Adventures in Wonderland (Part 1)

This summer I became friends with some of the girls from Taiwan who are working in Gardiner.  This past couple months we've had a fun time.  We met back in July when Adam came to visit me while he was moving to Helena.  They made a dinner at Absaroka Lodge.  I reciprocated August 11 by inviting them to dinner at my house.  We had a great picnic in my backyard.

At that point I found out that they hadn't had a very good opportunity to see Yellowstone Park yet.  They had been on the Yellowstone In A Day tour, but it's really abbreviated, and there was a guy on a bus-wide intercom that they couldn't understand very well.

For the sake of my English-speaking readers, I'll simply just use the girls' nicknames that everyone in Gardiner knew them by: Annie, Tina, Emma, Pearl, and Sue.

They weren't the only Taiwanese workers in Gardiner.  There were others from that country working in town too.  Gardiner has quite a few international workers during the summer months to help accommodate all the people that visit Yellowstone Park.

On August 23, I took Emma and Pearl around the north loop of Yellowstone Park.  We started early in the morning (for me) at 8:00 am, and saw Undine Falls, Wraith Falls, Petrified Tree, Tower Falls, Mount Washburn and Dunraven Pass, Upper and Lower Falls, and about half of Norris Geyser Basin.  We had a picnic lunch at the Norris Picnic area.  Since it was a Tuesday, I had to be back at work by 2:00 p.m., so I felt pretty proud that we got all that done.  They both had tennis shoes on, so I was glad that we didn't do anything that was too far away from the road.

A Uinta ground squirrel near the Wraith Falls trail

Pearl and Emma in front of Mount Washburn

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Emma and Pearl stand at the brink of Lower Falls.

Emma and Pearl stand in front of Crackling Lake, Norris Geyser Basin.

I wanted to give all the girls different experiences so that they could share their special moments with the friends they were bunking with.  I figured that they would enjoy doing different things.

I found that Annie and Tina were probably the most adventurous.  Having scaled cliff walls in Taiwan, Yellowstone would probably be a walk in the park... so to speak.

Also, I found that they had an interesting perspective on Yellowstone's beauty.  They said that whereas Taiwan has a feminine sort of beauty, Yellowstone is more masculine.  The Yellowstone area tends to be very rugged and sharp, but Taiwan is very smooth.

I took Annie and Tina on an adventure August 31.  First we went to the Fountain Paint Pots because none of the girls had ever seen any of the mud pots.  While we were there, Twig Geyser and Jet Geyser went off.  Whenever I've been there, Clepsydra Geyser has always been erupting, but this time, Surge Geyser was spouting instead.

The Fountain Paint Pots

Jet Geyser

Surge Geyser

After visiting there, we drove to the Fairy Falls trail head.  We walked along the trail and then off-trail up the hill next to Midway Geyser Basin where we could clearly see Grand Prismatic Spring.  On the way up the hill, both girls ripped their jeans.  Isn't it amazing that they actually earned the tears in their pants and didn't have to buy them that way?

Grand Prismatic Spring

I was surprised to see how many people were actually trying to climb the steep hill.  I think it's time that a new trail be made that goes up the hill to where people can see the largest hydrothermal spring in the park.

From there, we hiked to Fairy Falls.  The falls area was pretty cold, but survivable.  Though it was a warm day, they were both glad that they brought their jackets.  We then hiked to Imperial Geyser, which is probably my favorite geyser in Yellowstone.  I noticed that the geyser wasn't shooting as high as I saw it shooting a few years ago.  Maybe it's just the difference between July and the end of August.  We ate and then went back to Gardiner because Tina had to work that evening.  On our way back on the trail, I noticed that there was a rock with mahogany and black obsidian in it!

Tina and Annie in front of Fairy Falls

Annie and Tina cross a log at Fairy Falls.

I walk around Imperial Geyser.

Tina and Annie give the Taiwan sign in front of Twin Buttes.

