On the way out of Washington, Rod made a nostalgia stop at Pullman, even though it was a Sunday afternoon with WSU apparently not in session. You will not be forced to view the house at NW 340 Windus or Johnson Hall (the Computer Science building in the mid 70's).

Yellowstone National Park was almost on the way back to NJ, so Rod camped 2 nights at Mammoth Hot Springs, one of the campgrounds that does not accept reservations and thus had some free campsites. He thought it interesting that elk were grazing through the campsite the first evening, but didn't yet realize the extent to which the wildlife "own" the park. This is the front yard of the visitor center in Mammoth Hot Springs. The hot springs are in the background.

Almost the reverse of the previous view, from the top of Mammoth Hot Springs looking back North at the visitor center and park headquarters.

Rod made the obligatory trip to the Old Faithful area, something like visiting the mall on a Saturday afternoon just before Christmas. Folks would sit and just wait for the Old Faithful geyser to erupt, when there were far more interesting things to see in the nearby geyser field.

On the way out of Yellowstone the next day, Rod stopped at Canyon Village for breakfast and a look at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and its falls.

Some of the park inhabitants were completely indifferent to whether he came or went.

Mount Rushmore was also almost on the way, so Rod paid $8 for a spot in the parking garage there and saw the monument and the artists studio.

The last of the parks was the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It looks a lot like the Painted Desert in Arizona.