Nerds and Geeks

You don't just have to be a techie to be a nerd or geek, although many are. Just today for instance I was reading that the UK's version of the coronavirus track and trace app didn't work that well and they'd abandoned it in favour of the one jointly developed by Apple and Google. I don't know about anyone else but derrrrr. I did wonder at the outset why the UK government would bother trying to outdo the nerds and geeks from two of the biggest and in my view best tech companies going. It was always going to be an uphill battle but I'm glad at least they've now seen the light. What was it Churchill said about the Americans? He said you can always count on the Americans to do the right thing.... after they've tried everything else first. Sounds about right for the UK too.

Just this week we had some friends over for lunch (first time since the lockdown was eased) and somehow the conversation got around to accountants (spoiler alert I have an accounting qualification). Apparently they are all OCD (I think that's the correct acronym but in any event it means Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which is just about what our friend meant). Our friend therefore asked me if I am OCD. Tricky question actually. If I said no, any subsequent display of anything approaching compulsive behaviour would be highlighted no doubt. If I said yes, it would simply prove the point. Of course I said no... just before I wiped the kitchen counter 5 or 6 times. 

That isn't why I started this post though. I have been watching lots of You Tube videos in the past few lockdown weeks. What a choice! I started out searching for interesting things but quickly homed in on the daily broadcast from 10 Downing Street (I know, quite painful at times), some history podcasts about WWI in the main, but mostly live music from the bands and artists from the 60's and 70's that I like. It has become something of a compulsion for me now.... there I have acknowledged it... but what a wonderful journey.

I don't know how it has happened but as I type I am watching a 3 hour special celebrating the 25th anniversary of the death of Rory Gallagher. 

Not a well known name I know but Rory was a fantastic guitarist. I remember watching him many times in the 1970's and he was always great. He was one of those guys who had no idea or interest about the business, just about playing. He was very good indeed. This special has some people playing who I have never heard of and they are also really good. It made me think that you have to be really lucky to make it in that industry. Skill alone just does not cut it. But how on earth did I get here watching this?

It came about because I also found several channels on You Tube from people who assemble these wondrous clips and in some cases long segments of live concerts from the 1960's and 1970's ... the era that I listen to. I imagine there is the same for other interests and times. One guy I have now subscribed to has dozens of such long segments on his channel and only a couple of days ago I started looking at the dates when he/she put them together. Many were at random dates over the last 3-4 years but a growing number are coming every other day now. Clearly someone else has lots of time on their hands too! The fact that one of the segments I watched yesterday with Janis Joplin, Cream and Pink Floyd was premiered only 3 days before and had been watched by 20,000+ people already says lots I think. 

Not just me then.

The Big Apple in 24 hours

A short while ago, I was in New York and my youngest Ali flew in to join me. It was meant to be a weekend but life intervened so it turned out to be only a little over 24 hours of father son togetherness and I meant to make the most of it.

Ali lives and works in Cayman but on occasion goes to Bermuda for work as well so it was fairly simple for him to jump on a plane for the 1 1/2 hour hop to JFK. I'd suggested he take the subway and I'd meet him and walk him around for the next 24 hours.

First thing was a late breakfast and I chose Sarge's Deli which I knew made the best all around corned beef hash in the world. Topped with 3 fried eggs and home fries, this is a real breakfast!

We ached as we came out but with the weather an unseasonal and balmy 23 degrees with bright sunshine, I proposed to walk Ali all over town. With New York set out in a classic grid pattern, all you needed to know are cross streets and you can find anywhere.

Ali needed some shopping, personal items, so we hit the stores. Midtown Mall is right next to Macy's so after blanking there, this was our target for Ali was on a budget. This all made me realise just how much US retail is suffering. There's so much of it, so many people looking to buy too, but with incomes not really rising and Amazon crowding out many retailers, those that remain have a tough time surviving.

We found a fairly ratty JC Penney as it happened with the men's department hosted by an attractive young lady who found a very special deal for Ali. I would have been absolutely mortified to be served in this fashion when I was younger and actually let an attractive young lady know what undies I wore, but then again being from the old school of Speedo's and tighty whiteys, perhaps that would be the case now too. Ali being from the new generation of board shorts and boxers held no such feeling.

As we had a subway card, we hopped on the subway for positively 4th Street (a nod to Bob Dylan who used to live there). This is Greenwich Village and home to our evening's entertainment. I wanted to show Ali the clubs and of course actually confirm that something would be on tonight. Cafe Wha was still there with the House Band due to start up around 5 pm, and around the corner Bleecker Street was also there and ..... had become almost gentrified. Possibly a Starbucks even.