Mahogany and Black Obsidian

September 8 Sue and I hiked to Osprey Falls and the top of Bunsen Peak.  Sue wanted to go somewhere in Yellowstone that would make her cry for it's beauty, on instruction from one of her mentors back home.  She set the bar really high so I tried showing pictures of a couple places that we could go--including the top of Bunsen Peak.  This was Sue's first hike, and I knew it was going to be a doozy, so I told her to make sure she had good shoes and lots of water.  She had to make due with the shoes she had already, though.  Little did I realize that Sue didn't feel very comfortable with walking on narrow trails on great heights!  I think she was ready to cry during our hike... but for the wrong reason!  Oh well.  She made the best of it and was a real trooper through it all.  Sue confronted her fear and took her time on the trails.  I realized at one point walking down the canyon wall to Osprey Falls that she might feel more sure-footed with a walking stick, which I looked for and found for her.  It did help her out a lot.

When we got to the top of Bunsen Peak finally, I could tell that she felt a bit tired, but very proud and accomplished.  This was going to be a story that she could take home and was never going to forget.  She had climbed a mountain for the very first time, and it was on the other side of the world from where she lived.  She had hiked down the side of a cliff to a very tall waterfall.

Sue stands in front of Osprey Falls.

Sue wanted to touch the Gardiner River near Osprey Falls.

Where's Wayno?  He's at the top of Bunsen Peak.

Sue is tired, but she's proud that she made it to the top of Bunsen Peak with her walking stick.

During our hike, we saw both sage and blue grouse on the trail.  I was amused because the description that stuck for her was "stupid chicken."  That became the name for grouse to the girls.  As well, four mule deer crossed our trail--one of them was a fawn that still had spots.

A couple "stupid chickens" by the Bunsen Peak/Osprey Falls trail

Annie, Tina, and I were up for another outing on September 14.  We had decided to hike to Natural Bridge and then go to West Thumb Geyser Basin.  After driving through inclement weather, we got to Hayden Valley.  The girls were able to see a herd of bison for the first time.  Before this, they had only seen lone bison or a couple at a time.  While we were in the valley we saw several ducks.  To the best of my knowledge, I'd say we saw females of two species: American Wigeons, and either Cinnamon or Blue-Winged Teals (the female teals are hard to tell apart).

We went on our way to the Mud Volcano area.  We saw Sulphur Caldron, Dragon's Mouth Spring, and Mud Volcano.  Since we had other things that we wanted to see that day, we didn't spend a lot of time there.

Next the girls and I stopped at Bridge Bay.  From there we hiked to Natural Bridge, which isn't too far from the road, and is a fairly easy hike.  It's the only natural bridge in Yellowstone Park, so it's a fairly unique structure.

Annie and Tina under Natural Bridge

Don't try this at home: I stand next to Natural Bridge.

After finishing our hike there, we went to West Thumb Geyser Basin so that they could see some of Yellowstone Lake and a geyser basin.  The Thumb Paint Pots were definitely one of the highlights.  I noticed that they liked seeing the thermal features that were close to the lake.  Alas, we had to cut our visit short because Tina had to work one more night at one of her jobs.

Tina and Annie by Seismograph and Bluebell Pools

Annie looks at an unnamed thermal feature at West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Also this month, I was able to take Sue and Annie to Bozeman one evening.  We watched "Crazy, Stupid, Love" while we were in town and ate dinner with Jean and Bruce at Santa Fe Red's.  Also, I think this was their first experience shopping in Wal-Mart late at night.

The girls from Taiwan have been really gracious.  They've shown so much appreciation to me for taking them in the park by making dinners for me and Jean, and all sorts of stuff.

It's now that time of year when most of the international workers either go back to their own countries or go on vacation before going back home.  Annie, Tina, and Emma have already left Gardiner, but I think Sue and Pearl both stay until the end of the month.  I've had a lot of fun with the girls and hope to see them next year if they can make it.

Sue, Jean (with Thunder), Annie, Emma, Pearl, and me.