In Yellowstone

Well, another day of incredible scenery. One starts to run out of superlatives to describe it.

This morning we did a little shopping and wandered around West Yellowstone. Unlike the last time we were here everything was open. I bought not one but two pouches. They are so useful to use instead of filling pockets.

The plan for today was to end up at Gardiner but take a different route to the one we had done before. The map will show our route.

We went up to Norris and past the superb Norris Geyser Basin - a sight to behold in winter – and on to the Canyon Village. We stopped there for a coffee and went into the visitors centre. The NPS had an exhibition about Yellowstone as a super volcano. There wasn't anything there that we didn't already know but it did have a rather unusual globe of the world. It was a large rock globe, some three feet in diameter, with the land masses etched onto it and the main volcanic areas marked in red. That wasn't the unusual thing about it. It was how they made it rotate. It was totally free to spin any direction as it has was supported and lubricated by water being forced under it so that it sat on a cushion of water. As is the way with such things the little sweet hearts were just making the globe spin faster and faster. I actually wanted to look at. So with one hand I slowed it down and the little oik tried to make it spin. I'm pleased to report that he gave up and disappeared leaving me, tee hee, to look at it properly. It was very easy to manoeuvre and position the right way up and then spend a few minutes actually looking and studying it.

Upstairs they had some very good displays showing where volcanoes and earthquakes had occurred since the 1960s built up on computer screens and a display showing the seismic activity in the area.

On driving out from the Canyon Village we did a tour of the 'Grand Canyon of Yellowstone'. This was an auto-tour, what else in the USA!, and did we encounter slow moving cars and some very odd parking practices. However, the first view we stopped at was at the Virginia Falls. These were magnificent. At some point I will put together a site showing some, not all of the pictures taken as that's the best way to appreciate them. These falls, like the Lewis Falls mark the edge of the Yellowstone caldera. It was like a version of the Grand Canyon in one valley. There were one or two wingey characters of the 'what's so special about these' variety. They wanted to go out on the promontory and do something – like drop off hopefully.

As a side note, some of the areas that we've passed through have been as spectacular as Grand Canyon. Some have been like Death valley with greenery. Quite stunning. What takes one by surprise is the sudden shift in scenery; one minute you're driving through a magnificent, steep sided canyon and then you're out on a plateau and the transition is so sudden.

We didn't stop at all the points as they looked rather crowded and difficult to park sensibly. We got back to the Grand Loop road and towards Dunraven Pass. The roads were steep and twisty but easy enough to drive. We stopped just after the pass for some pictures and as it started to rain decided to head on towards Tower Falls.

Tower Falls was where we had tried to get to last October but failed due to the snow. This time we would make it. Up, down, twisty roads and past Mount Washburn where we stopped and looked out across the main caldera, which is completely covered in trees. Soon we arrived at the Falls and despite it looking busy we stopped and took the requisite pictures. One little thing amused us. We had seen lots of older looking bikers, grey haired, beards, sun glasses, leathers, no helmets, (and that was only the women!) bandanas – basically, the works. Just as we got to the falls there were some bikers putting on white coveralls to keep off the rain! What wimps or didn't they want to get their nice leathers/denims wet?

Again these Falls were fantastic and quite spectacular. As we're going to be heading that way again on the way to Cody we'll probably drop in on them again or at least some of the other viewpoints.

As we swung up towards Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner we were travelling on the road that we had planned last October when all the snow stopped us. As we swung around a bend there were the Undine Falls, the furthest that we had got the last time we were here. We pulled off the road and I filmed the falls again but this time we ventured down to the top of the falls and I have gotten some amazing footage of the falls from directly above. They were just as amazing this time as before but easier to get to.

We made our way to Gardiner, stopping off at the same store as last October but the same woman wasn't there. So it was then off to the motel.