ON THE TRAIL OF TRAILS IN THE WEST

SCENES FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHERS PARADISE THE EROSION FEATURES OF THE SOUTH DAKOTA BADLANDS. WHY PEOPLE EVEN BOTHERED TO FARM HERE DEFIES BELIEF.

MT RUSHMORE IS VERY IMPRESSIVE. VIEWED HERE FREOM THE SCOTMAN'S VIEWPOINT OUT ON THE MAIL HIGHWAY. EVEN THOUGH A NATIONAL MONUMENT A CONCEESIONAIRE HAS BEEN GIVEN EXCLUSIVE PARKING RIGHTS IN A FLASH NEW PARKING BUILDING. THE OLD NP PARKING AREAS HAVE BEEN CLOSED AND THE PARKING IS NOW $10 PER VEHICLE EVEN WITH A PARKS ANNUAL PASS!!

YELLOWSTONE THERMAL WONDERS. COLFFERENT COLOURS CAUSED BY THERMOPHILIC BACTERIA. DIFFERENT COLURS DIFFERENT SPECIES-TEMP DEPENDENT I GUESS.

MINERAL TERRACES SIMILAR TO THE PINK AND WHITE TERRCES IN NZ OBLITERATED BY THE 1883 ERUPTION OF MT TARAWERA.NZ IS ONE OF THE FEW GEOTHERMAL AREAS WITH MUDPOOLS AND GEYSERS LIKE YELLOWSTONE IN THE WORLD.

DEVILS MONUMENT RISES ABOVE THE SURROUNDING PLATEAU. A BASALT INTRUSION THAT CALLED SLOWLY FORMING THE MAGICAL HEXAGONAL BASALT COLUMNS ,THE SURROUNDING SOFT ROCK THEN ERODED AWAY.

THE INDIAN LEGEND IS THAT A GROUP OF CHILDREN WERE BEING CHASED BY A GIANT BEAR. THEY CLIMED THE ROCK AND THE BEAR CLAWED AWAY TRYING TO GET UP.JUST AS HE WAS ABOUT TO GET THEM THE SKY GOD WHISKED THEM INTO THE SKY WHERE THEY NOW FORM THE PLEIDES CONSTELLATION. THE NZ MAORI CALL PLEIDES MATARIKI WHICH ALSO MEANS CHILDREN THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF MATARIKI IN THE SOUTHERN SKY MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR IN TRADITIONAL MAORIDOM. IT IS ALSO THE SUBARU LOGO.(MY BADGE ON MY SUBARU GOT PINCHED!!)

A HAVEN FOR ADRENALIN JUNKIES!!

FRENCH FUR TRADERS NAMED THESE THREE GRANITE PEAKS SOUTH OF YELLOWSTONE TROIS TETONS-THE THREE BREASTS (OBVIOUSLY HAD BEEN AWAY FROM HOME FOR A LONG TIME.) THE CENTRAL ONE IS CALLED GRAND TETON AND GIVE IT NAME TO THE MAGNIFICENT PARK. THIS PHOTO FROM OUR CAMP IN THE NATIONAL FOREST JUST OUTSIDE.(THANKS KEN).AMAZING HOW THINGS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE ARE POLITICALLY CORRECT AND SEXY. BIG BREAST NATIONAL PARK WOULDN'T WORK.GIUSEPPE VERDI WROTE MAGNIFCENT OPERAS-COULDN'T IMAGINE JOE GREEN DOING IT!!

JEENY LAKE GRAND TETONS.

LARGE BISON HERDS HAVE THE RUN OF YELLOWSTONE AND TETONS.

JD ROCKERFELLER BOUGHT UP A LOT OF FARMS TO SAFEGUARD AND PRESERVE THE AREA INTO GRAND TETON NP. THIS IS MORMON ROW A STRING OF FARMS BOUGHT OUT.NEAT POPLAR BORDERS AND ABUNDANT FRUIT TREES ON A SAGEBUSH DRY ECOSYSTEM.

THE SPECTACULAR BEARTOOTH PASS THAT WINDS AND SWITCHBACKS 13 MILES UP THE SIDE OF A STEEP U SHAPED VALLEY UPTO THE NW ENTRANCE OF YELLOWSTONE NP..

SOME OF THE BEST ACCESSIBLE TROUT FISHING IN YELLOWSTONE. THE BEAUTIFUL MADDISON RIVER.

TEDDY ROOSEVELT STARTED THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM IN THE 1880,S TO PROTECT THE SMALL REMAINING BISON HEARD IN YELLOWSTONE.

OLD FAIHTFUL DID ITS THING RIGHT ON SCHEDULED TIME.

WE SAT NEXT TO A COUPLE FROM EASTERN TXAS WHO HAD TOURED NZ A FEW YEARS AGO. THEY VISITED A NEPHEW WHO WENT OUT TO CANTERBURY UNIVERSITY IN CHRISTCHURCH(MY ALMA MATER) TO DO A PhD IN GEOLOGY.

HOT POTTING AT THE WHERE THE BOLING RIVER ENTERS GARDINER NEAR THE NORTH ENTRANCE.

OUR CAMP VIEW DOWN TO THE NORTHERN ENTANCE AT GARDINER.

THE NORTHERN ENTRANCE.