Page 35 - USA ROAD TRIP SUMMER of 2000
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exactly a wilderness experience, but it was the first time we have

                   gone out into unknown country and tracked about without known
                   paths to follow. Lois was the one egging us on most of the time.



                   The river erosion has uncovered various layers of sediments in the
                   canyons. The light gray is clay, the dark gray is volcanic ash from

                   Montana  and  Wyoming,  the  black  is  coal,  the  yellow  is  another
                   form of clay, and the red is clay, called clinker, that has been baked

                   to a color and consistency of roof tiles by the fires that ignite and
                   burn within the coal layers. There have been no underground fires

                   here in  about 20  years but the last  one here had  been burning
                   since the first settlers arrived. The fires start with lightning as the

                   exposed coal seams are right on the surface in the canyons.


                   We  had  lunch  from  the  car  at  an  overlook.  Got  the  chairs  and

                   table out for the first time. Very successful. Headed for town for
                   the afternoon, as it’s too hot to stay out in the park at midday. Got

                   some ice cream and looked in a few shops. Went to the Visitor’s
                   Center  for  a  Ranger  Talk  on  pronghorn  sheep.  After  hitting  the

                   camp  store  for  groceries,  we  went  back  into  the  park  for  the
                   evening. Found a tree shaded picnic area all to ourselves and got

                   out the chairs again. Sat out and read our books and “rested our

                   eyes” for a couple hours. We were observed closely by a colony of
                   Prairie Dogs. Four wild turkeys wandered through and chipmunks

                   munched  flowers  around  the  tables.  We  ate  our  dinner  and
                   headed out for evening wildlife and lighting.






                   The evening light was perfect for photography. Took more pictures
                   than I should have as it takes so long to get them onto the Web

                   site.  The  highlight  of  the  evening  was  the  appearance  of  more




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