smokin'...

...in Yellowstone's geyser basins, where hot springs gleam sulphur yellow and  inviting turquoise blue, mud pots gurgle and bubble like breakfast porridge, fumaroles steam and growl and geysers steam and hiss until finally the pressure builds and superheated water shoots skywards.
Yellowstone Park sits on top of a supervolcano beneath which lies a huge magma reserve and giant heat source for water seeping into the ground producing these amazing features. Even more amazing is the fact that heat tolerant bacteria live in this landscape turning the pots and springs into an artist palette of colours.
A trip to Yellowstone would not be complete without a visit to Old Faithful and we were not disappointed.
Waiting for the old dude to blow, enter stage right two bison!!! Wandering  in front of us with the geyser backdrop, they munched and grazed happily while  steam billowed, water fountained high and the sun began to set just to complete the picture.
As Old Faithful settled down and the bison exited stage right! (extra)

A day of unexpecteds as was with a pre-breakfast wander around Nevada City and Boot Hill cemetery ( so called because the inhabitants die with their boots on and usually hanging from a gallows!).(extra) As is often the case with 'bad lads' from history, in death there is a romanticism and gifts and small tokens of coins and hearts are left on gravemarkers.
There wandering with his dog Tinkerbelle was Dale and even out here in the wild west there is an Aussie connection to be found (extra)
Dale spent time in the Aus wild west in the mid 80s taking gold prospecting tours around the goldfields near Wiluna and very successful they were too. Clients came out from the US and one went home with a nugget worth US$32,000!
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