Yellowstone National Park (Montana, Idaho, but mostly Wyoming)

July 03, 2004

	The thing that amazed me most about Yellowstone was that there were so many dead trees. They stood as a memorial to forest fires. The last forest fire was started artificially so that it was a controlled burn. On average the lightning starts 34 fires a year in Yellowstone. The last really big fire occurred in 1988 when almost 35 000 acres burned. When I looked for postcards to buy, none of them had dead trees on them. And yet the bare tree trunks against the blue sky are such a stunning image. On the second day we drove to Canyon Village because they had showers there. On the way we stopped at a geyser area called the Artist Paintpots.
	On our way to Canyon Village we saw the first buffalo. It was running along the side of the road and crossed it right behind our bus! Apparently buffalo (or bison) can run up to 30 miles per hour and they can weigh 2000 pounds. I have to say I did not really like seeing one so close! I do have more images of buffalo but since I had just bought a long lens for the camera they are all on film. We drove further to Lake Village by Yellowstone Lake. The picture of the building below is one of the fancy hotels in Yellowstone.
	A bit after the Lake Village we took a small hike to a natural bridge. The whole area of Yellowstone is pretty high up in the mountains so it is much harder to walk - the air is much thinner and you run out of breath really easily and even the slightest climb up a hill makes you huff and puff. The Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake at high elevation in North America, it lies at the elevation of 7733 feet or 2357 meters
	On this day we crossed the continental divide (again) twice.