In hot water: soaking in the Boiling River in Yellowstone

At Boiling River, at almost exactly the 45th parallel and straddling the borders of Wyoming and Montana, you can stand with one leg in the glacial Gardner River and the other in boiling (probably really about 130 degrees) water. This is probably the nicest hot springs I have ever soaked in. The Boiling River runs alongside the Gardner River, and down into rock pools where the hot water mixes with the icy river water. A series of soaking pools create a range of temperatures, from cool to extremely hot. The result is nature's own hot tub, with small pools carved water with a great view of the Gardner River canyon walls. We soaked here for two and a half hours after a hike.

Cousins Mackenzie, Del, and Melanie

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The truth about Grizzly Bears

"In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear encounters, the Montana Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, backpackers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears.

"We advise outdoorsmen to wear noisy little bells on their clothing so that the bears are not startled unexpectedly by a human's presence. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear.

"It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear poop and grizzly bear poop. Black bear poop is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear poop smells like pepper and has little bells in it. "

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Two permanent barflies at the 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar in Montana

click to enlarge

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Poem: The Entrepeneur

To launch your nefarious enterprise,
You don't need to see
A discounted cash flow analysis.

You only need to know
If the right people
Are in your pocket,

And, if not, then whom
Should be bought off,
Intimidated, or bumped off?
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Yellowstone, Montana July 28, 2009

Digital Art: The Regret

click to enlarge
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The stages of a bad project

Uncritical Acceptance
Wild Enthusiasm
Dejected Disillusionment
Total Confusion
Search for the Guilty
Punishment of the Innocent
Promotion of the Non-participants

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On The Road to Yellowstone and Chico Hot Springs: warning signs in Yellowstone National Park.

Click on all images to enlarge...

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The Yellowstone Supervolcano

This warning was posted by geologist Christopher C. Sanders on January 1, 2009: "I am advising all State officials around Yellowstone National Park for a potential State of Emergency. In the last week over 300 earthquakes have been observed by the USGS. We have a 3D view on the movement of magma rising underground. We have all of the pre warning signs of a major eruption from a super volcano. - I want everyone to leave Yellowstone National Park and for 200 miles around the volcano caldera."

It looks like he was off by some unknown interval. The supervolcano has yet to blow. If it were to blow, from what I saw on the island of Thira (a/k/a Santorini) in Greece, 200 miles might be just enough distance to survive. Read the article on Sangtorini's supervolcano here, on All This Is That.
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Digital Art: Senor Daveed a/k/a Dave Hokit and 'Mo a/k/a Maureen Roberts

2/5 of the family usually referred to as the Hokits. (as always, click to enlarge). I heart them.






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The President weighs in on the Gates' travesty (includes press conference video)

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

My conservative friends would not agree, but last night a gust of fresh air blew in.

At the end of yesterday's news conference on health care reform, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet asked Barack Obama about race relations in America.

The President said "the Cambridge police acted stupidly" arresting Professor Henry Louis Gates in his own home. He also said if he broke into his house (e.g., The White House), "Then I'd get shot." Right on, BHO!


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Poem: Blackout

Lights off: dark skies.
The river gurgles over rocks

Somewhere behind me
In the night.

The Big Dipper
Beams large and bright

Like a Times Square marquee
Flashing among the random stars.
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Lullaby Moon at Gasworks Park

A bad cell phone shot of rabbits singing and dancing in the always evolving Lullaby Moon show that appears each month on the night of the full moon, at various Seattle waterfront parks.

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