All Nature's wildness tells the same story: the shocks and outbursts of earthquakes, volcanoes, geysers, roaring, thundering waves and floods, the silent uprush of sap in plants, storms of every sort, each and all, are the orderly, beauty-making love-beats of Nature's heart.
John Muir
The Abyss Pool at Yellowstone - deep, dark and steamy
Mother Nature
She is spitting fire,
boiling clay and mud-
she is bleeding metal
too hot to touch-
she is carving
deep lines
in pillars of stone,
crumbling mountains of rock
in her little green fingers.
Her blazing temper
creates cathedrals in the sky,
then her windy rage
and stormy tears
knock them down again.
She is not steady
she is not safe,
she is a miracle
of volatility.
I feel her forces
at work on me.
I am not stronger
Than granite-
And lines can be carved
So easily
In this soft flesh.
But without her,
I wouldn’t be at all.
So when her storms relent -
and she is calm,
her blue skies shining,
her voice gently whispering
through the trees,
I try to trust the design -
and breathe.
Black Pool mineral run-off, steam rising and beautiful pine backdrop.
Black pool from above - changes over time have made it much lighter
The Fishing Cone Geyser - it is still hot, (172 degrees Fahrenheit) but no longer erupts.
Blue Funnel Spring has collapsed inward and almost dried up. When you walk past it; there is an illusion that its center moves.
Mimulus pools - the colors of the pools and the grasses blended so beautifully. After Yellowstone, I drove all day to the east side of Wyoming. If you want to know more about the geysers and springs in this area (West Thumb) of Yellowstone, click here.
The next day, I was so close to the Devil’s Tower National Monument, that I decided to hike there before driving to Custer State Park in South Dakota.
At the base of the trail to Devil’s Tower, there is a sculpture of a smoke ring - The idea to frame the tower inside the ring is not an original one of mine (there is actually a picture like this at the park), but I couldn’t resist doing it too. The sky was so nearly perfect.
Prarie dogs were popping up all over from their little network of holes and tunnels at the bottom of the hill leading up to the trail
One of my favorite views of the tower. Some native American tribes believe it is the base of an ancient tree - you can see why in this picture.
Climbers scaling their way to the top while I was hiking around the base of the tower.
You can see them here again - it gives you a little perspective on how tall this natural formation is… and how adventurous some people are!
At the end of the hike, returning back to where I started - I couldn’t resist another picture of a prairie dog. They were cheerful company.
The Cathedral Spires at Custer State Park - Castles in the Air. Granite, carved by time, water, and wind.
A precarious looking balancing act of stone on stone, a natural cairn
Skies were darkening while I made my way back down the trail - I got caught in a thunderstorm running back to my van.
After the storm ended, I stopped to walk around the calm water of Legion Lake.
This was an unusual road trip experience for me. When I started out, I had no firm plans. Somehow, things came together and I found some places that I was really sad to leave. I got caught in a couple of storms; one while i was camped, the other while i was still hiking - reminding me that mother nature is in control. I guess that, and the nature of the places I visited, which were all dramatic examples of the power of natural forces, inspired my writing this week.
Thank you for your time and attention. I really appreciate you being here. See you next week!