 |
Miles City, MT is a neat community in the eastern part of the state. We had a little trouble finding an affordable and available room for the night - this town is the only one with lodging for literally 300+ miles ... from Bowman, ND to Billings. I had a good long run here in Miles City - but I offer some friendly advice: if you're not looking to run 8 miles (76 minutes), then don't head into town and then out again along Business I-94 ... it doesn't lead back to the Motel 6! |
 |
More scenery along I-90 in Montana. It's beautiful, isn't it? |
 |
Real mountains at last! notice the snow-covered peaks. |
 |
These peaks are located off of US hwy 212 near the NE entrance to Yellowstone. The charred trees are left over from the huge fire in 1988 that devastated parts of Yellowstone. |
 |
More mountain scenery... |
 |
Amazingly, I might be getting over my fear of heights - the drop-off from this overlook is quite dramatic, and yet I was able to pose for this pic. (I wonder just how tightly my hands are gripping the railing though?!) |
 |
The previous overlook was at this point in the Custer National Forest. |
 |
Okay, I was quite surprised after climbing nearly 7,000 feet along the winding road to reach what's known as an "alpine meadow." Here we are above 10,000 feet in elevation and on top of a mountain, and instead of rocky crags we have rolling meadows. Simply fascinating! |
 |
More alpine meadow, at a higher elevation still. |
 |
Yes, that's snow in July! |
 |
The snow, combined with the elevation, made it feel quite comfortable, almost cool, at midday. |
 |
A view from our lunch spot - scenic indeed! |
 |
Antother view of the lake where we lunched. |
 |
Welcome to Yellowstone! The next 30 or so pics are from this natural wonder of our country. |
 |
Can you see the black bear over to the left? |
 |
A petrified tree. In Yellowstone, gravity is suspended (because of the elevation) and things can grow horizontal as well as vertical. Even the park rangers built that fence to fit with the surroundings. |
 |
This is Mammoth Hot Springs - the water near the walkways isn't hot (in fact, it's mostly cool to the touch - I broke park rules and touched the water ... sorry, but curiosity "kills the cat" you know!) We wandered through the sulfur smells and steam, gazing at the colorfully carved rock formations at these springs. |
 |
More hot springs. |
 |
Being meteorologists, we couldn't help noticing these gorgeous cumulionimbus framed by the mountains. |
 |
Caribou - quite common in the park. |
 |
A geyser - Norris I think. |
 |
A sulphur spring - I think the greenish-blue color comes from bacteria in the water. |
 |
More hot springs. |
 |
A boiling spring - we didn't see any buffalo bones nearby, but rumor is that the great beasts fall into the springs after being attracted to them during cold winters. |