Yellowstone Gratitude

Some thoughts that came to me on the camp-out at Yellowstone National Park:

I am grateful that I am content with very little so I don't have to haul around a truckload of gear in order to be comfortable.

Roaring Mountain.  Fumaroles (think a hot spring where no water comes out, only steam) cause the mountain to make a hissing, rumbling sort of noise.

I am grateful that I have no issue with sleeping on the ground because tents are easy and fast to set up and take down and tent-sites are always cheaper than RV sites or cabins.

Matt's favorite color is orange and there is a lot of orange going on in the pools at YNP.

I am grateful that Matt and I both adore walking and watching. 

I am grateful that my dad bought be a sleeping bag comfortable down to zero degrees F. so that I am always toasty warm inside at night.

Old Faithful Geyser

 I am grateful for the sun which brings life-giving warmth to each new day.

I am grateful for being absolutely thrilled by small wildlife, like the birds, because you see them a lot more than you do the mega-fauna such bear and moose.

Old Faithful, from a different vantage point.  We managed to catch Old Faithful a second time while out on a walkabout geyser hill.  I think it was better out here rather than at the viewing area near the visitors center.

I am grateful that I don't have any camp gear that requires electricity beyond my rechargeable batteries.

The stuff living in the hot water pools and streams is just out of this world. 

I am grateful to live in this glorious, mountain-west region with every once of my being, where there is so much space and so few people.

Spasmodic Geyser

I am grateful that Americans who came before me had the sense to try and preserve such a beautiful, incomprehensible place with as little development as possible so that I still have the chance to see such wonders myself.

I am grateful not to feel that I need to carry a cellphone everywhere I go.

I am grateful that there are recycling services at the park.  Really good ones, too, far surpassing those offered in the city of Billings.

I am grateful to live in a world where such mind-blowing wonders such as boiling mud and erupting geysers exist.

Sapphire Pool

I am grateful for the experience.  And that we bought a season pass so we can do it over and over and over again!