Paparazzi in the Park (Yellowstone)

Getting up and ready for an 8:15 a.m. tour on Friday morning proved to be a challenge as our bodies are used to sleeping until we wake up. It was down to the 40's so we started out with jackets and were glad we wore layers, as the park ranger suggested because the day warmed up to the 80's later on.

We are amazed at how much we learned by taking two full-day tours of Yellowstone. Both guides were young men who absolutely love the park and they live there. They do all sorts of things like these tours, fly fishing tours (Ed was astounded to read that a fly fishing trip costs $400 per person for one day!), horseback riding, and more.

Both days we were in a 1937 White touring bus. They were bought in the year 2000 and it took seven years to refurbish, them (There are some new parts in them, such as motors.) They spent about $280,000 each to get them on the road.
It felt like we were on a safari with the top open but it wasn't long before the sun and wind got to us, so they closed the cover. It felt like the paparazzi were after us as people took pictures of us -- well, really they took pictures of the touring car -- all over the park.

We stopped in Hayden Valley and other places along the way. The history of the explorers who came through the park is fascinating, as were, not to mention the animals we saw.

We had lunch at Mammoth Hot Springs in the Northern part of the park. I was expecting a springs that you could soak in but this was quite different

There are various springs that flow out over the rocks and there are ledges formed from silt in the water.This makes the mountain look white. This white stone is called Travertine and it is very popular (and expensive) for kitchen counters and is harder than marble.

Bye, bye, paparazzi!