Yellowstone Part V
The first white guys to this area called the locals "Sheepeaters" because a large part of their diet consisted of the mountain sheep they were skilled at harvesting. What struck us of course, was the wildly differing textures in the landscape. Amazing differences between the landscape within short distances of each other.
The sediment that comes up with the water in the different geysers will settle as the water evaporates or runs off. The sediment that is left will give the area surrounding it all kinds of different colors. I wonder why the geysers near each other don't give off the same kind of sediment and thus colors, but the rangers I talked to could only speculate. You can do your own speculation.
Just some of the neighbors out for a stroll. Biggest moose we'd seen in the park. Also plenty of bison and elk, and even a beaver. On the right is a redwood tree. Like the ones on the California coast. Only this one has turned to stone. Petrified redwood. There used to be three of them, but people kept breaking off little pieces to take home. Thus the fence. Gives rise to the thought that at one time the climate here was much, much different as redwoods are picky about where they do their thing. They like it temperate, not like the hot/cold of this area today. We've got some redwood pictures coming up later. Way later.
"Liberty Cap, A Dormant Hot Spring Cone" in case you can't read the sign any better than I can. Apparently what happens is that when the sediment settles and gets hard and then the rest of the land erodes away, this is what is left. I say "apparently" because nobody has ever witnessed it happening. Still a rather strange rock, no matter how it got here. And there's Barb, disobeying the sign to stay on the path. Actually, many of the paths are a bit vague at spots. We were both rather surprised that with a few exceptions, there wasn't any of the sulfur odor that we'd expected.
And that's pretty much it for Yellowstone. This is the village where most the workers live during the season. It's right near the north entrance to the park.
And if you're going to be anywhere near Cody, WY, and you're any kind of a gun nut at all, a stop at the Buffalo Bill Cody museum is a must. "Buffalo Bill Historical Center Winchester Museum 1 of 125 Colt Frontier Revolvers" it says on the presentation case. I've never seen so many great guns in one location before in my life. Each manufacturer had a display, and there were plenty of European guns as well. We took the better part of a day in the center and most of it was in the firearm section. Well laid out with a gunsmith shop from the early days of our "colony" and all.