More Yellowstone

There are so many and varied thermal features in Yellowstone we got tired while looking at all of them but not bored. Here are a few that didn't erupt.

Yellowstone also has lots of wildlife--some easier to spot than others.

We saw elk a couple of times. These were near Yellowstone Lake.

Buffalo are more plentiful and often cause buffalo jams, either by slowly crossing the road or causing motorists to stop on the road for a better look.  Notice the calves in these two photos.

There are also wolves in Yellowstone, or so these people told us. Whenever you see people looking out from the road, especially if they have spotting scopes, you have to stop and see what they are looking at. They told us there was a pack of wolves in the valley below. We could hardly make out the black dots, much less tell what they were. We did believe them, however.

Thankfully, not every visitor to the park drives their own vehicle. The roads were crowded as it was. These neat old buses and tour buses take many visitors from place to place.

The Great Northern Railroad built at least one of the beautiful lodges in Yellowstone. This is the interior of the Old Faithful Lodge. If we didn't have an RV, it would be neat to stay there.

Looking Up

Our son Doug grew up in Colorado and really loves the mountains. He has spent most of his adult life on Marine Corps bases in deserts, Okinawa and Iraq. He wanted to take his girls to the mountains he misses. We took a drive west to Evergreen. First, we looked for the herd of bison (aka buffalo) that can sometimes be seen in that area. All we found were empty pastures behind strong, high fences.

So we drove to Evergreen Lake. There we had a special treat--a group of cow elk with a couple of calves hanging out in the water!

I was concerned that the cows might get aggressive to keep us away from their young, but we didn't seem to cause them a problem. We did see on Facebook that the day before a man had passed them with his dogs, which really barked at the elk. One cow came out of the water and chased the man and his dogs down the path. Glad that didn't happen to us.

John, Doug and Sami walked on along the lake shore. Rachal wanted to go wading, so I stayed with her. As a child, that is what I wanted to do every time we went to the mountains and found a stream. The water at the edge was very shallow and she liked watching how it flowed over and around her feet. She left distinct footprints in the sand.

The others returned to our location.

Then we were off to High Country Pizza in Evergreen. They make great food.

Mountains, family and good pizza. Could it get any better?

Looking Back, Way Back

After our stroll up the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, we went to the History Colorado Center, the new history museum. Before going on the road full time 6 years ago, we volunteered once a week at the old history museum, helping keep the computer up to date on the location of items in the museum's collection. We knew they had a new facility--the Colorado Supreme Court needed to expand its building so it took over the location of the old museum.

This sign was right inside the museum entrance. If you visited Colorado in the past, you would see this sign as you crossed the border. A few of the signs still exist, but they don't have the word "Colorful" in full color.



Who hasn't heard of Colorado's Coors Beer? We learned that the company kept afloat during prohibition by manufacturing malted milk powder.



Who knew that a crocheted cover could serve as a silencer on a chamber pot?



A sad chapter in our nation's history was the internment of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II, many of them US citizens. Numerous states refused to allow refuge camps within their borders because they didn't want "those people" around. Colorado Gov. Ralph Carr disagreed with the internment policy and welcomed the people to a camp in Colorado. Called Amache, it was located in Granada on the eastern plains. At it's height, it house over 7,300 people, two thirds of them US citizens. This sign is a copy of a letter given to people of Japanese ancestry on the west coast, outlining what they were to bring and how to assemble for transport to a camp.



Have you heard of the Denver Boot? It is used to immobilize illegally-parked cars. It really was invented/developed here in Denver. Sorry.



The theme of many of the displays is the issue of race in Colorado. One display talked about the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado. I knew it had had an influence here, but wasn't aware of how great that influence was--or how it was reduced if not eliminated.



I grew up one block west of Washington Park in Denver. One of the two lakes there had a swim beach, though I never went swimming there. But I was not aware of the 1932 race riot there.



The museum is very kid-friendly. One example of that is this buffalo.



This display illustrates the importance of the buffalo to people living on and traveling through the plains. It shows how different parts of the buffalo are used: the stomach could become a container to carry food; dung provided fuel for fires; large bones could be used as cooking dishes; the coat provided warmth; the trail was a good fly swatter.

Buffalo All Over

Right now, we are in Buffalo, Wyoming. We haven't seen any buffalo statues. We are both alumni of the University of Colorado--the Buffalos. Last week, we saw lots of buffalo in Custer State Park. And we also saw painted buffalo statues in downtown Custer, South Dakota. Let me share some of those with you.

Here you see both sides of one buffalo.

Two different kinds of presidential images. Below, two of the pictures have a blue cast.  I have no idea why.

Exploring Custer State Park

Custer State Park in South Dakota is larger than many national parks and feels and looks like one. We feel really comfortable there because the scenery reminds us of Colorado.







We spent several days exploring the park. And what makes the park special is the wildlife. There are wild donkeys.



And donkey jams.



Pronghorn that are so used to people they are easy to photograph.



Mountain goats with their young and blocking the road.





And wild turkey.



But the best of all are the buffalo.





The previous photos are of buffalo bulls. In one location we saw a group of mammas and babies (they are cinnamon colored) walking across a valley.





One bull was not at all bothered about the people and cars nearby. This video shows him walking toward us, then going between the vehicles in the buffalo jam and rolling in the dirt on the other side of the road. What fun!