When I first went to NYC back in the 1980's, it was dirty, edgy and a bit grungy. Some nice parts too of course but it had a definite Noo Yawk edge. That was one of the things that made it attractive. Perhaps it was the crack cocaine epidemic which hit the big apple in the mid-eighties? I never saw that in person but do remember walking up 5th Avenue at night near Grand Central Station with a work colleague and a couple of big black guys wearing reddish blazers came up behind us and said 'keep walking'. I hadn't a clue what was going on but my colleague said 'don't worry, they are the Angels'.... it may have been a different name but these were guys that roamed the street at nighttime to prevent people from being mugged.

There you go, the Guardian Angels.

It was Rudy Giuliani who was responsible for cleaning up NYC sometime later with his no nonsense policing tactics and I think he did a great job at that. New York is unquestionably a cleaner and safer city than it was but as we strolled along Bleecker Street, I did get the feeling that it had been tidied up a little too much. Gone were lots of the old grungy bars and eating places, gone were a number of places that showcased music like the Blues and Jazz. However Terra Blues still remains and we were able to confirm that there would be music later on.

We turned left up Broadway and because it was so lovely a day kept on walking. And walking. So much life to be seen in a city when you walk around it. New York is so fascinating too. You may think that being a huge city it has no distinctive bits and pieces but that is totally untrue. Korea Town, Japan Town, Chinatown, Little Italy, Hell's Kitchen... some great names too! Sarge's Diner was in a section called Murray Hill (2nd and 30-something). There were actually a few hills too, but not too drastic. Because big retail is suffering so much, mum and pop shops proliferate which I think is great as the independents reflect the community to a large extent and add great feel to the place. OK, I am a fan of the big apple. It's a real pleasure to visit.

Of course I wanted to eat at a venerable NY steakhouse but first choice Keens was full and Del Monico's could only manage a ridiculous time so we settled for Frankie & Johnnie's Steakhouse on W 37th street. It was great... of course. Steaks were huge and done beautifully. Martinis sang to us. Just a perfect preamble to the rest of the evening.

Cheers!

After this we soldiered back down to Greenwich Village for the Terra Blues experience and after some bar hopping, we finally arrived. I am pleased to say it was just how I remembered it. Small, low ceiling, little tables with chairs dotted around the club and some terrific blues. We stayed for 3 sets and made it back to our hotel about 3.30 am.

The following day was a Sunday so we wanted brunch which we found to be what almost every other New Yorker was doing as well. The myriad eateries that offered it were packed solid ... it was another lovely day so this is not surprising, however I remembered a Greek place on 1st Avenue and we wandered down there and were richly rewarded with piles of pancakes, French Toast and other goodies that you associate with brunch.

As we left JFK to our different destinations, we both agreed that we'd probably skip the next couple of meals.

RTW sort of by Accident

Last week we returned from quite a long trip as it turned out. We hadn't meant it to be like this, witness the number of times we had cause to change airline reservations, but it sort of just happened.  The plan, if you can call it that, was to be in Zurich when our first grandchild would be born.... yes, I just slipped that in. Quietly. And yes, both Viv and I are very excited indeed! Around the same time however were a different couple of dates that we would not be able to change but which had to be included: namely a board meeting for me in New York as well as a 90th birthday party for Aunty Blanche in Bermuda.

Due date for the big day was 1st October for the longest time then all of a sudden it was pushed back, then not again. Not something that could be set in stone, that's for sure. Our grandchild would come when he/she was ready and not before. This didn't help much in our planning for, as everyone knows, those paragons of customer care, let's just call them 'airlines', do not take kindly to last minute booking and changes despite what all those "I traveled the world on $100" smart Alecs say. The later it became, the more painful it was.... for us needless to say. And as I said earlier, we had to make changes seemingly every week all of which increased the pain threshold. Fair to say I am heartily sick of aeroplanes, airports, airlines, mindless bloody stupidity at the airports, endless security lines, aeroplane food (big time), not being able to sleep, immigration procedures that change seemingly change all the time yet when you comment 'this is new', the official gives you a blank stare so you try to remember not to comment on anything but smile in a sort of glassy and fixed way every time someone asks something arcane like 'what brings you to...' -- I mean, I just landed on a plane for goodness sake, what do you think I am here for? To visit.... derr!

