Big Horn Canyon

Big Horn Mountain Range in Big Horn Canyon Recreation Area in Wyoming. We had the park mainly to ourselves since we were the only tourist on the road.  We drove miles without seeing a car or truck.  We had visitors of Big Horn Sheep to block the road. The scenery was truly spectacular! 

"Streams of Water"

"As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, my God."  Psalm 42:1

Wandering River

To The River

Fair river! in thy bright, clear flow
Of crystal, wandering water,
Thou art an emblem of the glow
Of beauty- the unhidden heart-
The playful maziness of art
In old Alberto's daughter;

But when within thy wave she looks-
Which glistens then, and trembles-
Why, then, the prettiest of brooks
Her worshipper resembles;
For in his heart, as in thy stream,
Her image deeply lies-
His heart which trembles at the beam
Of her soul-searching eyes.

 

Edgar Allen Poe                  

Peace Like A River

It Is Well with My Soul

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know;
"It is well, it is well with my soul."

   Tho' Satan should buffet, tho' trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.

   My sin - oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin - not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross and I bear it no more;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul.

   And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend-
"Even so - it is well with my soul."

   For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live,
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou shalt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

   It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

By Horatio G. Spafford (1828-1888)

Far Over the Mountains

“He loved mountains, or he had loved the thought of them marching on the edge of stories brought from far away; but now he was borne down by the insupportable weight of Middle-earth. He longed to shut out the immensity in a quiet room by a fire.”


― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Snake River

“Faeries, come take me out of this dull world,
For I would ride with you upon the wind,
Run on the top of the dishevelled tide,
And dance upon the mountains like a flame.”
 
― W.B. Yeats, The Land of Heart's Desire

What Are Men to Rocks and Mountains?

“What are men to rocks and mountains?”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice    

Call of the Mountains

The mountains are calling and I must go.
John Muir

Yellowstone Lower Falls

Artistic Waters Yellowstone River

 

To capture the colors of the landscape, I used a dry brush technique in the above photos.  The water has streaks of green as well as deep blue running fiercely over the rocks. I walked a trail along side of the rapids.  There are too many rocks for white water rafting.  This concludes my adventure at Yellowstone.  We only visited from the South Entrance up to Washburn Mountain Range.  It was a tiresome full day drive from Jackson Hole to Yellowstone and back.  I could not take photos during the golden hours of 2 hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset.  That is the best natural light for a landscape picture.  The bright sun will fade out the brilliancy of colors of the landscape no matter what filters you use.  The pigments of oil painting can bring out the gorgeous colors better then any photograph.

Lewis Falls Yellowstone

Lewis Falls is located roughly 11 miles inside Yellowstone’s south entrance, and two miles south of Lewis Lake.  If you know American history, Meriwether Lewis was a member of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition.  The expedition was the first government-sanctioned effort to explore and map the Western Frontiers.  The sun was very bright when we stopped at Lewis Falls.  The river looked white from the sunrays reflecting off the whirling waterfall.

Washburn Mountain Range

 

 

I really was not impressed with the mountain ranges of Yellowstone after visiting the Grand Teton National Park.  Even the Grand Canyon did not surpass the magnificent beauty of the Teton Range.  Mount Washburn Range is similar to the Appalachian mountains.  A lot of forest and woodlands surround the area. 

Yellowstone River Moments of Serenity

 

The river does have some areas where it is calm, peaceful and serene before it reaches the Grand Canyon area.

Hayden Valley Where the Buffalo Roams

Bison really do walk along side and between your cars. Lots of them!  The older gentlemen above walked past my car window.  You never know what may agitate them so I stayed quiet as a mouse and rolled up my window.

Heart of the Caldera Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes known as the Yellowstone super volcano, is a volcanically active region in Yellowstone National Park.  You can get a glimpse of the crater from the overlook.  Yellowstone, like the Hawaiian Islands, is believed to lie on top of one of the planet's few dozen hotspots where light hot molten mantle rock rises towards the surface.  Within the past two million years, it has undergone three extremely large explosive eruptions, up to 2,500 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helen's eruption.  There is a documentary film that I watched based on "what if there is an Yellowstone Volcanic eruption" and it basically will destroy the entire North America continent and beyond.  That bare tree is a symbol of events to come.

Yellowstone's Grand Canyon

These pictures are of different angles of the Grand canyon.  It is roughly 20 miles long and is the primary geologic feature in the Canyon District. The aqua color water of the Yellowstone River against the golden canyon made a spectacular scene.

A Winding Yellowstone River

 

The Yellowstone River curves and winds its way through the valley.  A bison resting among the wildflowers was a lovely sight to behold.  Such a large and powerful animal resting peacefully among the flowers.

Yellowstone Lake

 



 

We tour Yellowstone from the south entrance and drove up the Grand Loop Road to Yellowstone Lake.  The lake is very large at 132 sq. miles and has a west thumb, south and southwest arm.  The water was a very deep blue.  These pictures were taken from Gulf Point.  It was a very bright day even though there were many clouds that formed over the lake.  The mountains in the distant is the Absaroka Range.