Well after a great sleep I decided to head off for the Norris area and Mammoth Hot Springs on Sunday. The Norris area has two large areas of geysers, hot water springs, etc. A varied pallette of colors, sounds and smells. Certainly sulfur was the prevalent odor! But the noises ranged from a washing machine to a jet engine to air being let out of a balloon. Green was algae. Orange was iron. Bluish-green was minerals. It stimulated all the senses!
I've include a picture of Mammoth Hot Springs as well. It is a large geothermal feature with water running on the surface! I ended up camping near the Northeast entrance at Pebble Creek. A pretty typical mountain stream passes beside it.
Lastly, the campers next to me last night were a mother and son from Nebraska, Kathy and Jim. So many interesting coincidences. Art, she is a veterinarian, but believe it or not she graduated from Kansas State University! Her husband passed away 3 1/2 years ago, but when he was alive, he too was a Big Brother to a 9-year-old at one time. Her older son (who chose not to go on this trip) had a bout with cancer but is now fine. She had brought her son who is going into 6th grade to camp by herself being more comfortable in the city. She knows that he needs ways to embrace his masculinity because his father is no longer alive, but she admits that it is challenging for her. I offered help with building a fire and showing Jim how to chop wood.
How tested she has been by life, yet she gives so lovingly what she can to her son, trying to learn as she goes. I know that this encounter reaffirms for me that the focus of my volunteer work will remain with boys who lack a positive masculine influence in their life and suffer with self-esteem. Kathy and Jim, thank you for that gift of clarity!
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