Hypocrits Among Us

You know, say what you want about the war in Iraq and this presidential administration or whatever your views may be and I'll respect them, even if they're different from mine.

But come on people, you do realize that when you put a 'oil bad' sticker on an SUV, you look like a flippen retard, right?

I shot this at a stoplight as I was following behind this guy and went 'huh?' I had my camera ready and tried to snap the picture, but it still blurred a bit. If you can't tell what it says, it says "Grand Oil Party" with the republican elephant logo looking a bit like a gas pump.

Come on, if you're going to put a sticker on your car that says something like that, make it a fuel efficient vehicle and not a gas guzzler. Gees.

Celebrity Look Alikes ???

Easy Amusement. . .

Just for fun, I decided to try this out and see what kind of hits I could get. However, I found it was very hard to find a picture of myself looking at the camera dead on.

So we decided to do several pictures and see what I could come up with.



All I can say is 'huh?' My number one match is a guy?

So I ran it again. . .



I have heard Reese Witherspoon (about a million times) as well as Christina Ricci once or twice. I've never gotten Katie Holmes before, but I think that has something to do with the angle of my head matching hers.

Hmm, for kicks and giggles, should I do it again?



Aahh! That picture is scary! Like, all the hits are guys!

Ok, I'm addicted. . . Just a couple more. . .



All famous child actresses . . and then. . . Benny Hill???



Ok, you can't get much more straightforward then a DA photo for the US army and I get. . . Tom Welling??? Ok, I'm done. . .

(I also got Ernest Hemingway on that last round, lot's of fun, of course I'm thinking this website is old news)


Ok, now I'm really done (did mention this was addictive, right?)

So, Captain Falcon survived the day, and the world is still here.

The fish theory worked!

I stand corrected. Captain Falcon did die, sometime last night, so the fish theory didn't work.

Or something like that.

I'm out of gold fishies.

Down to One Little Fishie

Captain Falcon is all that remains. Link had a fitting eulogy at the toilet yesterday before I flushed him and now I'm down to the last gold fish, which is ironic because I was sure this one was going to be one of the first to go. But he's doing pretty well. I need to change his water, but now I can't find the stuff to do it.

Bleh. . .

Clark is still going strong, but he needs a water change as well.

Meanwhile, two days until the end of the world. I'm counting on CPT Falcon to die then.

Do you have your emergency kit???

For Those Who Hate Work

My Cubicle

I'm usually off the ball with things like this, and this link is a few months old, but that's a pretty dang funny parody.

Time to spread to the rest of my family.

Courtesy Marnie

All the Little Fishies

Status on fishes. . .

Tiger and Marlin have joined the ranks of Pedro, Mario, Fettacini and Nemo in that sewer in the sky.

Fortunately, status on my next residence has opened up to pretty soon (like in the next couple of days) I can start moving in. I'm thinking of getting a freshwater aquarium, which I haven't had in a few years. I used to have a Jack Dempsey Cichlid I named Dempsey (I originally had a second I dubbed Jack, but eventually Dempsey killed him) that would eat anything that entered its tank. Which meant I had a lot of dead fish whenever I tried to make an actual aquarium. I had Dempsey for a couple of years, he'd eat frogs, milworms, and grasshoppers, not to mention other fish. He'd also nibble on your fingers if you put them in there, quite a personality for a fish. However, plantlife didn't survive for long. So for a thing of beauty, it was something of an eyesore.

With any luck, my last two gold fish, Link and Captain Falcon will last a few more months and I can be reassured that if I do put some money into an aquarium, I'm not going to get a bunch of dead fish within a couple of weeks.

I'll give Link and Captain Falcon a couple weeks to survive. Then I'll see about getting a freshwater aquarium.

Meanwhile, Clark's pretty chipper, if the gold fish don't make it, maybe I'll still have my Betta.

DI In training

I sincerely hope I don't look this psychotic when I finally make Drill Sergeant (some day. . .)

Reasons Not to Date People From Berkley

Warning: Graphic Images abound, not for children or people with Heart Problems.

Zombie Hall Of Fame

Really, what is this world coming to?

