Thank You, Theodore Roosevelt: Day Six

 Day Six: The Birthday Boy Almost Bails


When we woke up this morning, Dan complained of "lethargy" and expressed concern regarding his ability to engage in the day's planned activity: viewing the Grand Prismatic and a subsequent hike to Fairy Falls.

What did he think it was, his birthday?  As a matter of fact, it was.

But after a hearty breakfast, he rallied, and we headed out to the intended sites.

Previously, I commented about the perceived poor signage at Grand Tetons.  Our experience at Yellowstone was that signage there was far superior to the Tetons, including very nice blaze orange metal pieces fastened about seven feet above the trail onto trees so you can see where you're supposed to be headed.  With that in mind, we set out believing that we'd see the sign for Fairy Falls (identified in our hiking map as a popular destination).  No problem.

 Ha, ha.  Joke's on us.  But once again, the detour was worth it.  Even when we recognized we had gone too far, the sites we saw on the drive were, as almost everything else we've seen, breathtaking.

One comment about the trails in Yellowstone.  Granted, we chose more of the well traveled hikes, nothing overly strenuous.  The trails were all very well maintained, wide, graveled or cindered and, as noted above, well marked.  This made for Easy Hiking for Old People and we are most appreciative.

Setting out on the hike to Fairy Falls, we took a side trail to the Grand Prismatic overlook and were very glad we did as it provided the most dramatic view of this iconic Yellowstone feature.  You've probably seen a photo of the Grand Prismatic, as it is often shown in photographs along with Old Faithful.


From ground level rather than the overlook

The Birthday Boy and his other half on the overlook of the Grand Prismatic.

The landscape around the Grand Prismatic and the other geysers and fumeroles (steam vents) is other worldly.




We made it up to Fairy Falls!  Here's the Birthday Boy taking a break.  What does he think it is, his birthday?

Yet another great day, hiking this most amazing Park.  We celebrated Dan's birthday with dinner at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, but on our way there we ran across this little friend.



After dinner, we went over to the Lake Lodge, walking distance from our cabin, where we toasted each other with Smith and Kearns, sat on the rocking chairs on the expansive front porch of the Lodge, and then futilely attempted to connect to the world wide web before heading back to our cabin.  Tomorrow is our last day here in Yellowstone.  The only thing that could have made it any better is running in Kevin Costner (aka John Dutton from the show Yellowstone) and even that might not have been able to improve this trip.





 

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