Saturday, June 21, 2008

06-20 Colter's Hell – The Yellowstone







Yes, the geysers. Yes, Old Faithful. Yes the sulfurous fumaroles. But so much more. Canyons and big walls. Sub-alpine grasslands. Expansive meadows covered with spring grasses brushed by strokes of sunlight. Bison, grizzly and prong horn. Signs of glacial action, hinted at in the Tetons, are everywhere. There is an overwhelming sense of time here. Geologic time. You see its slow change in the practically every formation and the bubbling waters and fumaroles tell you change has not stopped. Cirques, tarns, moraines, hanging valleys and erratics are seen without making the effort to look. They leap out at you, forcing you to take notice. Beauty on a grand scale, a massive and grand scale. Rivers, like the Gardiner, knifing its way to a V shaped lower level or a meandering stream in a U shaped valley where a glacier once plowed its way downhill.
No wonder no one believed Colter when he returned with stories of what he had seen. Or Bridger. Or me, so I took photos.

2 comments:

TravelSouth said...

Beautiful photos and words, Buz. It sounds like you've seen an amazing number of animals. I love the rich early greens in the pictures.

Anonymous said...

Incredible incredible beautiful beautiful photos- on all posts not just this one. YOu are a genius with the camera. Your photos never cease to amaze me.
Your biggest fan,
Antoinette