What I find ironic is the insertion of a Swastika on the Isreali flag. Is this an oxymoron or something??? Didn't Nazis like try to kill all the jews? Or are this anti war ralliers who claim that we're repeating history forgetting what Nazism was all about?

Back to that Kosovo Issue

Blind Eyes Over Kosovo, a fairly recent article about Kosovo that I can attest to from first hand experience of being over there. A region that used to have significantly more diverse population is now about 92% Albanian.

When I was over there, I didn't know what we were really doing to help support and stabalize Kosovo so that we can pull out of there. Its a mess, we've been there for seven years, and it doesn't look like we'll be pulling out any time soon.

What a mess. . .

Hat Tip - Desert Cat

Terror Plots and Current Events

Earlier this year, I had a premonition that something big was going to happen this summer. It was one reason why I felt that maybe Yellowstone wasn't such a great idea after all. But it was just this dread hanging over me, I didn't want to sound like some paranoid psycho so I really didn't say a whole lot at the time.

However, on top of all the latest stuff going on in the world, well, I've been watching Glenn Beck, which is apparently another source of disillusionment *well, he is pretty frickin' funny!* But there is a point to be held in regards to all this info about terrorists planning to hijack airplanes to the US from Britain (in case you have been in a cave or working in Yellowstone, at which time I was getting little to no news about issues going on in the world). This is just a little speck in the whole picture, there is something bigger out there.

If you look at this from a religious standpoint, is this really the end of the world? Are we approaching World War III? Will I ever get the chance to see Australia? Is this revelations come to pass?

Also, Fettacini and Nemo died. That brings the Gold Fish Count down to Four. I wonder if I could make this into some kind of doomsday prediction?

Either that, or I should listen to more REM.

In the meantime, unless its a presidential election year, my blog doesn't hold a lot in regards to current issues unless I'm right in the middle of it.

Details on the Sandbox

Alright, because of the nature of my blog currently, and the all important question, 'To Go, or Not to Go', and what other people have told me in emails or in my comments of why I should or shouldn't take a deployment to Iraq. I'm aware of the many angles I can take on this, but when making a choice like this, I often take a look at many different angles and the whys or why nots. I often like to make lists.

So, in regards to me, from my perspective, the bulleted list of reasons for me to go, or not to go, from reasons that are incredibly mundane to very important. Granted, this is just for me volunteering to go. If the army ended up sending me on an involuntary deployment, I would go and not try to get out.
Reasons to Go To Iraq

1. Career wise with Military it would strengthen my resume for longterm.
   
2. Would make me a more effective Drill Sergeant if I continued that route when I returned (I would know exactly what I'm training soldiers to eventually face)
   
3. Lot's of Money, of which most would be tax free.
   
4. Would definitely make E6 while over there (or even before I went over there)
   
5. Sense of duty drives me to serve.
   
6. Combat Patch
   
7. When facing criticism for my political standpoints on various topics, I have the legs to stand on and back up my position. (Put your money where your mouth is)
   
8. I support the war in Iraq as a soldier, it is only fitting that I am willing to serve in it.
   
9. This deployment would only affect my schooling by a few months.
   
10. If I wait and reenlist overseas, big fat tax free reenlistment bonus (unless bonus is removed by that time)
    
11. I will likely not be working in the position of Preventive Medicine (Yes, this is definitely a plus)

Reasons for Not Going

1. My current Unit needs me here.
   
2. People change when they face combat, and not always for the better.
   
3. Deployment could easily span out to two years, I'm not sure if I'm ready to spend that long in that environment.
   
4. Strong family ties makes me want to stay close to my family, and the stress they endured for a relatively easy deployment to Kosovo makes me reluctant to put them in that position again.
   
5. 25 years old, I'm ready to work on settling down.
   
