Incredible Yellowstone scenery -- magnificent!!!

Monday, 22 July 2013.  Well, I'm back with another blog and, yes, I know it's been over a month since the last post.  Since those "Yellowstone days" we've continued our travels into Washington State, specifically Yakima and Wenatchee to visit family.  While in staying Wenatchee we also took a 7-day cruise out of Seattle into Alaska's Inside Passage, with stops and shore excursions in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, BC.  We were joined by Lynette's parents, Glenn & Glenna Engquist, who were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary.  I have TONS of pics from that cruise and am going thru and editing the various pics for future blog entries.  Time just gets away from me.  Hey, I'm retired, okay!  ;>)  Promise to get the Alaska pics out sooner than the ones from Yellowstone.

And speaking of Yellowstone.....  I think I'll include the best of my Yellowstone scenery pics in this blog, and save the last Yellowstone blog entry for those wonderful geysers, mud-pots, etc.  So, without any further commentary on my part, here's my best shots of Yellowstone's magnificent scenery.

This was taken during a drive around the eastern side of Yellowstone's figure-eight road that connects the main tourist sightseeing spots.  Believe we were at about 8500-ft when I took this pic.

The following series of photos were also taken on Yellowstone's eastern loop -- somewhere between 8500 and 9000-ft.  Simply breathtaking views of distant mountains and alpine meadows.

The following pics were taken on the same day, a little further south on that eastern loop.  One photo includes a view of a fire lookout situated on the top of a ridge.  That must be some lonely duty.

Here's three shots of the Gallatin River that parallels the western part of the Park's figure-eight loop.  In two of them you can see steam from a couple of near-by geysers.  We saw these things periodically on the side of the Park's loop road.  Always plenty of parking room for those inclined to stop and sightsee.

The following three pics are of the Kepler Cascades, a series of waterfalls about 2.5 miles south of Old Faithful.  These cascades drop 150-ft over multiple drops with the longest being 50 feet. From our view spot I could look straight down at the cascading waters roaring by below.  Pretty spectacular!

The last series of pics in this "Yellowstone scenery" blog entry are of Yellowstone Lake.  As the largest body of water in the Park, the lake sits at over 7,700-ft above sea level and covers 136 sq/miles with 110 miles of shoreline.  The average depth of the lake is almost 140-ft with its deepest spot almost 400-ft. Yellowstone Lake is the largest freshwater lake above 7,000 feet in North America.  In winter, ice nearly 3-ft thick covers much of the lake, except where shallow water covers hot springs. The lake freezes over by early December and can remain frozen until late May or early June.  One last note: I don't think I've ever seen water as blue as that of Yellowstone Lake.  Not sure if it was the bright sunshine against the sky or what, but it was absolutely beautiful.  Wish we could have spent more time just at the lake.  Hope you enjoy these photos of an incredibly beautiful scene.

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