Yellowstone, Here We Come!

Our friends are getting older just as rapidly as we are!  I freely acknowledge that is not a profound statement, but it still does give me some comfort.  As a senior, I may not be representative of normal, but I am sometimes leery of change.  To put it another way, I am comfortable with continuity, stability, and security.  Surprises or unforeseen events can make me nervous.

I feel a sense of security to find people whom I have known for much or even most of my life to remain securely in my life.  Seeing old friends and refreshing our relationships is what I find to be very assuring and affirming. 

Do not many seniors feel the same way?  Don’t we imagine teenagers, for example, thrive on the excitement of new events and rapid changes?  How wonderful, even as seniors, we can experience new things with excitement!

Blessed to Have Great Family and Friends

Dianne and I have really been heartened to refresh our relationship with so many dear friends over the past six weeks or so.  For a long time, we looked forward to seeing Yellowstone National park in Wyoming.  We were not disappointed.

Smokey view of Grand Tetons, WY.

We Finally Arrive at Yellowstone!

In Montana, we drove south to West Yellowstone, just outside of the park.  The town is, as you might expect, a tourist trap.  Everything is very expensive.  We stopped at a clean motel and discovered the price was just under $200 per night.  

The following morning, we discovered the traffic in town to be very congested as we tried to enter the park through the gate.  It took us a full hour to enter even though the distance from town was only about a mile.  The following morning, we waited until midmorning, and we breezed right into the park.

There's a lot of beautiful scenery in Yellowstone, as I hope the pictures below will demonstrate.  Old Faithful fully measured up to my expectations.  Judging from the astonishing sounds made by the gathered crowd, they too, were well pleased.  Although it does not seem reasonable to set your watch by the intermittent eruptions, they do occur quite reasonably predictably. 

(By the way, to see much larger pictures, right click on the pic, then "open image in new tab", then click on the tab).

Old Faithful, doing its thing.

Old Faithful erupting. Yellowstone, WY

While the pool below is certainly beautiful, trust me it's not for swimming.  I've been recently reading about the consequences to an animal that strays too close and inadvertently falls in.  First of all, the body is completely cooked.  After a very few days, all that remains are the cleaned bones. 

The trails are all constructed of wood or a wood substitute.  Many places are marked by signs warning to stay away from all of the pools.  A view of the walkways.

Many of the trees near various springs or pools of water are dead.  It has to do with the underground water (sulfur water, actually) killing the roots, and thus the trees. 

Caution: NOT a swimming hole! Yellowstone National Park, WY

Driving to another side of the park, we found Yellowstone River.  Most of the flow of water is very peaceful and tranquil.  The falls (there are two of them) are very loud and majestic.  It is a short, but gorgeous hike from one fall to the other.

Dianne has seen Yellowstone before, but I have not.  I am grateful to have had occasion to have seen it now.  It was well worth the time and effort to visit.  If you have not yet been able to see it, I would encourage you to give it a go. 

Yellowstone Falls

Yellowstone Falls in WY>

In sight of Old Faithful is Old Faithful Inn, actually the main lodge because other public housing is also available.  The Inn is very majestic and large and built during the era of grand hotels.  Made of logs from local forests, it is spacious and rustic.  However, don't expect to pay Motel 6 rates!  

Old Faithful Lodge in WY

Hot water in Yellowstone National Park, WY

This excursion would have been much more difficult to take had we not been retired seniors.  We are grateful to have been able to participate in this trip. More to come next week.

Please share your thoughts and any response you may have in the form below.

Return to SeniorHealthyLifestyles.com

Bible Study Guides

It Is Written

Amazing Facts

Authentic