6. Self preservation, Iraq is a high risk deployment and I would lie if I said that wasn't a factor
   
7. Potentially dangerous mission, even for Iraq.
   
8. I wouldn't necessarily be deploying with people I know very well, and I could literally go anywhere.
   

A note on voluntary deployments, in the military, especially considering the contrevertial nature of the War in Iraq, the military is trying to go about a certain way when deploying troops. In regards to deployments such as the one I am mentioning, the Army is first taking soldiers who have never deployed to fill slots, then taking soldiers who are volunteering to deploy (if the soldier has never deployed and volunteering to go, they are almost guaranteed a position). The rest of the slots are filled with soldiers who have already deployed once but still have time on their clock, so to speak.

What that means is in a five year time frame, soldiers can expect to be deployed for two out of those five years. Those two years do not count Mobilization time and only takes into account 'Boots on Ground'. I have one year on my clock, and have just gotten off a deployment seven months ago. The timing of this deployment I can easily be picked up to go. The only thing that would definitely keep me from deploying is if I get scheduled for my school on time, or if we have enough people in the Brigade that fill the current slots and they do not need me.

Because of the security nature of the deployment, or what not, obviously I can't give times or dates, I'm not even going to mention the mission and what it entails. There's a good chance I won't be doing my primary job skill.

Let's Play 'FLAME THE SOLDIER', starring me

I gotta love it when people flame me like this and have no idea of the background information. Hey look, I'm patriotic, I stand by the troops and now I'm going to bash you for not serving to what I think every soldier should be, which is on the battlefield of Iraq'. . .

I gotta say this, That is pretty selfish considering you are an American soldier. To NOT go because your family worries? That is a real wussie reason . . . That is the kind of thing that makes me believe that women should not be in the military -I say suck it up or GET OUT. Shame on you. You are just running a scam to get a paycheck. I am completely embarrassed FOR you. Proud Mom

Dear Proud Mom,

I've been in the military for 6 and a half years. I enlisted before 9/11 with the full knowledge that I could deploy. In fact, I've been ready and willing to deploy since I got in the military.

I was supposed to deploy to Iraq 3 times and to Afghanistan twice. I was ready and willing to go each time, until my orders got revoked or my unit got stood down.

Finally I voluntarily deployed to Kosovo last year because I could not afford to wait around for the army to deploy me or not (I tried to volunteer for an Iraq or Afghanistan mission as well but was turned down). Now its time for me to continue on with my life. I considered getting out completely. However, I feel the need to continue serving.

Right now the army is in a critical point where they need soldiers to be trained and they are relying on the US Army Reserve to supply Drill Sergeants to train these soldiers. I have four choices right now.

1. I can get out completely, meaning I can stop drilling right here right now as I have no more obligation to the military. Chances are, coming this soon off a deployment, I will not get picked up to go on another deployment.
   
2. I can serve out my time in the unit (16 months) and a BIG maybe, get picked up for the Iraq mission. If I get picked up, I get picked up. I'll serve.
   
3. I could flat out volunteer for the Iraq mission. I HIGHLY considered doing this. But I'm not going to do because right now is not a good time in my life to do this. And if my family had their way, for cripes sake, I would be getting out completely!
   
4. I could reenlist and go to school ASAP to become a drill sergeant, which is my current unit's primary mission. There is a severe shortage in female drills. If I don't get to school on time, I could (possibly) get picked up to go to Iraq. Mostly because there are a lot of people in those slots who are just biding their time.

I looked at going to Iraq this past weekend, and asked my NCOIC about finding more information about it. What did he say? "You too? You can't go, we need Drill Sergeants!" Three Drill Sergeant Candidates have already volunteered to go, leaving our unit even more short.

If I get orders for Iraq, I'll go. I've been waiting to go for the last four years. And you know what? After trying to volunteer and almost going this long, I'm tired of waiting. Maybe my family is more important to me since the Army can't make up their mind to utilyze me for the war in Iraq. If they want to send me, I'll go. But right now, it is not a high priority in my life. Frankly I want to go back to school and get that degree I should have gotten a year ago if I hadn't decided to selfishly use the military for my own reasons.

I'll take a critical mission that is also needed, regardless of whether the US is at war or at peace, and be proud to continue to serve my country.

