Arrival at Yellowstone National Park

After a quick swim in the hot spring pool at Fairmont Hotel, a short walk through the fields, which was cut short due to an unexpected attack by swallows - hard to believe but oh so true - I had breakfast with Victor, from Russia. We talked about many things and a.o. about the longlasting correspondence he has kept with people he has never met and is about to meet for the first time here in the US. Fascinating!

Our bus was ready for us at 10 o'clock and we drove to the Stack. This is the remainder of a huge copper smelter which belonged to the Anaconda corporation. Its chimney stands alone in the wide landscape as a token of an industrial era that has forever disappeared.

The road took us to Livingstone, a typical western town where we had time for lunch. The group split up and Sandra and I found a nice bar and split a hamburger, whih is a wise thing to do for Europeans who are still not quite accustomed to American food standards.

From here, we drove to Gardiner and through the North Entrance we entered Yellowstone Park.

As if to welcome us, a pronghorn antilope was grazing nearby and we got excited about what was waiting for us.

We arrived at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and checked into our rooms. This hotel is quite basic, but with all the commodities needed. Dave drew our attention to the architecture of the buildings in the park, which he calls "Parkitecture". The architects followed the Arts and Craft movement and tried to let the buildings blend in with nature. They wanted to set the houses, hotels, etc. in the National Parks apart from the ones in the cities.

I simply couldn't wait to get my walking shoes on and set off to the Mammoth Hot Springs just next to the hotel. I remembered them from 9 years ago, when I was here with my husband and three daughters. Somehow I felt transported in time, it looked the same and different. Maybe because this place keeps moving: hot water spurts out off the ground and changes the surface continually. It was very windy and a steep climb to the top of the boardwalk, but very rewarding indeed.

For our evening meal, we could take the coach back to Gardiner, but some of us decided to walk the 8 km. We thought there was a trail all along the river. However, this wasn't quite the case.

First we took a short cut and went down the slope to the river bank. A beautiful trail followed the winding river. Suddenly, we saw a big yellow and brown snake crawling between the rocks.

Then, we came to hot springs in the river where lots of people were bathing. We continued our walk but had to follow the road because the trail had stopped. When the coach finally caught up with us, the driver saw a rainstorm coming and decided to give us a lift for the rest of the way.

I shared a bison steak with Beatrice and really enjoyed it. While we were eating, an enormous rainbow spanned the sky above Yellow Stone. It was an omen of good luck for the days to come.