Yellowstone, Day 1: Enter fireman

With weary bodies but excited eyes we passed under Roosevelt Arch and encountered our first bison, elk and bear. After eating breakfast and setting up camp, our energy was such that napping seemed improbable, and with that we set off on what purported to be a 6 mile hike. Due to a burned-out bridge, we went off trail and up a ridge adorned with a field of downed burnt trees. Our glee overcame the elevation as we climbed the steep slope to the rewards of a patch of snow, a cowpie tripod and a view of the valley. I could see that the trees had all fallen in the same direction, as though they had been blown down by a wind tunnel of fire. I suppose that's what the fire might have been like; I can only imagine the intensity.