So maybe I'm using the army to my advantage now. Heck, going to Iraq right now would be to my advantage. I'd make a buttload of money and it would all be tax free. I WANT to go! I'm WILLING to go. I'm even READY to go! But I'm not going to put my family through another deployment voluntarily. If the army wants me, they can utilyze me. But they are going to actually have to buck up and sign the orders first, and I won't even count on those orders being valid until I find myself in Iraq.

Sincerely,
A Selfish, Wussy, Scamming, Female Soldier.

Army Life

When I came home and found a new unit to drill out the rest of my contract with, I did something somewhat unintentionally.

I all but guaranteed that my future in the army was set.

See, this is my current deal. My deployment to Kosovo was not all peaches and cream. I had an idiot for an NCOIC who basically killed all of my motivation for the military, so by the time October 2005 rolled around, I was pretty much set on the fact that I was likely going to get out of the military completely once I got home.

Come Thanksgiving and the Crap hit the fan, of which I only briefly went over on my website. My respect for my leadership (specifically my NCOIC) came to a grinding halt and died, and within two weeks I was completely out of my section (and regrew my backbone). Oh how I would have liked to have told you all about my NCOIC at the time, but I did have enough respect for NCOs senior to me to not say anything about him at the time. Well I'm well out of his chain of command now so I can say whatever the heck I want.

The man was an idiot. I will say two good things about him. He's a Harry Potter fan and he's a damn fine preventive medicine specialist. But he had absolutely no business leading soldiers. The worst NCO I have ever had, bar none. However, what I have gained from that experience is that I now know everything about what not to be in a Leader, and one of the reasons why I chose this specific position was because this unit was what I needed to prove that I was not the soldier he said I was, and I could develop the leadership traits I needed to develop as an NCO and he failed to take the time to develop with me.

Unfortunately, one of the things he did is now biting me on the butt, most specifically his evaluation report of me that is far from steller. In fact, it isn't very favorable at all. I was misled on it for one, and two, one of the sections on it is completely misleading to a reader who didn't know either of us reading it. Basically, my report has me as being completely incompetant, literally. At the time I signed it, I was in a F*** it mood, was planning on getting out anyway, and, well, I made the mistake of signing it without reading it through.

When I looked back on the report after I got out from under his leadership completely, I realized what I had done and after talking to different people about it, including a Leutenant (who sometimes reads this blog) who knew more about NCOERs (Non-Commissioned Officer Evaluation Report) then most sergeants do, I realized that I had every right to appeal it.

I've been kind of in that process for the last few months, but because I've been in somewhat of a transition these last few months and my life is in somewhat of a disarray, I realized I needed two things right now. I needed good consistent leadership, something I've never had, and I needed to get an NCOER for this year that was excellent. Its hard to show a reserve unit what you got when you only see these guys one weekend a month, but my current unit is a no bars held squared away unit that knows what they're talking about.

Mostly because they're drill sergeants.

I've been told by several members of this unit that I have the personality to do this job, in fact, my leadership style is actually attuned to doing something like this, and I've wanted to be a Drill Sergeant since I got out of AIT.

However, to properly appeal my NCOER, I have to go through my current unit and have them help me do it. I talked to my First Sergeant yesterday about it, and in fact I've mentioned a few things about wanting to Appeal my NCOER, but I didn't want to go into detail with what happened in my previous unit, part of the appeal of coming to this unit was starting with a clean slate. However, he knew about it and coming into the meeting, he mentioned to me the fact that most soldiers coming appealing their NCOER do not get the results they desire. I nodded, understanding this, then showed him my current NCOER, the sections I was contesting (the competence section) and kind of explained the circumstances behind it. Then I showed him the Counseling Statement that was given to me in response to one Bullet Statement.

He took one look at that and said "this isn't a counseling statement, this is a threat! Heck, I feel threatened by this." The fact is, I got a negative remark that is supposed to show for an entire year of observation and all bullet statements in the Competence section are for incidents that occurred within two days of each other. In other words, I had a bad week, and my NCOER reflect that when it shouldn't. It should reflect the entire year.

My current First Sergeant then completely supported my decision to appeal this BS and backed me on it, I showed him a couple of counseling statements (one he called an agenda) and told me that my goal was to make sure my performance in the unit exceeded expectations so I could have an excellent NCOER for this year to balance out this last one.

