The Great Adventure 2011 Wyoming– 7/18/11

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We got up early and decided to have breakfast at the Geyser Grille only to find out that they didn’t open until 8 and it was 7am. So we decided to have a breakfast at a picnic table. Then we found out the mosquitoes were in full force and had to gulp down our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and run for the car.

At 9am, we met Ranger Anna for a hike around Harlequin Lake. It was a fun hike. We saw a pair of osprey and their nest, a bald eagle, a red winged blackbird, a loon, a cormorant, and ground squirrels. I found out that Ranger Anna and her daughter (an indie dyer) are on Ravelry. I was so thrilled to find more friends that are into yarn (and of course my hubby just rolls his eyes!)

After the hike we had a nice picnic lunch where there were no mosquitoes. Then we stopped along the ride back to walk around scenic geysers. At 4pm, we decided to do another hike around geysers in the Old Faithful area before joining a ranger on a hike at 5:30. We hiked on our own about 7pm to the Morning Glory geyser and then back to our hotel. We were too exhausted to even go find some dinner. We walked too many miles to count today and I hope we can get out of bed tomorrow!

Tomorrow we plan to do the Mystic Falls hike with the ranger and then do some more geyser hiking. That is, if we can still walk.

What I Learned Today:
· Rain that doesn’t reach the ground is called Verga
· Ospreys have a dihedral wing pattern which looks like they have elbows.
· Beavers come out at dusk and dawn.
· Blue dragonflies are called Bluets.
· Old Faithful is not the largest geyser.
· A geyser is predictable only if it has its own water source.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original Photo: by Pat Hensley