älvdans i Yellowstone

(Title: The dance of the elves in Yellowstone)

When I was a child in Sweden, we were entertained with folklore stories about elves, gnomes, giants, and other mythological creatures. Some people even believed in them. I always loved the elves, which in Sweden are female, fog-like and wispy creatures that dance over meadows at dusk and dawn. If you breath in their fog, you can wish for something dear.

When I was in Yellowstone I was reminded of the Swedish 'älvor' at several occasions. Not only do the hot springs and fumaroles (steam vents) create foggy clouds night and day, but there are also chilly nights perfect for 'älvdans' (dance of the elves) over lakes and meadows. One night when we drove back late to the hotel the road was covered in fog in the moonlight - the steam vents in the geyser basins helped to create low mist that covered all valleys. We had to drive really slow, in case a bison had decided to take a nap on the road, and a car ahead of us actually hit an animal and had to be towed. We were luckier. Here are some steamy, foggy shots to show you the dance of the elves in Yellowstone. Enjoy!

Daytime steam at Grand Prismatic Spring. The orange in the foreground are microbial mats of heat-tolerant microorganisms, among the oldest bacteria on Earth.

Steam vents at Norris geyser basin, early morning. About 3 miles (4 km) under us is molten magma, and you can feel it!

More steam at Norris geyser basin. This place has the hottest geysers and hot springs, many boil all the time.

Early, early morning, before sunset at Mammoth Hot Springs, with terraces of sediments and a hot spring in the background. It was beautiful, mystical and eerie all at the same time.

A small first taste of Yellowstone National Park

Simple fact: Yellowstone is fantastic! Here is a sample until I can write more about it.

Yellowstone River falls into Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park.

We saw thousands of bison (buffalo, bisonoxar), giant beasts that don't care about cars.
They use the roads as travel paths.

Very active steam vent (fumarole) in the Norris geyser basin. Those yellowish colors are microorganisms that love to live in hot, acid environments.

Mammoth Hot Springs can be an eerie place. Springs that bring mineral-laden water to the surface deposit large layers of chemicals that can kill trees.

Stamp of the Day: Geology

Stamp of the Day today is from Åland, that little island between Finland and Sweden that has some independence but not complete. Featured theme is geology, for two reasons - I feel like a slick stone in this hot and humid weather on the east coast of USA (just horrible), and I am on my way tomorrow to a very geologically interesting area - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Geysers, hot springs, volcanic eruptions every 600 00 (=now) years, petrified forests and so on. More reports on Yellowstone later. On the stamps are features left from the ice age - large boulders moved by the ice, 'jättegrytor" (= giant's pots), and pillars shaped by melting glacier water. It is nice to see stamps of natural features that are real and not just pretty (as opposed to butterflies and animated movie stars).