The Grand Virtual Field trip June 2021

  Northern Range Continuing past Mammoth hot springs we begin to enter a place known as the "Northern Range" often compared to the Serengeti or other wildlife hotspots it is a world unto itself.  We are also leaving that area most directly influenced by the Yellowstone hot spot and returning to "The Rockies" It took us almost an hour to get from mammoth to the next highway junction.  We were climbing much of the way.  People seemed to be stopped almost every 5 minutes.  There was nothing explosive, just bears, bison, waterfalls.  I regret not being able to spend more time here.  I will feel this way often this trip, but we do have somewhere to be, a lot of somewheres to to be.  All I can say is that we are small. Finally we begin to leave the traffic as we head toward the Northeast entrance . . .  We see more wide glacier carved valleys, towering peaks and endless mountain meadows.   We stop for maybe 15 minutes at a roadside to gaz...

  Late start We ended up staying up quite late chatting my childhood friend and his newfound better half.   There is so much to reflect on and it happened all so fast and much of what was discussed did not feel like appropriate content for this blog.   To say I love my friends and fam more than I express here. We woke up perhaps too soon to a heavy rain.  One thing of note is how in our travels we have moved back and forth between water abundance and drought often over short distances in areas that are nearly identical in a climactic sense.  I wonder if the butterfly that flapped its wings is aware of what chaos spread from its dance.  Still it is beautiful to witness.  Our friends had stayed up later than us and slept in later too.  Honestly I have always been the earliest riser / to bed of my circles of friends.   At one time I used to fight this - a sort of fear of missing out.  In older age I have embraced more of a se...