Saturday Shot 15 NOV 2008
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Back to Yellowstone National Park we go for today’s Saturday Shot. Welcome to Dragon’s Mouth Spring in the Mud Volcano Area. From yellowstonenationalpark.com:
Temperature 170.2°F Dimensions 18×30 feet. Depth 16 feet. Dragon’s Mouth is a turbulent hot spring with a cavernous mouth. Water sloshes rhythmically in and out of the cavern giving the impression of a large overflow; however, the actual discharge is quite small. Much of the activity and energy is located within the cavern. As hot water rises to the surface, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor gases expand creating a pressure explosion in the cavern. The resulting activity is sloshing, belching, and steaming.
Yes, it’s cool to watch the water slosh in and out, especially since it’s in varying degrees; sometimes there are little sloshes, and sometimes the sloshes are so big they create a huge wake that washes over the shoreline. But the most fascinating part of this thermal feature is the sound, which is what gives the feature its name. As the water moves in and out, a roaring sound comes from deep within the cavern.
I tried to find a video on YouTube that had the sound, but in the videos I found, I couldn’t tell for sure if the sound was the spring or the wind. The wind is very strong in Wyoming. I’ll try and dig through my videos and see if I can’t find something to post later.
You might notice a couple of lens flares in this shot. I considered trying to remove them, but decided I rather like them. Besides, I did use my lens hood and got the flare anyway. See up at the top of the picture? That’s the sun itself just outside the frame — yes, it was really really bright.
And Dragon’s Mouth Spring, a thermal feature we’ve made sure to visit every time we’ve been to Yellowstone, is really really cool.
Have a great weekend!
Saturday Shot 08 NOV 2008
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at 4:36 pm
We’re going back to our vacation this summer at Yellowstone National Park for today’s shot. This is the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, one of the most photographed features in the park. I’ve posted these falls before, but that photo was from a different vantage point — I believe the same Ansel Adams’ famous picture was shot from.
Unfortunately, when we went this summer, that spot was closed (actually, one entire side of Canyon was closed), and the only viewing spot of the falls was from Artist Point, which is where this was shot from. It was kind of a good thing for us, since we hadn’t been to Artist Point on our previous trips.
I kept looking at this picture — in particular, the white on the left side of the falls. I kept thinking that was really odd looking water, and I wondered how the spray managed to do that. Until I looked closer and realized it was snow. 
Not on of my more stellar moments.
Saturday Shot 27 SEPT 2007
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 11:16 pm
WHEW! Just got this week’s Saturday Shot in under the wire! I’m not entirely sure I’m happy with the processing on this one, but I’ll leave it for now — I swear, I’m going cross-eyed. 
We’re in Yellowstone National Park again; this photo’s from the feature known as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon is about 20 miles long, 1,500-4,000 feet across, and its walls are 800-1,200 feet deep. We were there to take photos of the Lower Falls (as everybody does), but when I saw this rock formation, I thought it was kind of interesting. The colors were dynamic, too.
We took it easy at Canyon this year, only taking the short walk to Artist Point and another short walk to shoot the Upper Falls (you’ll probably see pictures from both spots in the near future). Good thing the ease of the walk doesn’t relate to the quality of the view! Still, one of these days I’ll get up the courage to hike Uncle Tom’s Trail to the base of the falls. I’ll need lots of courage — that hike includes a steep metal staircase of over 300 steps and a descent of 500 feet.
Yikes! 
Saturday Shot 23 AUGUST 2008
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Saturday Shot 02 AUGUST 2008
by Lynn Daniels on Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Vacation Day Five — Bears!
by Lynn Daniels on Friday, August 1, 2008 at 10:13 pm
I’m a little behind in my vacation report posts, and with any posts at all. This hard drive failure is giving me fits, so please bear with me.
Anyway, on to day five — our first full day in Yellowstone Country. And the first thing we did, after a leisurely morning that included a rousing game of National Parks Monopoly, was hit the Beartooth. But this time, I was armed with my camera gear.
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Saturday Shot 19 JULY 2008
by Lynn Daniels on Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 8:16 am
Welcome to the first Saturday Shot from my 2008 Yellowstone Country vacation! Today’s shot comes from the Beartooth Scenic Highway, which is probably my favorite drive. That’s Beartooth Butte and it’s reflection in Beartooth Lake. And the white stuff at the bottom of the butte? Ice. Frozen lake. On June 22nd. Blew my mind!
This was our second time on the Beartooth Highway this trip, and our second day in Cooke City. I still can’t believe the amount of snow still remaining. Some of the lakes further up the highway were not only completely frozen, but they were also snow-covered. With snowmobile tracks criss-crossing the surface! We must have seen at least a half-dozen snowmobiles enjoying the white stuff on this day. How cool is that?
Vacation Day Four - Cooke City, At Last
by Lynn Daniels on Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Sorry for the late post — MiniMe was invited by the high school girl’s soccer coach to participate in a couple scrimmage games today, and we just got home. She played very well, I’m proud to say, and it looks like something good might come of it. But that’s a discussion for another day. As for right now, on to the trip report.
Morning four in Cody was the first we didn’t have to jump out of bed and get right on the road. Cooke City isn’t too far from Cody, and our check-in time wasn’t until four that afternoon. So on day four, we woke up, hung out in the bed a while, then eventually got up, packed up, checked out, and headed for a good, leisurely sit-down breakfast. After a quick trip to Wal-Mart (just picked up a few staples), we were on our way to our final destination, Cooke City, Montana.
Vacation Day Three — Finally Cody
by Lynn Daniels on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 11:21 pm
We’d originally planned to have breakfast with my family before hitting the road, but after experiencing Denver traffic the night before, that idea was quickly nixed. Instead, it was continental breakfast followed by hopping in the truck and hitting the road as quickly as we could. We still didn’t escape morning rush hour traffic, darn it all. We hit it in Denver (which was a real pain in the ass to get out of), then we hit it again near Fort Collins. But after we cleared Fort Collins, traffic got lighter and lighter and we were able to relax just a little bit more.
Is anybody surprised that I was excited when I saw the sign welcoming us to Wyoming? Wyoming and Montana: my two favorite states in the union. Yup, I was nearly schoolgirl giddy. And I was getting to see a part of the state I hadn’t seen in the past, since we were coming in from a different direction. I missed out on the old sorehead sign at Fort Laramie, Wyoming (250 good people and 6 sore heads), but I did get to see Buford, Wyoming. Their billboard declares them the smallest city in the nation with a population of one. What I found most amusing was this town of one had their own interstate exit and a trading post selling gifts and fuel. They must import workers.
Vacation Day Two - Crossing the Heartland
by Lynn Daniels on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 1:05 pm
On Day Two we got an early start, although not as early as the day before. After a hearty Waffle House breakfast (just a quick short walk from the hotel!) we were on the road before 8:30am.
Random Photo
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NaNoWriMo
