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Our day yesterday was exhausting. In our quest to make it north to Mammoth Springs before the northern road closed, we bypassed many of the sights close to Old Faithful. We decided to concentrate on these sights this morning and early afternoon and then drive through Grand Teton National Park in the evening on the way to Idaho. We only made it as far as Jackson Hole, Wyoming but that's okay. Jackson Hole is just south of Grand Teton National Park.
We watched Old Faithful blow again. It's hard to know what to believe but according to old timers, everything was once better than it is, including Old Faithful. It seemed pretty incredible to me. The second eruption that we saw lasted over four minutes. It's not as "faithful" as they would have you believe. It shoots off anywhere from 75 to 120 minutes from the most recent eruption. We visited Minute Geyser that used to shoot forty to fifty feet in the air every minute until stupid tourists started throwing rocks into the geyser. Now it doesn't work anymore.
We waited and waited for a geyser that's supposed to erupt every twelve to twenty-four minutes. It never happened. But the geyser behind it that supposedly erupts every twelve to twenty-four hours erupted in spectacular fashion. Steamboat Geyser last had a major eruption in 1991. We saw a minor eruption there.
We really didn't do much in Yellowstone today other than drive out of it. We stopped every few minutes to take additional video that we'll never watch.
We were disappointed that we hadn't seen a moose or two in Yellowstone but we headed for Grand Teton with our hopes high. I kept telling Ann that there were moose waiting for us. She wasn't so sure. Neither was I but it doesn't hurt to think positively.
The best way to spot wildlife in Yellowstone and Grand Teton is not to strain your eyes looking for animals. Every tree stump in the forest or meadow is an animal until you get close. No, the best way to spot wildlife is to drive until you see at least two other cars stopped on the side of the road. People standing outside their vehicles gawking is the best harbinger of potential wildlife.
That's how we spotted our first two moose in Grand Teton. I got some good pictures of the female moose but the silly male just wanted to lie in the grass. He blends in perfectly. I never would have known he was there if people hadn't been standing around with their cameras and tripods. Take a look at the picture on the Grand Teton web page and see if you can find the male moose (with a full rack on his head) in the tall grass lying down.
Finally convinced the male moose was not going to move, we headed south. Several fires were burning on the mountains, marked as controlled burns by the signs along the highway warning of drifting smoke. We caught the sun setting behind the mountains. That was a pretty sight.
I stopped at several sights looking for moose. At once place I saw animals about a mile away on the other side of the Snake River. I suspect they were pronghorn (similar to antelope) but it was too far to know. At the last moose viewing area I spotted a male moose about a half-mile away. I turned the van around and drove back up the road we had just driven down and I got some decent pictures. It wasn't close but I was satisfied.
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