Holy crap, I actually got out of the state! Seriously, it had been about four years since I'd vacationed outside of Colorado. Lemme tell ya: You can only go up to the mountains so many times before they all start looking the same and you get sick of nothing but pine trees in every direction. So off I went with my boyfriend on a romantic adventure! With my mom. Well, maybe not as romantic, but hey, she paid for everything. So, where did we finally escape to?

Wyoming!

...

...Okay, so it's only one state away, but you'd be surprised at how much of a difference that can make. I went to Yellowstone, the obligatory Everyone Must Go There Once National Park. People come from all over the world to see things like...



This! Uh, yeah... This mysterious glowing pool of overexposure... Actually, this was just the first "thermal feature" we came across, so I decided to take a picture of it. This is probably a bit more accurate:



Ah, boiling water getting violently spewed out of the earth! That's more like it! Of course, there's lot's of just plain pretty stuff too, like these blue pools:



It was so cold that day that it was really hard to even see some of the other pools; there was just so much steam obscuring everything. It's easy to see why every year a few people and animals get killed by these things. They're just so warm and pretty and nice... I forget exactly which it is, but supposedly one of the pools has a bunch of bones at the bottom of it. Still, you'd have to be pretty stupid to accidentally fall into one of these things, as they boardwalk and rail the crap out of anything remotely dangerous. But hey, they probably just don't want lawsuits over their heads from the morons who want to jump in a geyser. Stupid stupid people and their stupidity!

Here's a view of the area:



Huh, I guess I can see why some people think it might randomly explode someday, what with all the cracks and steam and seeping, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon.

Here's a view of the lodge we stayed at for the night (because it was way too expensive for us to stay there any longer than that):



I believe it is actually the largest log cabin on earth. I wouldn't doubt it, because it really is stinkin' huge when you're in it. Ah, nothing shows mankind's dominance over nature better than a five story building featuring hundreds of logs in every possible direction. Awesome! (Oh, it's not like I just loooove wanton forest destruction, quite the opposite, but seriously, if you're going to level an entire forest, then you might as well do something really cool with it.)



Here's looking waaaaay up high with my dingy camera. These aren't really 'floors', but counting the beams and stairs, they would make it five stories high, I believe. According to the little sign posted on the stairs, that alcove way up top is called the Crow's Nest, and was part of the building's designer's childhood dream. Back in the day, there would be an orchestra in the upper parts, and people would dance on the hardwood floor below. This of course means that they haven't let anyone up there in the last fifty years, as the structure has become unstable and is now unable to support all the fat American asses that might try to climb it. :headslap:

There was plenty of wildlife to see as well, and no shortage of ugly-but-delicious buffalo as well, who know perfectly well that they can meander down the roads and the puny humans will rush to the sides of the road to let them through while they ooh and aah and take pictures:



Well, there were a couple baby buffalo in the pack, that might help. Daww! They're vaguely cute in that not-as-ugly-as-the-adults kind of way!



Lot's of elk out too, but oddly enough, we only saw females:



But being the bird-obsessed freak that I am, my favorite of the animals I snapped was the Mountain Bluebird that flew and perched really close to us, all amidst the steaming pools and geysers:



Random bird fact! Bluebirds and Bluejays don't actually have any blue pigment in their feathers whatsoever. The blue color comes from light reflecting off the unique particles on their feathers, which look plain-old brown if back-lit.

I kind of feel sorry for the park rangers sometimes. All they're trying to do is move people away from the Grizzly Bear that's wandered over, but all the tourists do (ourselves included) is go, "What? Bear? Where?? I wanna see a bear! Where's the bear!?" We were shooed off, but we did get to see it from far off. I have photographic, brutally zoomed in and enlarged evidence!



Beeeeeaaaaaar!!

Well, I've probably bored you enough by now, so in conclusion, I present the obligatory photo of Old Faithful and us, cleverly positioned to hide the hoards of other people.



(Oh, and you can only see our backs because I think it would be tacky to be smiling stupidly into the camera when a giant geyser is erupting behind us. That, and I don't like randomly pictures of myself on my own web page, or anywhere, really. If for some reason you MUST see beyond the internet barrier and satisfy your curiosity, you may go here.)



Sites I love:
Anime Lyrics - Find out what they're singing about in all those weird anime songs.
Cosplay.com The pictures here range from amazing to absolutely terrifying. But there's lots of great costume ideas and inspiration.
The Institute of Official Cheer - I have no idea how to explain this site, only that it's one of the most hilarious places I've ever been on the web, but in a very sophisticated way. James Likeks' humor isn't for everyone, but for those it matches... Hours of entertainment.
Court Records - The best site for Phoenix Wright fans. You know who you are.
Behind the Name - Find out quite possibly more than you wanted to know about almost any first name out there. Great for making good names for original characters.
I Can Has Cheezburger? - I can't explain. Just go.