Anyway rather than go through a blow by blow for each stage, I'll do it by photos:

1. England

The land of Brexit and Boris Johnson! It seems to have become the only topic of conversation. Will we exit on October 31st in Boris's words 'do or die' or was it he'd rather be 'dead in a ditch'? Doesn't matter, everyone was speaking in ridiculous hyperbole like this all the time. 'End of the world', 'total disaster', 'catastrophic'.... you name it, these are the words of the time. Made me glad that we wouldn't be spending a lot of time here, just a few days with Viv's mum Anna.

Reculver Castle on the Thames Estuary is an old Roman Fort, church, you name it what else. The twin spires seen here are only kept as markers for shipping otherwise they'd be allowed to fall down.

Just had to eat the best fish n' chips in the country! Still great.

That other institution, the Sunday roast. Random country pub and it was fantastic.

Visiting the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham. Really interesting yet sad to me for it is now a tourist attraction seeing as there is very little Royal Navy left to service.

The Turner Modern museum in Margate I thought would have paintings of said Turner, a local lad who painted mid 19th century industrial type paintings, particularly steam ships, but it had the annual competition going on with artists like this doing modern stuff. The interpretation I found a little less than helpful.

2. Switzerland

Indy and Cat live in Zurich so it was there that we flew next. We stayed in an AirBNB in the centre of Zurich and found that the public transport was cheap, really efficient and on time. Trams, buses, trains... all really clean and a pleasure to use. We also found it was Oktoberfest time! So we had some fun before the big day arrived.

Quite a raucous affair it was too!

Taking our new grandchild for a walk. Felt like a supermarket trolley but of course just like everything Swiss, it really does work!

3. New York

After only a few days I flew through London again (ugh... horrible airport) to New York for my board meeting. Happily Dee Dee came to join me for a couple of days so we were able to hang out and go crazy. I dragged him all around Greenwich Village into bars and blues clubs.... great time!

Found time for the big steak too!

4. Switzerland (again)

Viv had stayed on in Zurich whilst I traveled alone to the Big Apple and I was looking forward to going back to join her, Indy, Cat and our beautiful grandchild for a few more days.

5. England (again)

One thing we have never managed is the knack of traveling light. I am always totally impressed by people that travel only with a carry on even when they are traveling for weeks or months. I imagine their choice of wardrobe is therefore limited but even with umpteen bags I find myself wearing the same trousers and shirt all the time. However this time we'd smartened up a little and actually managed the side trip to Zurich with just the one big bag... each, and had left the other two big bags in England. Hence England for a couple of days.

We took in a visit to a winery nearby which courtesy of global warming is now a producer of very decent bubbles, Balfour Estate. The tour guide explained that the owner had sort of bought the grape producing fields 'by accident' a few years ago and set to wondering what to do with just another 150 acres of decent arable land. He is very wealthy.

6. Bermuda

Thankfully we flew out through Gatwick, not Heathrow but I do have to comment on car rental firms. First time was Avis, second time Hertz. I go by price not loyalty so the companies change all the time for us. We get to see a variety of operators as a result. For some reason, this week no company had any cars to rent! This is Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports. I'd booked ages in advance so was OK but people who rolled up on the off chance were totally out of luck. At Hertz, it was a pick a number and wait your turn thing! Unbelievable. 

It wasn't until our last day at Gatwick that we managed a full English breakfast! Very nice.

Great time of year to visit Bermuda by the way. Sunny and warm, yet no humidity. We stayed with Charmaine and David again and it was just lovely to catch up with friends. Dee Dee was working there too so we were able to  hang out with him as well.

Aunty Blanche's 90th birthday party was lovely. She got to sit next to her favourite person, Dee Dee, so was very happy. Very pleased to be there with her. Happy Birthday Aunt Blanche!

It was also lobster season so we just had to...

A week or so before we arrived, this hurricane came to visit. It was a bad one causing plenty of damage. Very unusual for Bermuda. No loss of life thankfully.

7. Toronto

We've a condo in downtown Toronto which is a lovely place to stay, however we have also found that the best long distance routing from Penang is first via Hong Kong and then onto wherever via Cathay Pacific. Direct to London and Zurich going west, and direct to New York and Toronto heading east. All are very long of course but the Toronto routing really works out best for us. Only for a few days this time.

8. Hong Kong/Penang

Transiting through HK still hasn't been impacted by the troubles going on there ... yet. 

