Yellowstone Flashback - Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Katrina Gets A Job

I'll take a trick from Linda's blog that she is using and preface each of the Yellowstone Flashback posts I have coming up with a disclaimer. (Thanks for the great idea, Linda!)

The following is part of a series of posts about the trip Wayne and I took to Yellowstone National Park in 2009.

Wayne was into the geysers when we visited Yellowstone but the big thing I was looking forward to was hiking Uncle Tom's down in to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

I wasn't in the shape I'm in now, I was only a newbie at the hiking thing still, so I was a little nervous about those 328 steps.  Turned out the steps were fairly easy to manage, especially since they had benches at multiple landings.  What ended up being scary was the occasional dent in the stairs that were proof that decent sized chunks of rock still occasionally fell off the canyon walls.

You don't have to go at a certain time of day to witness a rainbow at the bottom of the Lower Falls, it's a near constant occurrence.  Still, it's the best rainbow I've ever seen.

Back at the top we decided we had to see the canyon from multiple viewpoints.  Artist Point was crowded with tourists, but just steps from the main viewpoint we saw a trail going in to the woods and just a minute farther along we had the place to ourselves along with this fantastic view of the canyon walls.

Our favorite little hike was the Red Rock Point trail that again goes straight down into the canyon.

We were pretty impressed with the work that went in to making the trail.  Of course looking at these pictures I'm wishing I'd taken more notes at the time because I've forgotten a lot of it.  Blogging has helped capture details in our later travels, making it easier to retain the memories.

Which view was this?  Who can remember?  It was all gorgeous, and I remember wishing I could climb right down into the canyon and touch those red walls.  And as stunning as the photos are, seeing it in person takes your breath away.  Maybe this year will be the year we get back to Yellowstone, and maybe it will be another year or two...but we will go back again and again I'm sure.

More Yellowstone photos to come, it'll help pass the days until I head for South Carolina in 2 weeks.  Katrina has decided to stay behind because she starts classes next week...and she started a job today.

Grand View

Where is she working?  She's helping me out at Eye Contact!  Of course as soon as we hired her she got two job interviews scheduled so I don't know if we'll get to keep her for very long.  We needed a little extra help, she needed a little extra money, and we'll be happy to have her for as long as we can.  And while I'm off playing in the mountains she'll join my other Not-As-New-Girl and they'll keep things running along in my absence.  And if her job interviews land her another part time job she'll still be able to help us out, at least until summer when we'll look seriously for someone to fill the position permanently.  The more help we get the more I can run off and play, right?