Meanwhile, well, I mentioned that my current choice of unit guaranteed my reenlistment. My current unit is slotted to go to Iraq. But not the Drill Sergeants, who have a mission regardless of times of Peace or War. If I'm not slotted for school by January 2007, I could very well find myself slotted to go to Iraq instead. I don't think this will happen (in fact, if it weren't for my family at the moment, I would volunteer to go) but it does mean that I need to make a decision and get ready to go to Drill Sergeant School by next Spring at the Latest.

But before I go to school, I have to reenlist.

Guess I'm reenlisting. . . but if I'm going to make this a career after all, I need to get that NCOER squared away.

EDIT - I've talked to my unit further, more confirmation on the fact that I have every right to appeal my NCOER and I have plenty of evidence supporting me.

In the meantime, the rest of my mission consists of me doing the best damn job humanly possible.

I got flamed in my comments. Reply in next post.

Fish Names

Having 9 nieces and nephews that come through the house on a regular basis can be hazardous to a fish's health. Especially when they all want to take a turn feeding him. On the same day. And don't bother to ask you if they can.

Pedro lasted just under two weeks, and then I gave him a small eulogy for being with us before sending him to the sewer in the sky.

I went out and bought another fish as soon as I discovered Pedro to be dead. He's got similar coloring, but a little more red. I named him Clark.

Yes, Pedro and Clark are weird names for Betta Fish. Actually, they are both named after horses from Roosevelt in Yellowstone. Pedro was this bay paint with only a couple paint markings. Every time we handed Pedro to the lucky person who got to ride him, we would start quoting Napoleon Dynamite. Clark was the oldest horse in the operation. He had been at Roosevelt since 1985, and hence he's probably close to 30 years old. Another interesting fact about Clark is he's a Mustang, in fact he used to be a wild Mustang and still has the government brand on his neck. In his day it took a talented wrangler to handle that horse. Nowadays, being old and all, he suffers from arthritus and we had to put kids on him. He was the brokest horse in the operation. He's tall too, tall for a kids horse.

Clark and Pedro stuck with me for some reason, Pedro for no reason other then his name, and but Clark had a history behind him. When I first got Pedro the fish, I decided to name him after one of the dude horses at Roosevelt, and it was a choice between Pedro and Clark. I guess its because, well, who names a horse Pedro or Clark? Pedro won out for Fish #1. Fish #2, however, well, I guess he's clark now.

I kind of got on a fish frenzy and decided to buy some Gold Fish as well. The little feeder gold fish that is, because they are so cheap, like 10cents a fish. I went ahead and purchased a fish bowl for them and got five. As I brought them home and dumped them in their new home, I let my nieces and nephews have a look at them, and then I offered them the opportunity to name them.

Kelsey found the most colorful one and named it Nemo. Cody latched onto a Silver one and called it The Silver One. Later I think he settled on the name Fettacini. Brian, fresh off of playing Super Smash Brothers Melee, took the honor of naming the remaining three Mario, Captain Falcon and Link.

Mario died, so when I bought Clark, I bought two more gold fish (as well as some tank accessories to brighten their homes up a bit) Kelsey came with me, helped me choose Clark, and then I let her pick out the two new gold fish. They are now Marlin and Tiger.

So currently, I have seven pet fish. Six Gold Fish and One Betta Fish. Funny how you stare at fish and you can just watch them.

But now come to think about it, Fish are actually not all that interesting. . .

Hmm. . .

Pets

I've been suffering from lack of pet angst.

So I went out and bought a Beta. Otherwise known as a Siamese (or in some circles Chinese) Fighting Fish.

I named him Pedro. Pictures to come.

Airshow!

I got woke up early yesterday morning by my mother asking me if I wanted to go with her to the Airforce Base to attend an Airshow. At first I was still part asleep and didn't think much about going anywhere, but after I gained consciousness I decided that going to an Airshow sounded pretty cool after all.

Driving out to Fairchild through road construction and what not, we weren't sure how easy it would be to get on or what not, only to discover that they had it specifically set for the public. Easiest time I've ever had getting on an Airforce base truthfully.