The Wild West Part VI -- Road Trip

Navigating by GPS is great, but realistically you have no real idea of the big picture. I could plot a course to the Million Dollar Bar in downtown Jackson just fine with my GPS, but I could not plot a 4 day road trip across the prairie to Chicago that would take in the places where we wanted to stop off and visit along the way without that old style thing... the map. I love maps, I really do. I love to see where I am and where other interesting places are that I have never visited. I also like to see where I have visited in the past as that brings back some very happy memories so have bought some big area maps for home and have started to push little pins into them marking where we have been! I know, pretty anal. Whatever. So I bought some road maps and along with Google Maps started plotting our way back to Chicago. Total distance approximately 1500 miles with stops and side tracks along the way; 4 days and 3 nights; how long in each side visit....

See. People still do do back of the envelope!

It took us to some fun places too. The further east we drove, the more cars, people and towns we encountered. The stretch across Minnesota was fairly busy. It could have been the 4th July driving weekend I suppose but that bit wasn't as enjoyable as the earlier bits. For accommodation I chose wherever I could to stay at places on the Missouri River, trying to keep a Lewis and Clarke theme if I could. It didn't work after the Little Big Horn excursion as that area is almost totally devoid of towns, the nearest being a tiny town called Hardin where things closed down at 8.30 pm which came as something of a shock when we were looking for dinner. It turned out just fine in the end though but it did make us consider that we should probably look to do things earlier in the evening for the next couple of days.



We chose Wisconsin Dells because of its proximity to Chicago (less than 3 hours on our final day) and because we wanted to try some cheese! However if you want to know what we enjoyed the most on our road trip, in no particular order they are:

The Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. Viv bought a can when we came back to Penang!

The sight of Viv cleaning dead bugs off the windscreen and the amount of hand soap used afterwards

The really beautiful locations

The huge country... and of course the hat.

The ever changing roads

Most of all the company

The Wild West Part V -- Custer's Last Stand

I have tracked this part fairly relentlessly with the Track My Tour app which you can follow here if you like.... Whoops. I quickly took a look at that blog and realized I missed out a whole chunk that I thought I'd mentioned which was our visit to the Little Big Horn Battlefield. Lots of bits about the prairie (which admittedly is very, very big) but nothing about that. My bad.

The location is SE Montana and nearly 7 hours drive from Jackson so we had a great drive mainly through prairies and small towns like Cody, named after Buffalo Bill which is your ultimate one horse town. Really enjoyable. I think we went through two iPlayer stories and maybe a podcast or so. This did mean that we got there late, around 4 pm, but as it is just about the lightest time of the year and pretty far north, it wouldn't get dark until well past 10 pm. It was also a beautiful clear evening.

The visitor place is interesting and gave a nice background. We sat through the video but more interestingly a native Indian ranger's talk on the events with her perspective. Both sides in fact.

I didn't know what to expect really but as we'd driven 7 hours across prairie without seeing too many people, I had started to get an idea what it may have been like 150 years ago... no roads, no towns, just prairie. No telephone or radios, just wireless but without the wires which helped not at all. So with no communications means, hindsight would say that the objective of the punitive expedition was almost certainly doomed to failure. Obviously, the actual events were unexpected but ...

1851 Treaty of Laramie that set the Sioux lands

The lands set aside for the Indians (Sioux, but this is a collective for a number of smaller tribes as well) was massive and realistically there were not very many of them in total, so a huge parcel of land. On one side, the Indians did not like being encumbered in any way and on the other settlers kept encroaching from the east. Most notably when gold was discovered in Deadwood (modern day South Dakota) which is in the Black Hills, a sacred place for the Indians. So both together made for a fraught time and it was realistically the continual and increasing encroachment which pushed things over the edge.

So many books have been written about the subject by so many different people with different perspectives that I won't add my two pennyworth, but here is Wikipedia's take on things. From what I saw and heard and subsequently read, it does seem to have been a series of errors, misunderstandings and simple cock ups combined with a lot of bad luck, rather like the Battle of Isandlwana in the South African Zulu wars and with a very similar aftermath: ultimate destruction for the victors.

The land area firstly is huge and the numbers of participants on either side were relatively few. In total some 8,000 Indians and on the US Army side, no more than 5,000 soldiers and cavalry split into two columns. The intent was to approach the Indians from two sides and deal with them that way. In practice, as soon as they split up there was no chance of subsequent coordination of any attack. Each column would have to deal with things as they came up all alone. The main body of soldiers didn't show up until 2-3 days later by which time it was all far too late and the Indians had long gone.

The tree line in the distance is the river where all the Indian tribes were encamped. Skirmishers went down from this vantage and were rapidly chased back. Surprise that had been total was now irredeemably lost.

