After driving most of the day through Montana, we were starting to get tired. We weren’t sure if the campgrounds in Yellowstone would be full on a Thursday night and at that point we didn’t want to take our chances so we started looking for campgrounds on the road. We almost turned into an RV park but stayed on the highway, hoping for something more interesting. Like a mirage, the Canyon Campground of the Gallatin National Forest appeared! It was nestled within a thin craggy canyon and the sites were littered with boulders - it was perfect (and only seven dollars per night).
We slept well despite the fact that the moon was incredibly bright (I woke up at two and thought it was daylight) and got up early. With granola bars for breakfast in the car - we headed into Yellowstone park and drove through the famous Roosevelt arch:
Mammoth Hot Springs was our first stop and at 7:45 visitors were sparse. We hiked around the boardwalks and admired the mineral formations while noticing the sulfur smell in the air that we have since nicknamed “the yellowstench.” The oranges, yellows, pinks and whites that appear in the spring melded into each other like watercolors.
After a stop at the visitors center in Mammoth Springs, we headed south to look for a campsite for the weekend. We passed by two campgrounds before we found ourselves at Norris, a good central location for whatever we would find ourselves doing around the park. After picking out a site, we made a genius lunch that involved mixing some leftover Arby’s sauce with canned chicken and putting it on a kaiser roll - YUM! We stopped at the Museum of the National Park Ranger on our way out.
Our next destination was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. On the south rim, we hiked down many stairs on the Uncle Tom’s Trail to get a view of the lower falls. The canyon has been painted by many of the same colors as the hot springs. We hiked out and towards Artist Point to get another vantage of the canyon.
Falls on Yellowstone River:
Canyon Wall:
We went to the north rim and stopped at every overlook for more pictures. I pulled out the pocket trumpet to play some jazz into the canyon.
Heading north towards took us through Dunraven Pass and near Mount Washburn. We saw beautiful scenery and many animals including bison, coyotes, elk and black bear. Most importantly we ate banana split ice cream when we looped back to Mammoth Hot Springs.
In the evening we went to a campfire ranger talk that focused on the connection between the national parks system and other parks around the world. Then it was time for early bed so we could explore more of the park before everyone was awake in the morning!
Yellowstone - Day Two:
After three separate and powerful lightning and hail storms last night (we slept in the car) we got up and packed quickly to drive the grand loop and enjoy scenery and walks along the way. Our day was filled with splurps, burps, splats, bubbles, steam and “the yellowstench” since we were touring many of the thermal features of Yellowstone Park. After seeing these, we’ve decided that the park is a National Oddity.
The Firehole Canyon Drive took us around the Firehole River to a set of waterfalls. The surrounding area showed many types of volcanic rock left from a cataclysmic explosion 640,000 years ago.
We made stops along the way at the Fountain Paint Pot which bubbled mud and contrasted with the Grand Prismatic Spring and Excelsior Crater which contained mineral and bacterial deposits with aquamarine pools of steaming water. Since the morning was cold (about forty-five degrees) the steam in the air was intense!
Fountain Paint Pot:
Grand Prismatic Spring:
Black Sand Basin:
Our destination for the morning was Old Faithful, the famously predictable geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin - we timed it well and showed up about twenty-five minutes before the next eruption. It was just enough time to grab some hot chocolate in the lodge and grab a front row seat. We then walked the loop around the Upper Basin and shot pictures of many of the other thermal pools and geysers.
Hungry, we got back on the loop road and looked for a picnic area. We cooked up some REALLY sloppy joes (hormel chili on a bun) at the Scaup Lake Picnic Area. It was empty when we drove in but a few people followed us in there.
Continuing on, we drove over the continental divide twice and followed the shore of Yellowstone Lake with the Absaroka mountain range in the background. By that time it was a beautiful sunny day with those snow-covered mountains in the background.
We stopped briefly at the Mud Volcano to see more bubbling mud pools. One girl said it best on the boardwalk when she remarked: “they should name this the smelliest geyser ever.”
Our last stop on the oddity tour was at the Norris Geyser Basin (right back near our campsite) where we took a walking tour with a ranger. He focused his talk on the constant change that occurs with the thermal features within the park, pointing out holes and pools that didn’t exist weeks ago!
We cooked up some pasta and smoked salmon for dinner (thanks Kenlans!) and we finished our day with a ranger-led grizzly bear talk. It was an informative speech about the history of bears and their treatment within Yellowstone. We’re still happy not to see a grizzly bear. Happy to know they are there... far away... Apparently, the black bears and grizzlies don’t get along very well.
We’re going to try to ride horses in the morning...giddy up!
No comments:
Post a Comment