Like an Eagle

Sept. 20: Today we moved on from Grand Teton to Yellowstone National Park, where we'll spend about six days. Ellen and I went out together for an early morning walk.

It was colder and windier, with some clouds, and the sun on the mountains was even more spectacular than yesterday.

We hate to leave our log cabin, which has views like this just nearby and has been so comfortable, but so it must be.

Ellen wanted to stop here on our way north, the Chapel of the Transfiguration. It's most noted feature is the picture window behind the altar framing the Teton peaks, but I couldn't get a photo of that without special lighting.

We took a side loop past Jenny Lake again, where it was now very windy, with whitecaps on the water. Glad our boat trip there wasn't today! This view on the road in was a good one. Sorry about all the mountain pics, but they're hard to resist.

Finally out of Grand Teton and into the larger Yellowstone, we spotted another of those crowds of stopped cars and photographers that usually mean wildlife nearby…

…but this time it was for a particularly beautiful scene of fall colors with lake and mountains in the background.

Once on the lower scenic loop of Yellowstone we drove east to Yellowstone Lake for lunch, then north to Hayden Valley, where there are lots of bison!

Some were obligingly close to the road, too.

Not far away we stopped to see the first of many of Yellowstone's famous volcanic water features. Here's the Mud Volcano, which has stopped erupting and is now more of a mud stew.

The Churning Cauldron is more active and entertaining. We'll see lots more of this sort of thing.

As we headed back to our car, we found some Bison were passing through it! One looked like he might head up the boardwalk we were on, but he changed his mind. We were glad!

At another place we stopped, I spotted this Golden Eagle, which is nearly in adult plumage, but still has a few white juvenile feathers.

In late afternoon we arrived at Old Faithful Inn, where we'll be staying the next four nights. We were just in time to see the famous geyser spout, as it does with such regularity, but I didn't have camera in hand, so that will have to wait. After a fine dinner we walked a bit more, and I took this twilight shot of some of the steaming features we'll see tomorrow. More then.