Mountain Magic

Here are a few pictures from our trip from Nampa, Idaho, to Livingston, Montana. I hope you enjoy!

Our chosen route took us past the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park, so we detoured through the park via West Yellowstone, Montana, so that C & D could buy lifetime park passes before the price goes up. I had previously experienced the southern section of Yellowstone - this was my first trip through the northern end.

After refueling in Idaho Falls at a Walmart that had, believe it or not, a fly shop, we headed north. The further we drove, the more trees we saw. Trees! Trees! Beautiful, luscious, gorgeous trees! Thank you, thank you, trees! (Can you tell I miss living with trees?)

View through the front windshield, north of Idaho Falls.

TREES!

The drive through the park was enjoyable with many breathtaking views. In this shot, you see the Madison River exiting a gorge.

Madison River in Yellowstone National Park, MT

As night approached, I caught this shot of the moon rising over the river. (Not sure which river, we crossed more than one.)

Moonrise Over River in Yellowstone National Park

Near the north entrance, we stopped at Mammoth Hot Springs to view the travertine terraces. From Wikipedia:

Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Because of the huge amount of geothermal vents, travertine flourishes. Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas.

Flowers Blooming in the Runoff at Mammoth Hot Springs

More from Wikipedia:

"Terrace Mountain at Mammoth Hot Springs is the largest known carbonate-depositing spring in the world. The most famous feature at the springs is the Minerva Terrace, a series of travertine terraces. The terraces have been deposited by the spring over many years but, due to recent minor earthquake activity, the spring vent has shifted, rendering the terraces dry.

August Moon Rising Over Terrace Mountain, Mammoth Hot Springs

 Here is a view of the travertine terraces:

Travertine Terraces, Mammoth Hot Springs

Standing alone by the travertine terraces, is Liberty Cap, a dormant, 37-foot hot spring cone marking the northern portion of Mammoth Hot Springs. Liberty Cap got its name from its resemblance to the peaked caps worn during the French Revolution. Source: Waymarking.com

Liberty Cap, Yellowstone National Park

Last, but not least... Olivia's Cloning Gel! No, seriously. Cloning gel. We found this at a sweet little shop in Livingston, MT, Woods Rose Market. No, I did not buy any. Yes, I wish I had. 😆

Olivia's Cloning Gel

That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed this little pictorial of my trip to Livingston, MT.

~ That Rebel, Olivia J. Herrell writing as O.J. Barré

P. S. If you are interested in camping in Yellowstone, check out Brian of OutsideHow's article.

O.J. Barré is the author of the AWEN trilogy. Books One and Two, AWEN RISING and AWEN STORM are available through Amazon, and Book Three, AWEN TIDE, will be out by late 2021. The Awen prequel, THE DRUIDS OF MARDUK, PART I, is also available.