This time three years ago

I was building out the Rolling Steel Tent at a friend's place in South Carolina. I had finally gotten the courage to cut a hole in the roof. Success. No leaks so far.

Not the adventure I'd planned

Everyone says to drive Beartooth Highway. They say it's amazing, dramatic, unforgettable! I'll have to take their word for it, because this is what it looked like today.

One advantage, though, of driving that road while socked in by clouds is that I couldn't see the drop-offs and be freaked out. Just look at a few feet of road ahead and stay between the lines.

I eventually got back below the clouds and got this photo.

This link will show some of what I missed. I'll be back some day in better weather.

The morning commute

The road across the top of Yellowstone National Park is a great place to see herds of bison. Hundreds of them. It can be not so great if there's a bus full of sightseers ahead of you and you've got places to go and pack mules to deliver. Then you wait. And soak in the wonders of nature.

Visitors

I looked out the side door in time to see a group of antelope walking along the ridge, about thirty yards away. They paused when I moved, reaching for the camera. They obliged by staying long enough to get this photo. Then they bounded away.

I love it when the results are conclusive

So, you and I have been wondering how well my new directional cellular antenna will work. Time to find out. I'm camped on Forest Service land over the hill from Gardiner, Montana, which is the north entrance to Yellowstone. Here's what my unboosted Verizon Jet Pack signal looks like.

It's 4G LTE, but only one bar. Very sluggish. But slip the Jet Pack into the booster with the directional antenna and...

Couldn't ask for more. Except maybe winning the lottery.

What about the proofreader of the sign?

Fire and brimstone—literally

Geysers smell like sulphur, known in the olden days as brimstone. Since Yellowstone has the largest concentration of geysers on the planet, there are a lot of areas that smell like, well, really bad farts. But it's nature, right? So it's wonderful.

Besides the sulfur aroma, the northwest corner of Yellowstone currently smells like smoke, because of a fire. But that's sort of a good thing, like the way lighting a match helps counter the odors of flatulence. At least that's what I told myself.

And, of course...

I had to wait only ten minutes for Old Faithful to blow. As I approached the geyser I saw the shot I wanted to take. Because Old Faithful is as much about the people who come to see it as the geyser itself.

You have people like the older couple and the woman in green who are just witnessing the eruption. You have people hurrying to get closer. You have all the people taking photos (um, that would include me, I guess) and you have the guy in the red jacket and his family taking a selfie with their backs to the geyser. They won't see the actual eruption, only their picture. They came all that way for a second-hand experience. Perhaps they've seen it before. Perhaps they'll see it again, but still... Selfies like that say, "We were here. Look at us. We're what's important here." The moment they're in is about themselves.

Morning in Yellowstone

Lewis River

Where the buffalo (bison, actually) roam

When traffic comes to a halt in Yellowstone National Park, it's usually because of wildlife by the road. Or on it. Deer, antelope, bears and the one everyone loves, bison. Besides being huge and playing a role in American lore, they also tend not to run away when you grab your camera/phone/tablet and get out of your vehicle for a better photo. Thank you.

Grazing and lazing

A brief territorial dispute

Yes, we get it, you're the alpha male

Well, hello

Been there, done that, got the sticker

I started a sticker collection a few months ago. I had to do something decorative with the bulkhead. Someday it will be like digging away layers of an ancient civilization.

Up early

Sunrise on the Tetons

Jenny Lake

Sigh

I can see this fire in Yellowstone from my boondocking spot by the Tetons. The setting sun makes it look pretty.

Sometimes things are farther than I remember

When I lived in northern Utah, the drive to Grand Teton and Yellowstone were considered no big deal. My college roommate and I cruised up during spring break one year. My last visit was during a multi-day motorcycle ride with my sister and brother-in-law.

Today's drive seemed to take twice as long. Well, there was the stop just south of Malad, Idaho, to pee. And a stop in Idaho Falls to get supplies. And a stop outside Ririe for gas. And a stop in Swan Valley for ice cream. And the slow traffic from Hoback, Wyoming through Jackson. And the turnoff at Antelope Flats Road wasn't as close as I thought.

But I saw a herd of bison. That made up for it.

How dry I am

I was hot and sweaty while walking around the pits at Bonneville Salt Flats. I felt fine otherwise. I had cold water in the Rolling Steel Tent's fridge. I drank down a bottle before heading back to town and drank another as I drove. I've been craving water and guzzling it almost constantly since then. And peeing a lot, which probably wouldn't happen if I were dehydrated. I checked the symptoms.

I don't have a way to measure my blood pressure, but, except for the thirst, everything else on the list seems fine. Well, I've been confused my whole life, so that's "normal" for me.