June 20, 2005
 Today is our last full day in
the Park as we travel from Old Faithful back to Mammoth. The day began with a 6:30 a.m. optional bird walk. It was interrupted
by two bison that greeted us at the corner of the Old Faithful Lodge. We, of course, gave them their space. The surrounding
landscape of geysers and fumeroles formed a lasting surreal image in our minds. The climax of the walk was
Morning Glory Pool with its vivids hues of orange, yellow and blue.
 A stop at Fountain Paint Pots revealed a land of hot springs, paint pots and geysers, oh my! Some members of the
group were spattered by water from an unexpected geyser eruption. The water was surprisingly cool.
Although it left the geyser at a temperature above boiling, by the time it reached us it had cooled and only felt
warm on our skin.
 Along the Madison River, we were delighted to see a Trumpeter
Swan feeding and preening. When the swan dislodged a feather,
a tree swallow immediately swooped down and picked it
up, most likely to use in a nest. A mother mallard and
five ducklings complimented the show. The group expressed
mixed emotions as we witnessed an example of predation
when a raven successfully robbed a baby from a red-wing
blackbird nest.
Just down the road we stopped at a bald eagle nest. In order
to protect the nesting eagle from human disturbance, the
Park Service has established a ¼-mile-wide zone along
the road where visitors are not allowed to stop. One eagle
was perched above the nest — what an amazing sight!
 Dramatic Gibbon Falls is one of the few places along the road system
where visitors cross the rim of the Yellowstone Caldera, formed during an explosive volcanic eruption about 640,000 years ago.
Our last official geology stop was at Norris Geyser Basin,
where we strolled to Melissa's favorite geyser, Echinus.
Echinus is a fountain geyser; it looks like a hot spring
most of the time, but every 1 to 4 hours it begins to
overflow its pool and then erupts. After the eruption,
the water in the pool rushes back down into the underground
plumbing system. Although we watched for
almost an hour, we didn't get to see Echinus erupt.
We traveled back through the Golden Gate to Mammoth for
our last night in Yellowstone. Wow! Where did all these
people come from? One week has made a huge difference
in the number of visitors to the Park. We already long
for the solitude of Lamar Valley. We've come full circle.
We are drawn to the majesty that is Yellowstone and we
know that we'll be back. We are now convinced of
the need for good stewardship of natural treasures like
Yellowstone National Park.
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