Sunday, June 8, 2014

Elevation Matters

Most people do not realize how high Yellowstone is.  Much of it is above 7500 feet, and even with the improvement of my oxygenation since the aortic valve replacement, I could feel it.  Sun exposure is also substantially increased by the thinner air, too.

Here's a graphic example of the elevation change: water bottles that we partially emptied in the park, after we returned to our hotel room closer to 5500 feet high.


After allowing the bottles to equalize pressure:


1 comment:

  1. We moved from central Texas to the greater Seattle area in 2012. The schedule worked out such that we could take an already-planned vacation as a part of the move, so we drove the motorhome and Prius up. The Prius is not towable so my wife drove it along behind. We crossed Wyoming on Hwy 16 from Buffalo to Worland, a scenic drive in spite of an early season snowstorm. Someplace along that leg I heard a pop in the back of the motorhome. Nothing seemed odd about the coach's handling so I continued on to our overnight destination in Greybull. We got there and got set up and the Mrs started putting things in order for dinner and asked when I opened the potato chips. I told her they were self-opening, about the 9000 foot altitude mark.

    Fun with Physics.

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