I got out of bed at 7:35am and noticed site number 87 was
all packed and ready to head out. I had
soba noodles and somehow over cooked it again, it was on the soggy side. I am not a fan of soggy noodles in general. I don’t know why my body likes soba, maybe my
body needs the buckwheat nutrient. Had
tea, bread, and chocolate spread too.
After meditation I sat on the rock to take in the
last moments of looking at the Ponderosa pine trees.
A staff car drove by and stopped at my site to write my number
down. At that moment it occurred to me that there is a checkout time and it was already 11:11am.
I hurried in finishing my cup of tea and the rest of the bread to put
everything away. I took the tent down in
five minutes. It was an easy pack up
because I had arranged the car ahead of time to make this an easy swift
transition.
I then drove by the registration to checkout just incase,
to make sure I am all cleared and won’t be charged or fined. I stopped at all the South Rim vista point
pullouts to look at the Yellowstone River and feel the wind. I found it very relaxing to watch the water
move.
I had this thought about what the bears and buffalos
think of humans after looking at a warning sign about them.
Warning!
“They may seem docile but they are unpredictable.
They may pull out a gun and shoot or a spray and spray
you.
Keep your distance
from the humans.
Each year our kind looses lives to those humans.”
I stopped at Hayden’s Valley and saw blue herons, white
bodied teal head geese, seagulls with black wing tips, buffalos, Canadian geese
and many other birds I have never seen before.
Two women from Minnesota shared their telescope and binoculars with
me. It was fun and I had a lovely
time.
I stopped at Sulfur Cauldron and threw in endless bad
habits and attachments. At the mud volcano, like a religious cleansing transformative ritual I threw in more harmful bad habits. They
can all be recycled for goodness and healing resources instead.
I saw a full grown brown grizzly bear sleep under the sun and
then it got up and rolled to the trees and ate a little and then rolled over
and slept some more. I chatted with a
couple from Utah who let me look into their binoculars. We talked about Goblin Valley, Zion
etc.. Alaska was their next to do
trip. They wished for me to stay safe on my journey. I am thankful for this exchange.
I pulled over at Le Hardy Rapids to eat a roasted carrot
and corn. It was a lovely meal at
2pm. I watched a family of two grown men
in their twenties headed for the rapids to take photos exactly where their
mother instructed them to stay afar, like staying on paved road. It’s all the same, no matter what color,
culture, age, the parent child relationship is the same.
Yellowstone Lake was beautiful to pass with snowy
mountain backdrop. The currents were fast
and all the waters were choppy on the lakes, rivers, and creeks. I stayed a viewing distance away.
I made it to Grant Village Campground and the shower was
coin operated $2 for six minutes. I am
wondering if I should shower elsewhere.
But it really would just be too stressful to have to do so. I will have to figure it out or just put in
lots of change. I was assigned to site
number D128. It was spacious, I can
drive my car into the site driveway. I
am in tent only area. At my site someone
left wood for me. I will gather this wood
and save it for Oregon and share it with friends at our annual retreat, a collection from each place
I have been to and all the joy I gathered in the form of these firewood.
The restroom is across from my site and a whole driveway
away. Setting up including handling the
registration check in, the wait took an hour and twenty minutes at the kiosk.
I put up my hammock.
I did a proper set up on the hammock, I was able to lay pretty flat on it. I drank tea and looked at the sky, trees, and
snow. My legs were stretched nicely. I have the hammock on a good height so that
getting on and off the hammock was very easy this time.
It’s a sunny day today, clear, bright, and hot. I felt a need to sun bathe my back in hopes
of melting away the hard cold toxic stagnant blocks on my back. It was warm enough that people were in their
t-shirt and shorts. I was wearing one layer, it’s hard to fathom.
It’s wonderful! I kept the long
sleeve on to do the SPF 30 skin protection.
Sweating is fine by me and a good detox.
The ants here are red and half an inch long. They bite so I couldn’t wear flip flops. The mosquito are giant size and they sure
bite. Wearing soft shell jacket keeps me
mosquito proof.
I walked from loop A to loop D and observed how others
camped. I found interesting tents and
how everyone has their fire going, people chopped their own wood, making their
own starter. People were playing board games,
reading, making ice sculptures with the ice in their site, icing their food on
the snow. There were lots of clotheslines
hung up. I saw a lot of people who camp
here come here to fish at the lake.
The campground is so big and it is full. In fact the entire Yellowstone campgrounds
have been full every day since I have arrived.
I am lucky to have had a reservation for ten consecutive nights at my
choosing. Even the first come and first
serve was full.
The activities at this campground are camp oriented with people hanging out etc… At Canyon Village Campground, it was all about getting in at
night and up and out early each day. I
think the activities there were about animal sightings and hiking. Here some people fish, some people stay at
the campground. I am glad I am not next
to a trailer with a generator going off all day long.
Dinner was avocado on toasted corn tortilla with grains and
dal malaknai and roasted potato. The sun
was still out at 9:30pm then it drastically got dark at 10pm. The camp of three college students all men
loosened up after the fire, making their own dinner, then more fire and a game
of cards. Some people looked very
intense in Yellowstone but most people are friendly and warm.
There were loud snores coming from the tent behind and
adjacent to the three college men. He
was an older gentleman, alone in a tent for six. He was loud.
