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On an evening of strange, wonderful cloud formations, this intensely bright luminescent cloud appeared. I'm pretty sure this wasn't a plane vapour trail as the angle was too acute and I have seen countless trails disperse across this sky.
These rock formations reminded me of similar ones close to the Fish River Canyon in the south of Namibia, one of South Africa's neighbouring countries.
It reminded me of a great trip I went on with Rolf Hansen, one of my very good Namibian friends, a few years ago.
Saturday, September 9, 1989.
Today was our second major day in Yellowstone. This time we took the upper loop. We headed to Canyon Village and spent some time exploring the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The Yellowstone River plunges 1,000 feet below your observation point. This is where the yellow stone is very apparent and where the origin of the name comes from. The various colouring is al-so quite spectacular. Brilliant reds and vibrant oranges contribute to the beauty of the canyon walls. Lookout Point gave us a great view of the Lower Falls which are twice the height of Niagara. Artist's Point on the north rim was also spectacular. Continuing our trek we stopped at various points overlooking the Rivera Mountains and some interesting basalt column formations caused by lava flow. We also saw a petrified tree. At Mammoth Hot Springs the terraces are spectacular travertine (calcium carbonate) formations which produce delicately crusted pools and runoffs. Dictated by different water temperatures, algae thrives here giving the terraces their colour. The Park's headquarters are here and there is quite a little settlement. At one time the U.S. cavalry was based here before the National Park Service was set up. That night we had an interesting evening. We decided to eat at one of West Yellowstone's fine hotels. After waiting two hours we were offered our meals free because of the kitchen's foul up! We did not get quite what we ordered but it was excellent so who's complaining?
Best Western Desert Inn, West Yellowstone, MT
The Fountain Formation is a significant stratigraphic unit in the Upper Paleozoic of Colorado. It is about 900 meters thick at its greatest and consists of reddish-colored siliciclastics of Pennsylvanian to Permian age. The sediments were eroded from the Ancestral Rocky Mountains and deposited in ancient, terrestrial alluvial fans to nearshore marine fan deltas.
The outcrop seen here is in Red Rocks Park near Denver, Colorado. In general, the unit is composed of mixed siliciclastics, from shale to siltstone to sandstone to conglomerate. At this site, it includes sandstone, arkose, and conglomerate. The original source rocks were rich in quartz and potassium feldspar - in other words, granites. The reddish coloration is from iron oxide (hematite, Fe2O3).
Stratigraphy: Fountain Formation, Pennsylvanian to Permian
Locality: exposure in Red Rocks Park, west of Denver, north-central Colorado, USA
These "hoodoos" look to me like Native Americans walking right out of the mountain.... and in the moonlight, you can hear their footsteps....