First thing they had for the walkthrough was a C5.

I also found the F117 to be pretty flippen' sweet as well. They actually did three overhead passes with the F117. I know they didn't even go near what this jet is capable of.

Stealth bombers are pretty sweet. . .

We also got to see Tim Weber in action.

Didn't get a lot of good action shots of Tim Weber (check out his website for those) but I did get a photo opportunity plus a signed autograph. Autographs were something I started collecting in Kosovo.


Meanwhile, there were these old school pre world war II airplanes that they had flying in formations. They were pretty cool.

Getting ready for take-off.

And of course, the action shots. . .



They had the Canadian Skyhawks parachuting as well (dang, didn't get pictures) which was pretty cool. I have seen the Golden Knights before in San Antonio, some amazing stuff they do, makes me want to go airborne myself. *sighs*

The highlight of the show was of course the Thunderbirds. Precision flying is sweet, and what was also pretty cool is the fact that one of the pilots is a woman. That's pretty hoorah in my opinion, especially after you see what these people do.




Getting out of the Airforce base however, well, that was another adventure. They say that there were 30,000 people there or something insane like that. Meaning that traffic exiting the airforce base? Outragious.

Apparently one of my blog readers saw me there. I got an email from him after I got home asking me if perchance I had gone there, he thought he may have recognized me.

Small world. Still, an eventful day. Glad I decided to get up and go to it.

YNP : Parting Shots

Well, I guess I better come out and say it.

I'm no longer working at Yellowstone. I just came home this morning, ending the season a little early. I did enjoy the job, but there was some circumstances that came up that made me realize that I got what I wanted out of the job, I saw Yellowstone (though there are parts I'll have to go back to in the future and catch), I worked with horses and got them out of my system, and overall the season was good.

However, like all jobs, working at Yellowstone as a Wrangler was a job. It was a hard job with long days, and it wasn't always peaches and cream. I didn't always get along with my fellow wranglers (my interpersonal skills with my coworkers is something I could use some work on) and I kind of wished my exit went a bit different, but I realized that I needed to be home right now.

I didn't just up and quit (ok, so maybe I did), I did give it some thought, it was just something I needed to do. I think the one thing that bugs me about the whole circumstances is that I don't like the feeling fo quitting. However, apparently my family knew I was going to come home early, and overall, considering I just got back from Kosovo six months ago, I need to get my life in order with school this fall along with a bunch of other things that going away to Yellowstone caused some conflicts.

Overall, home is where I need to be. I can say I worked as a wrangler in Yellowstone, and now I really need to focus on the question. You know, the big question. What in the world am I going to do with my life?

Meanwhile, I learned a lot about Yellowstone. Here are some parting shots.

Sitting at the front of the wagon giving commentary. This is one of the few pictures I got of me doing this job, and I look like I'm about to eat somebody or something.


Giving commentary for the Stage Coaches. My driver told me I gave a perfect 'pat' pose.


Rawhide and Me. Somebody I will truly miss, it was hard turning him loose for the last time.


One sight I really won't miss that much is the bison on the road.


Goodbye Yellowstone. Until we meet again.

YNP : Geysers

Yellowstone is really quite known around the world for one thing.

Thermal features.

Unabounding wilderness comes in second, but when people think of Yellowstone, they truly think of the geysers. Well, along with waterfalls this last weekend, I checked out some Geysers and other Thermal Features as well.

Lesson learned: Geysers are cool.

Jet Geyser

Jet Geyser is one of the geysers down in the Fountain Paint Pot area. Its directly related to Fountain Geyser and Morning Geyser (which was going off when we went through this area, but I didn't get a picture of) and gave us a little show. Nobody was taking pictures of it, so I got a couple snap shots.

Imperial Geyser

I got my own private show of Imperial, its an extension of the Fairy Falls hike, an additional 1.4 mile loop added. It was kind of neat checking it out, however I didn't see it in a major eruption, just one of its many minor eruptions, which occurs every couple minutes and can be anywhere from a couple of feet to eighty feet. Its actually has a fairly large pool for a geyser, and apparently was a big gusher in its day. However these days it is fairly mellow. Still, I got my own private show, and it was nice.

