In late August we both caught a sinus infection that was going around the crew, so we didn't do any hiking for a couple of weeks. We did go on a couple drives while we were in no condition to hike. On September 2nd, went on a drive to Great Fountain Geyser and were rewarded with an eruption - they occur approximately every twelve hours, plus or minus two hours, so being there at the right time can mean waiting a long time or having a lot of luck. Along the way we saw an eagle and a herd of bison. We were sitting on the downwind side of the geyser, so got doused with the water being ejected a few times. You can see the height of the eruption, compared to the people sitting on the benches to the left, in the photo below.

 

September 6th we decided to go out for a drive at sunset between the campground and Old Faithful. There was a little more cloud cover than makes for a perfect sunset, but it was still nice.

 

Once we got over the infection (more or less), we went on a short hike with our hiking buddies, to get back into condition again. Our hiking buddies had not been to Trout Lake before, so we decided it would be a good starting hike. We went to Mammoth on our way and saw quite a few elk resting on the groomed lawns around the buildings. Between Mammoth and the Tower-Roosevelt Junction we saw a herd of bison, some of which were crossing the road causing a traffic jam. In the Lamar Valley we saw a half dozen pronghorn near the road.

 

At the lake, all the fishermen were fisherwomen. Based on the wildlife we saw at the lake, it should be called Duck Lake instead of Trout Lake.

 

This last weekend, it started raining the night before our first day off and isn't supposed to quit for another day or two. Maybe we'll get a hike in next weekend. We did go on a drive around the lower loop on Wednesday the 16th, to see if the rain had helped put out a fire in the Hayden Valley that had burned 2500 acres. It had doused it pretty well and we couldn't see any smoke from two miles away. The trees are showing that fall is coming.

 

We also had our first snow since spring, this afternoon. It left a light dusting on the hills above 7000 feet. We are at 6800 feet, so the snow melted as it hit the ground in the campground.