Grand American Tour Day 23: Boise

Visited the gun range, washed my car (only to be covered with dusty dirt right after) and did some quick night shots.

Grand American Tour Day 22: Drive back to Boise

Nothing much happened today other than getting up early back to Yellowstone to try to catch sights of elks and driving the same way back to Boise. Oh meh, just some elk photos.
















Few more photos here!!!

Grand American Tour Day 21: Yellowstone National Park

Chilly morning at Yellowstone.

Two degree Celsius. That’s the temperature of Yellowstone in the morning of early September. I never expect to have to break out my winter jacket for this trip, but I did. It was quite a surprise. Well, it was sort of a pleasant surprise because I have not had such crisp air for a long time. The air actually smelled like tea. I guess it’s the dew in the air mixed with the fresh prairie grass in the surrounding area.

Yellowstone National Park is much bigger than any national park I’ve visited on this trip. It’s the first national park in the world, therefore is a significant in history of man’s appreciation of his environment. In another words, Yellowstone contributed to the birth of countless national parks all over the world.









Yellowstone is also a super volcano, constantly brewing water like a ever boiling tea kettle. Over 2/3 of the world’s known geysers are found here, so there was plenty of rotten eggs to smell.

Another thing that I really want to see at Yellowstone, which I haven’t got to witness much on this trip, is wildlife. Moose, bear, wolves, eagles, bison, elk….. I want them all!!! Well, there were plenty of bisons. I mean, PLENTY! Definitely not nearly as much as before when there were millions of them. These are interesting creatures. Big head with tough body, yet acts like a gentle beast. Of course, no one dares to piss one off, so when they march in the middle of the road creating miles of stuck traffic, everyone just kept it to themselves.











Otherwise, that was it. Not a whole lot of elks to be seen. The bears and wolves and moose are further north and east of the park, and all I saw was ravens instead of eagles. In this respect, I was quite disappointed, but it’s Yellowstone. It’s always good.

Also, since Yellowstone is still recovering from the fire in the late 80s, there are a lot of young trees on the slopes of the mountains. In a way, it looks like an aftermath of a disaster, but shows youth instead of age, just like the ever gushing geysers.

The last spot we wanted to check out before the sky gets dark is the Mammoth Springs. It’s a big rock with various spots of springs and mud holes, and from the pictures in the brochure, it’s like a giant fountain. Then we got there, and…. I think someone forgot to turn on the tap.









Water? Trickles of them. Most of the springs are dried up. I guess the geysers do change from time to time, and what we are seeing are just the left overs. Ouch! Seriously, someone turn on the damn tap!!!

So the night wasn’t in our favor too in terms of trying to capture some starry night photos. The clouds moved in and blanketed the sky. Oh well, I will just try to enjoy the crisp rotten egg smell in the air.


Yellowstone Fall


Bisons resting on the meandering river bed.












Old Faithful Fanatics


Not very impressive at all!




Someone peed in the pool....


MORE MORE MORE Photos HERE!!!

Grand American Tour Day 20: Drive to Yellowstone

The drive to Yellowstone is a long one, but took us through some unexpected landscapes and towns.





Driving out of Boise was predictable. Farmlands as well as deserts, but something along the way created a different out look. The craters of the moon monument. It’s basically a huge area of lava rocks, inhabitable, but took over the landscape like god crumpled Oreo Cookie crust all over the land. It’s just black rough rock that goes on and on. I wonder how it was to carve a road to cut across it.







Well, that aside, there was the town of Arco. Arco is just outside of the lava rock area. It’s really in the middle of nowhere, but it’s a functioning town. I decided to stop for an oil change since it’s due, that when we hear about the story of Arco.

Arco has been around for quite some time. However what put it on the map was quite something else. Nuclear technology. So I was told that Arco was the first town to be powered by Nuclear power, for one hour, as an experiment. Outside of Arco is Atomic City. This is a government establishment by the department of energy where they research on Nuclear energy and dispose Nuclear waste. Highly secured place. It’s a town of its own as well except that outsiders aren’t allowed to get anywhere near it. Driving along the lone freeway, it was miles of miles of restricted zone signs. It reminds me of Area 51 where the entire area of nothing is fenced off.


Each highshool graduating class of Arco will climb up there and paint the year which they were graduating.


Getting an oil change.




World's first nuclear power generator.







Atomic City is between Arco and Idaho Falls. Driving pass Atomic city at around 5pm, the previously deserted highway suddenly is populated with cars from no where. It’s like they all just suddenly climbed out of the desert rocks heading home. It was weird, but it’s their unique way of life working in the desert restricted zone.

Past Idaho Falls, we headed towards West Yellowstone. The sky was getting dark. There were pockets of clouds and rain mixed with the setting sun. Soon, we arrived at the hotel, getting ready to store up energy for the anticipated Yellowstone Nation Park.










Rain and sunset at the same time.