Jewel Geyser

Located in Buscuit Basin (at the back of which is the trail to Mystic Falls), wait a few minutes and you'll see this little geyser go off. It erupts every 7 to 10 minutes.

Lone Star Geyser

Aptly named Geyser, the nearest large geyser is Old Faithful. Lone Star is also one of the most regular in the park, erupting almost 3 hours exactly. I had to bike 2.5 miles to get to Lone Star, but it was worth it. Old Faithful visitors center didn't have numbers ofr Lone Star (they rely on visitors to report eruptions to predict it) so I had to take a chance and hope I would catch an eruption and not have to wait three hours for it. I lucked out, I waited about 20 minutes for it to go off, sitting with five other people. It also puts on quite a show (30 minutes), I think this is one of my favorite geysers in the park.

Old Faithful

Everyone knows of Old Faithful. Its famous for being the largest regular geyser on the face of the planet, hence the name Old Faithful. It regularly puts on a show for you, and I've seen it go off about six or seven times since I got here, three times alone on Monday.

There's this neat hike up to the viewing area of Old Faithful. I took advantage of a hiking opportunity and saw it from this vantage point and only had to put up with a minor crowd. Very scenic.

Castle Geyser

Castle Geyser is in the Upper Geyser Basin (which is by Old Faithful) and goes off every 11 to 13 hours. It puts out quite a show when it does go off, though I only saw the beginning show and snapped a picture, having heard that the irregular Beehive Geyser was about to go off.

Beehive Geyser

Named because of its geyserite cone looks a bit like a Beehive, this geyser shoots straight up. It's got a small geyser to the side that works as an indicator that Beehive is about to erupt, and thats the only sign that it will erupt. Otherwise, I would have likely missed this show.


I've seen quite a few geysers since I've been here, these are the main ones I've seen that I got pictures of. I did see Fountain Geyser erupt from a bus, as well as Solitary Geyser which erupts every few minutes in a small bubble.

I'm told I lucked out with how the Geysers erupted the day I saw them. There are a few I missed but overall, I saw quite a few.

Stagecoach Update

Did mention I was going to talk to the boss man about working stage this week. He gave me the honor and I got to drive it. Twice! Sweet!


Me, with Creep and Crawl, a couple of our Percheron Draft Horses.

YNP : Water Falls

Ok, so there is the lower and upper falls. They are pretty darn famous in fact. Truth is, there are over 200 water falls in Yellowstone. Exact numbers escape me, in fact, I don't know if anybody knows exactly how many waterfalls are in Yellowstone. I was just realizing how big Yellowstone was today. It started to annoy me.

Mostly because of driving from one place to the next. It gets old driving a hundred miles in a weekend.

This weekend, I saw a couple waterfalls.

Fairy Falls

Fairy Falls includes a bit of a hike through some burn area. Its just behind the Midway Geyser Basin which includes Grand Prismatic Spring and actually a rather pleasant stroll of about 5 miles. Knock off two miles by foot if you bring along a bike (I did). It seems you can park a bicycle at a trail head and people leave it alone. I was somewhat concerned about somebody taking off with it, but if they do, one less thing to haul back home with me.

Another 1.4 mile loop includes a trip to Imperial Geyser. Neat little geyser, definitely a recommended hike if you have the time in Yellowstone such as we employees do.

And on the way back, you can take a little climb up a hill and get a great view of Grand Prismatic Spring.



Definitely one of the coolest hot springs in the park (not literally of course, cool meaning neat). My family commented it was one of their favorite places in the park.

Mystic Falls

Mystic falls is also worth a view, behind the Biscuit Basin, catch a glimpse of Jewel Geyser while your at it. Jewel erupts every 7 to 10 minutes.

Two choices with this one. Hike straight to it and back, or you can take the loop and see the entire Upper Geyser basin. I saw Old Faithful Erupt from a fair distance away. Pretty cool.

I'll hit the geysers in another blog post.

Got another book that tells about Yellowstone Waterfalls. Plan on visiting a fair bit more of them.