The 11-Hour Tour-Saturday

We drove through Yellowstone yesterday on out way to the trusty KOA, and thought we had seen it all. Little did we know that we barely scratched the surface of what Yellowstone has to offer. Neither of us really knew much about the park, so we decided to take a guided tour to really learn about it. THe tour started promptly at 8 in the morning, and ended a short eleven hours later. Our tour guide was a modern day mountain man named Richard. He lives, breaths, and eats for the park-- basically he is obsessed with it ( mostly in a good way). About 5 miles into the park we saw a Bald Eagle's nest with Junior (the eagle) in it!!! We learned that it takes them months to make their nests, but they lasts years. Next, we learned about the amazing thermal features of the park. They include hot springs, geysers, mud pots (which look like something from Willy Wonka), and steam boats. We quickly learned how passionate Richard was about the park when we witnessed a foreign family peering into a hot spring. Here's a quick history lesson: the thermal areas are very dangerous to be around, the ground is very thin. At any moment they could collapse underneath you, and you would basically be boiled to death. So, back to the story. Richard was very angry that this family was not following the rules by staying off the thermal areas, so he took matters into his own hands and yelled "do you want to die? If so, I'll talk your picture for you..." The family eventually left the thermal area, but not quietly. They proceeded to get into a large fighting match with our guide. The family, who was Indian, would not back down, and neither would Richard. The fight ended by Richard saying: "Go back to India and eat some curry, I'm having a steak tonight." Katie's favorite feature of the park were the amazing rivers, streams, and waterfalls. Lauran found a new love for botany, and is enjoying identifying the wildflowers. Needless to say we both adore the park, and are ditching our careers as nurses and will become hydrologist and a botanist. Wish us luck...