Steam-Free Reunion

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. We're following the rules by staying on the boardwalk.

Pooled

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. This is not a pool for Narcissus.

Setting up the hot-springs shot.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. It's easy for Dad to set up a shot because few barriers obstruct the hot springs.

Valley Reunion

Lower Yellowstone Falls, July 1966. It's a valley view.

Formation Reunion

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. When I was little, I thought this formation resembled an ice-cream sundae.

Lower Yellowstone Falls

Lower Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. We're finishing up our tour of Yellowstone, and we are heading north to Glacier National Park.

Let off some steam.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. Things are bubbling over.

Playing it safe.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. We're back at Yellowstone, and we remain cautious around the hot springs.

Stay on the boardwalk.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, July 1966. The park's hot springs are dangerous.

Badlands

When we made our first family drive to Glacier National Park, we took a slower route and stopped at famous landmarks along the way. We spent an afternoon, for example, touring the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. We ate lunch ate Wall Drug, where my Dad barred the staff from afixing a "Wall Drug" bumper sticker on the car. We also made it to the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, and Yellowstone National Park.

We spent one afternoon and early evening Badlands National Park. The stop was memorable because it was very hot, and I was parched. We did not have a cooler in the gold, Buick LeSabre. Instead, we had a pitcher with warm lemonade. My Mom had made the lemonade from a frozen concentrate in the morning, thinking it would stay cool throughout the day in the air-conditioned car. By the time we got to the Badlands, the mixture had turned into a swill of sour, pulpy, hot juice. It did nothing to quench my thirst.

What I remember most about the Badlands is feeling quite "green" in the afternoon sun.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota, July 1966. I don't seem very enthusiastic about exploring the park.

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Badlands National Park, South Dakota, July 1966. Mom checks out the view while I stay close to the car.
 

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Badlands National Park, South Dakota, July 1966. The view is spectacular.