A couple quick Yellowstone thoughts while they're on my mind. First, after researching the web for the "must see" attractions, the constant #1 attraction was Old Faithful. Well I'm here to tell you that Old Anticlimax is overrated, overhyped, overcrowded, and over(insert word-of-choice here). I'm not saying you shouldn't go see it, just pluck it from your #1 must-see spot please.

To spice up our OF visit, Mikey had this brilliant idea...which was more difficult to execute than you might imagine, but turned out reasonably well, I thought:

I guess you could say lunch at the Old Faithful cafeteria did not sit well with him. :)

One other thing. If not to see Old Faithful, it is painfully apparent that people come to Yellowstone in hopes of glimpsing some sort of wildlife...but only if they can do it from the side of the road. One car stops, someone gets out with their binoculars or spotting scope, and within seconds 20 more cars stop and mass hysteria ensues. Whether or not there is actually wildlife to see is immaterial. "What is it? A bear???" "I don't know, but it's brown, and it's WAY out there." "Sweet, let me borrow your binocs!"

The best is when you're driving along and see a bunch of cars checking out a herd of Bison (or is it Buffalo?) which are like 2 miles away...only to turn the corner and see 2 or 3 like five feet off the road. Haha. In other words, it's easy to tell who has JUST arrived at the park.

Yellowstone was awesome though. #1 for me: Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. Both the hike to the brink of the falls, and the Uncle Tom's Trail down the crazy stairs built right on the side of the cliff. #2: The Grand Prismatic Spring. The way the steam rose in different colors, how vivid it was...surreal. Yellowstone is good times!