Michael In the small town of "Mineral," which, according to the town sign, has 90 inhabitants, we checked into a motel for three days. During the day, we hiked through the mountains--20 kilometers in one day! We were on the move for about seven hours because we had to photograph every tree stump, every pretty piece of bark, and every growth of moss on trees. From these pictures, one could put together the most boring exhibition in the world under the motto "Trees and Mosses." We're working on it!

A special hiking trail leading to the park's hot springs had been reopened recently, even though (at this time of year!) a lot of snow and ice still made the path quite difficult.

Most people were only wearing sneakers or sandals, and quite a few hikers took a tumble. I casually snapped a photo of a Frenchman who fell backward into the mud and had to walk around with brown pants afterward.

The bubbling water holes in the national park are formed, according to the signs, because water at an altitude of 2500 meters boils at just 90 degrees, and the steam, which is created by volcanic activity down in middle earth under high pressure, is even hotter. When the steam comes into contact with the water, it boils immediately and starts bubbling. The physicists among the newsletter readers are left speechless by the power of this scientific proof! Soon, I will elaborate on this in the Süddeutsche Zeitung magazine in the section "Children Ask, Nobel Laureates Answer." Ha! The warning signs around the springs advised against directly touching the springs, as many have suffered severe burns from doing so. One person is even said to have once put his leg into a bubbling water hole! According to travel guides, not much was left of it. However, the water of the streams that then rush down the mountain has a pleasant temperature, similar to that of a bathtub at home. Snow was still lying all around, and the water steamed quite a bit.

Moreover, it smells quite strongly of sulfur there, or, more precisely, sulfur dioxide. The first impression one gets--and which I, of course, never tired of mentioning--is that someone here, after consuming plenty of eggs, onions, and beer, let out some, um, emissions. We laughed so much!

And we also hiked up to a dormant volcano. After the half-hour ascent, we walked around the rim of the crater at the top. To give the curious newsletter readers a glimpse into the farthest corners of the world, the intrepid newsletter reporter even descended into the crater, all the way to the center. There, he lay down and stretched out for a photo. But, oh dear, a misunderstanding occurred! I thought Angelika, who had stayed up at the crater rim, had already taken the photo, but she was still busy working with the hefty professional camera while I was already climbing back up. Once I reached the top, I didn't have the strength to go down again. Now, in the photo (see arrow!), you can only see a tiny figure walking at the bottom of the crater. I was furious!

The top of the mountain, looks like the surface of the moon, completely surreal. With each step, you sink a little into the fine-grained brown gravel that lies on the surface of the mountain. By the way, volcanoes in the USA are by no means all dormant; ten years ago, Mount St. Helens in Oregon erupted and turned square kilometers of forest into rubble and ash. We were there six years ago, and it looked like a mess. But back to civilization!

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Fitness
  	New TV show "Survivor"
  	The Mobile Phone Plague
  	Foreigners
  	Tips for Making Phone Calls
  	California Wine Tips
  	Earthquakes