Back to the Yellow Zone, I mean Yellowstone, pictures.

[urbpan]

When Yellowstone was created as a park it was before Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho were states. Being a big area full of edible animals and interesting mineral resources that were suddenly all protected by the U.S. government, it needed protection. That job went to the army, who did the job in tents until they got tired of camping in fifty below, so they put some buildings up.

Then the Parks Service was created, and protecting the park became the job of Park Rangers, so the army cleared out to kill Spaniards or something. The buildings became a little tourist village called Mammoth Hot Springs. This village has watered lawns and a lack of predators, which suits the local elk population just fine. They have given up migrating, and they hang out surrounded by tourists (being yelled at by Park Rangers) an awful lot of the day.


Uinta ground squirrels also take advantage of the watered lawns and lack of predators.


The actual hot springs are up the hill a bit, oozing calcium rich water which hardens into a mineral called travertine into flat topped formations called terraces.




















At many active thermal sites, there are warning signs.


I've thought long and hard about why this sign made me laugh so much, and I've decided it's either the hat flying off, or the altitude making me light-headed.

Comments

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

It's so weird and pretty out there. Have you heard the elk whistling/warbling at night? (I think it ws the elk that did this...)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I didn't hear them at night (all I could hear but once when I was walking by a bunch I heard some weird whistling.