In the end it was our timing belt, which we ought to’ve replaced quite a while ago. Getting that and a new water pump in took until around 5 yesterday afternoon, and we went on to Yellowstone anyway.

And I’m glad we did, because this morning was sublime.

Quintessential mountain fall, much like Thanksgiving Day last year. Cold, crystalline, very still.

I’ve got far more gobsmacking shots than I’ll be able to do justice in the rest of this hectic week. The one below is special, though.

I got up before M, as usual, and headed off to the Gibbon/Firehole Junction (where the Madison River begins) to fish. I had some issues with my line icing, and wasn’t doing very well with numb hands, generally. Then I heard a huge splash off to the right.
There were three River Otters traveling up the Madison. I’ve never seen River Otters in the wild, and dropped my rod and trotted along the bank for a stretch following them. Really amazing moment.

They must be well insulated.

With the rest of the time we had we enjoyed the Middle Geyser Basin in extraordinary condition. This mysterious old tail-less Bison led he way to a Old Faithful.
It was the least voluminous of the three eruptions we’ve seen this year, but somehow the most atmospheric.
Lamentably I just don’t have time to do this justice. Many ambitious projects to make progress on in the next four days, before Kevin and I set off into the wild.

The forecast is making that trip a bit intimidating. The low for Seeley Lake saturday night, Seeley Lake being the coldest town in western Montana and though low at 4300′ a good approximation of the 4500-5500′ valleys we’ll likely be camping in, is 2. Yep, barely above zero.

The gear list is going to be getting a bit of tweaking. A few pounds will be worth a good sleep.