The ridge line along which the battle was fought

Rolling ground with many gullies where Indian braves could hide and ridges from which they could shoot

History has portrayed Custer as many things ranging from doomed super hero to brainless buffoon but he was a long time serving soldier who had reached General rank in the civil war and was intent on carrying out his orders; so probably somewhere in between. It was the combination of no intelligence (as in news of what was going on), massive distances and lack of determination by support troop commanders combined with his own over eagerness and pure bad luck running into the entire Indian population on the banks of the Little Big Horn river that did it. By the time he and his men had advanced into what turned out to be the main battlefield area, it was too late to retire. Particularly after they killed their horses to provide cover.

Last stand hill

I remember history classes from my early school days, in the early 1960's, when people could remember the empire. Teachers would say that the British never lost the final battle even though they lost many along the way. Same goes for here. Even though this battle realistically was nothing more than a minor skirmish, in terms of significance it was massive. Just as at Isandlwana, news of the disaster awoke an anger and determination to finish the war and smash the Indians totally. As the president at the time was Grant, the Civil War generalissimo, there was no way that this would turn out other than badly for the Indians and so it proved.

However what cannot be gainsaid is that all those that participated in the battle were doing it for what they deemed right reasons and for the most part fought and died bravely. This memorial I think does remember that very well indeed.

In writing this, just thinking that whenever history books are written, what people remember most are the times when things go wrong. Like here. The Battle of the Little Big Horn is one of the main high points in the history of the Wild West, at least as taught to British school children like me at the time. I cannot remember a single subsequent battle that took place that went the other way. Same as in the South African conflict that I mentioned earlier. Everyone remembers Isandlwana as a total fiasco and annihilation of a British army at the hands of the Zulus and the ensuing encounter at Rorke's Drift which in reality had zero effect on the war but was an amazingly fortunate encounter that caught the public eye. Nobody remembers the rest of the war, the battles nor even the treaty that ended it. Just the fiasco. Curious that.

The Wild West Part IV -- River Deep, Mountain High

This part of the trip is covered by the Track My Tour app which you can follow here if you wish. Get app, thanks again Chris!

We hadn't really thought about it being around the 4th July that we had planned to come out to Jackson and hereabouts. Apparently two weeks ago, it was empty but this is the busiest week of the summer. Certainly traffic in the national parks was pretty brisk. Also wherever there was a significant spot (like Old Faithful) there were a lot of people. It also showed itself in our booking for accommodation. Both availability and pricing. But it did mean we'd be in a small town USA for the 4th July parade!!

Our hotel. We stayed in the little annex to the left. Ski runs all over.

The first night back in Jackson we went to the rodeo, just walking distance (we didn't as it rained) from our hotel, Snow King Resort. I'd booked a Mountain View room with the room rate reflecting that premium nature but found that the mountains rather than being over a lake away as at Jackson Lake Lodge were in fact less than 20 yards away so impossible to view with other than a cricked neck. Looking upwards that is.

The rodeo was wonderful. The heavens opened as we arrived but luckily we were under cover so rode the storm for the next hour or so until the skies brightened and became a starry, clear night again. Bronco riding, cow riding, horse racing and turning displays, cow roping and the simply wonderful sheep scramble where every child under the age of 12 went onto the ring and chased down 3 unsuspecting sheep trying to pluck something off the sheep's collars. The children kept coming and coming and coming! Tons of them. Just madness resulted.

A couple of teenagers were sitting next to us and we started chatting. They were from Texas and had driven up from Dallas a day or so before. The boy's name was 'Judd' and he was 16 years old. I asked if he had a car. He said 'Yup'. What kind, I asked. 'A truck'. He got out his phone and showed me a picture of a huge flat bed truck with cow bars front and back. Of course his name was Judd and of course he had a truck and of course he spoke in single syllables. He's from Texas! At a rodeo. What else would I expect?

It was still clear on the 4th July morning and we made it to the parade area, just down the road and this time we did walk. I'd mentioned it to Viv last night at the rodeo that I do think that the Americans have a wonderful respect for their flag, their nation and their vets. I don't know if this 100% true of course but the way the rodeo did the intro, the various flags -- town, state then stars and stripes -- and then the national anthem. It was all very rousing and inspiring. We Brits tend to be almost apologetic about it and find such outpourings of emotion to be rather cringeworthy and shy away from it all. But I was happy to cheer at the end.

