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Yellowstone National Park

Published August 21, 2014

Left work early Wednesday & boarded a plane to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Not only running a marathon this weekend – my 10^th– but also celebrating a birthday. Chose to spend this year in Yellowstone & Grand Tetons National Park 🙂

Short one hour flight from Colorado (vs 8+ hours drive), set up camp at the Flat Creek Inn & hit the road early Thursday – destination Old Faithful, 2 hours away in Yellowstone National Park.

The day’s weather was notably different from Colorado, misty rain & cool sub-60 temps. Unfortunately, Grand Tetons’ iconic peaks were completely obscured by cloud cover (would have to wait ’til Sunday). Another hour further, Old Faithful. Took a quick walkabout the Visitors Center, only 20 minutes ‘til this mighty geyser was scheduled to blow. Secured a premium spot & waited for geyser magic.

A thin white plume seeped from the ground, followed by larger puffs of white gas, then all diminished. The act re-commenced, this time water gurgled within the large gaseous plume. Another brief break & the show known as Old Faithful began. Approximately every 91 minutes, this geyser blows – spewing boiling water from Earth. AMAZING! What a birthday show!

Next stop: Grand Prismatic Spring

Listed #2 on gaperguide.com’s Top 5 Stops in Yellowstone – I was not disappointed. Because of the day’s cool weather, dense sulfuric fog formed from vapors pouring off colourful geysers in Midway Geyser Basin. The misty weather & geyser littered landscape was reminiscent of last year’s Icelandic adventure. SPECTACULAR orange & blues – crazy vivid hues. LOVED it!

Located in the Midway Geyser Basin is the brightly colored Grand Prismatic Spring. It is the largest hot spring in the U.S. and the 3^rd largest in the world!

Weather report for the weekend – rain, rain & more rain. Sounded like today might be my best chance to see Yellowstone – so stayed on the road & headed another hour west to Lower Yellowstone Falls.

The lower falls are 308 feet high, almost twice as high as Niagara Falls!

Parked a pull-off early & trail ran Red Rock & North Rim 2 miles to get a closer view of the Falls (& help altitude acclimate for Saturday’s Mesa Falls marathon). STUNNING VIEW of the Falls! The 2 mile return run UP however – now that was challenging 🙂

Didn’t see Yellowstone’s famous buffalo but did up my bear tally to 3 for the summer. A black bear crossed in front of my car – super exciting to see these huge predators when you’re not hiking (remembering last month’s 2 grizzlies in Glacier).

Finished at Mud Volcano before returning to Jackson via Yellowstone Lake & West Thumb.

Full 12 hour day – mountains, geysers, waterfalls & a bear! Happy Happy Birthday to me!

: first stop in the Park – Happy Birthday to me!

: erupts every 91 minutes

: a small escape of vapor

: …and thar she blows!

: colourful Midway Geyser Basin

: don’t touch, that stream is boiling

: Grand Prismatic Spring

: Excelsior Geyser

: stunning vivid blue & 199°F

: Dragon’s Mouth Spring

: Mud Volcano

: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

: Lower Yellowstone Falls

: a mile closer on Red Rock Trail

: my 3rd bear in 2 months 🙂

Old Faithful

Lower Yellowstone Falls

Mud Volcano

Posted in Rocky Mtn West | Tagged bear, geysers, nat'l-park, waterfalls | Leave a comment

Lafayette Peach Festival

Published August 16, 2014

With a mini-vacation & a 10^th marathon scheduled in a week, stayed close & attended my first Lafayette Peach Festival.

Both of Lafayette’s annual festivals – winter Oatmeal Festival & summer Peach Festival – always seemed a bit far-fetched. Oats are not milled along the Front Range; Lafayette’s peaches are trucked from Palisade (4 hours away on Colorado’s Western Slope).

Maybe I’m over thinking things. We in Louisville often snub our sister ‘burb, Lafayette (sibling rivalry).

Peach pie, peach cobbler, peach smoothies, peach lemonade, peach pizza, fresh peaches (sold by the box or the bag), peach soap – and many many local products including honey, antique furniture, local art & jewelry.

Discovered why Palisade peaches are Colorado’s best – so juicy & messy, gotta eat over the sink. YUM!

Sunshine, summer temps & thousands of attendees – Lafayette, you hit this one out of the park. Well done.

Lafayette Peach Festival, highly recommended. I’ll be back next year 🙂

: best peaches in Colorado

: peach cobbler – YUM!

Posted in Boulder County | Tagged festivals | Leave a comment

beautiful Lake Isabelle

Published August 9, 2014

6 days after Ironman – couldn’t wait to hit the mountains, jump in & rejoin everyday life.

Kicked off the weekend at Louisville Street Faire listening to live outdoor music, filling up on pizza & ice cream. All summer, every Friday night on Front Street (just off Main). Haven’t been once this year – good to be back.

Woke late Saturday plus the weather’s been a bit unpredictable, so Lake Isabelle was today’s target. Ash & Tom’s dog Marty injured his shoulder a few weeks back so decided on a shorter hike to best assess his recovery.

Hiked Lake Isabelle 2 years ago during my 52 week hike challenge – actually overshot the Glacier, resulting in Ro & I hiking down to our end destination. Good memories.

Paid the park fee & queued 30 minutes for our turn into the Park. So many people flocking to Indian Peaks this day, that rangers limited car entry into the Park.

Located parking on the west side of Brainard Lake & hit the trail. Good to be outside, always enjoy the smell of pine.

Quickly made our way to Long Lake – much easier without waist-high snow – and continued on Isabelle Glacier trail. Memory failed me thinking I’d passed glaciers before Lake Isabelle. In actuality these were only leftover snow banks from the heavy winter season which socked the Rockies this past year. WOW – it’s August. Not expecting these drifts will melt before snow flies again. LOVE my escape from the summer heat – only an hour from home.

Sat on a large rock, Isabelle lakeside & shot landscape pics as dark clouds gathered. Rain, gusty cold wind, ice pellets, rain again, then sunshine – all within a 20 minute span. LOL>

What turns a good hike day into a GREAT hike day?

Saw 2 HUGE moose on our hike return. I’ve seen moose from a distance in New Hampshire & Alaska. These guys however were close (10-15 feet away) and H-U-G-E. Their rack, their heads – just enormous. Tried to keep our distance & not startle these giants…but in reality, they could have trounced us. SPECTACULAR!

Bear & bighorn sheep last month – moose today. Travelling to Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks over my birthday – excited about the possibilities. Life is good, really really good 🙂