We're finally here - in Yellowstone! We just flew in this afternoon, so after dropping off our shit at the hotel and eating dinner, we just wanted a quick little trip to get a taste of what this place has to offer. So, went to see the Artist Paint Pots. It was about a 25-30 minute drive from the park border - getting around this park is going to require a TON of time in the car. Along the way we stopped and got within less than 10 yards of an elk, then a random geyser spewing sulfurous steam right of the road, and then again for a nice view of Gibbon Falls. We then went up the little side road that leads to the Artist Pain Pots trailhead and parked. It's just a 5 minute walk through regrowing burnt lodgepole to the boardwalks that take you around the thermal features. It's a short loop, maybe only half a mile, but we took our time and Melissa lots of pictures and it probably took us half an hour. There are several very cool features, including a small geyser continuously founting (I might have made that word up - but you get the idea) hot water at the base of the hill, lots of small colorful steaming holes all around, a big pot of boiling, spurting, gurgling mud up on top, some neat red holes in the ground filled with steaming milky blue water, and lots of other cool shit besides. All in all, I think it was a good choice for an easy hike on the first night. Seeing geysers and thermal features for the first time is truly impressive and awe-inspiring - nature is so much cooler than we can ever imagine!
I am probably way behind on this blog as far as gear purchases, pictures from hikes this summer, etc, etc. But now it's Yellowstone - it's kind of the this blog's reason for being and the impetus to start hiking in the first place. So all the undone shit from before takes a back seat.
I promise to post LOTS of Melissa's pictures!
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