nearly a week ago. The impact this trip had on me cannot be understated, as it was enormous and will continue to affect me well into the future.
Yellowstone – Day 5
On our second full day in Yellowstone, we were greeted by this bison next to the trail on the Old Faithful Basin. So far, we’ve not seen any sign of a large herd of these woolly brown beasts, just a random individual or two wandering around.
Geysers, mud pots, hot springs, fumaroles, and streams are joined by the smell of sulfur and the sounds of escaping steam, boiling mud, rumbling cauldrons, birds, and occasionally falling rain. This is certainly the place to be when one wants their senses fully assaulted by nature.
Impenetrable windows into our earth, these hot springs come with plenty of warnings that to enter one is nearly certain death. To look from the safety of the boardwalk is the preferred way of observing them, but still, the imagination begs to see just below the surface and explore the plumbing that is out of sight.
Yesterday we turned right to circumnavigate the park, but today we went straight ahead at the fork in the road and ended up in Mammoth Hot Springs.
Landed in Idaho, drove to Wyoming, and now we are dipping into Montana at the Roosevelt Arch. President Theodore Roosevelt personally laid down the cornerstone of this entryway back in 1903
Around every corner, there is a sight to see. Nowhere in Yellowstone is one going to encounter disappointment.
In Lamar Valley, we spotted a giant herd of elk on a mountainside, but they were too distant to photograph with this particular camera. No matter because we are enchanted all the same.
Staying up north in Mammoth Hot Springs tonight, where everything is perfect for those willing to see the perfection in all there is.