Same at the parade. Huge cheers for everyone and everything and I do wonder just why all these people show up to parade, but then again why not? It is the collection of all the theys that make the community, town, state and country. The rodeo girls from last night carrying the flag, the ambulances, the fire fighters, the local organizations and of course Chewbacca on a skate board wearing the stars and stripes. Who would miss him out?

It was still clear so we jumped on the ski lift to the top of the nearest ski mountain as there was a hiking trail all around the peak. It wasn't the longest trail and definitely not the most difficult but it certainly ranks up there as one of the most picturesque. Just stunning actually.

Grand Tetons

Jackson the town and the 'Hole' further along the valley

It was so enjoyable that we decided that rather than catch the ski lift down, we'd walk. It was only 3 or so miles down the mountain in a sort of zig zag fashion. It did enable us to check out some of the ski slopes on the way down. The double black diamond one called fuzzy bear or something like that was almost vertical!

The mountain bike trails were not the ones we walked down. Those were far too wimpy for the bikers. Theirs were almost vertical like the ski slopes and followed a sort of in and out pattern through the tree line with jumps, rocks, streams.... I thought it was impossible to even walk down until I saw a group of kids skipping up the trail, probably whistling or humming.

Not the bike trail

Our hotel was only 5 minutes from downtown (did I mention that Jackson is actually a pretty small little town?) and after our exertions we felt that something cool and cleansing was required to hold us over until the fireworks planned for later that night. We chose the fabled Million Dollar Bar on the square and found it everything a modern western saloon should be!

Fine local brew!

As a result, Viv went out and bought a pair of cowboy boots (sorry another pair) while I contented myself with a hat. I know, we just have to come back out here again so we can wear this stuff. OK then.

Fireworks were fun and happily ended just before a rainstorm of epic proportions crashed down all around. The thunder and lightning actually did have the nod over the fireworks in the end.

Great visit. Too brief. Again.

The Wild West Part III -- National Parks

I tracked the tour for this segment of our road trip so if you'd like to follow it moment by moment, you can do so here. And of course, thanks Chris for the great app!

Our plan for our stay in the Jackson area was to spend a couple of days in the Grand Teton National Park, in Jackson Lake Lodge to be precise, and during that time visit Yellowstone and generally cram as much in as we could in the relatively few days we'd be there. Luckily, it was great weather so we didn't suffer too much seeing as we'd omitted to know that Jackson is 7,000 feet high with many of the places we'd be visiting substantially higher than that. with mid-summer average temperatures in the 70's, this meant it could get chilly at times. Personally I wish I'd thought of that and remembered to bring a pair of jeans rather than just the shorts and T-shirts. But you live and learn!

It wasn't long enough but the location and views were breathtaking.

One of the smaller lakes along the way. The tallest peak is something over 13,000 feet
 

View from our balcony

Our day trip to Yellowstone was great. Bus tour with a dozen random people. The area itself is underpinned by a dormant volcano with the bulk of the park's area being its caldera. That is why there are so many geothermal areas, over 10,000 at last count and increasing all the time as new hot spots suddenly emerge and burst into the open. Most are small but there are a few larger areas with larger pools. Old Faithful is but the most famous of these.

Old Faithful is the most predictable of the pools that erupt. It is about 1 hour 20 minutes plus or minus 20 minutes between eruptions. Of course we had to stay!

The park area itself is so immense that it was impossible for us to do anything other than a shortish circle and hit a few high points. People come from all over the country to spend their family vacations camping, in a RV, fishing -- trout fishing is amazing there apparently -- hiking, biking... you name it. Really a special place. I am really glad there were visionaries around to make sure it stays unspoiled.

One of the things I am impressed by are the rangers and forest management. You get the feeling from media reports these days that forest fires are all over the place due to drought conditions brought on by climate change or whatever, but many of the forest trees have evolved so that they may only produce seeds and spores once the tree has been through a fire. This is an all natural event which Mother Nature has devised ingenious ways to accommodate. Obviously some fires are more severe than others. The guide said that the last big one in the 1980's had over 10,000 fire fighters at its peak. It does help that the entire area is dotted with lakes which this year are overflowing given the amount of rain that has been happening (but thankfully not when we were there).  In the park are huge areas of dead trees from the last/recent fire but in all instances you can see small saplings pushing up to replace them. It also helps that areas like this make it easier to spot the critters that are meant to abound here. We didn't see many because traffic was so busy (it was 4th July weekend!) but did see quite a few bison, elk, brown and grizzly bears. Not Yogi though.

Great time. Sadly too short. This place is a keeper!