My first pit stop, from 9AM-9:30, was the West Thumb Geyser Basin along the shore of the huge Yellowstone Lake, making it unique. I walked the 1/2 mile loop an finally saw my first thermal area, including geysers, hot springs and mud pots. Kind of exciting! Note the bubbling "mud" in this one...
These signs are everywhere in the park
Back in the car at 9:30, I passed through another wildfire area, this one from a past year since there was new undergrowth and shoots.
This is Yellowstone Lake, the largest high elevation lake in North America. Its shoreline is 141 miles long with a surface area of 182 square miles. It can even create its own weather! Part of the lake sits within the volcanic caldera, and it holds an abundance of fish.
At 10 AM, after leaving the lake area, I took a 2 mile scenic detour along the Gull Point Drive, boasting beautiful views of the lake's north shore. At 10:10, it was back out of the car for a 2 mile round trip hike to the Natural Bridge with its 52 foot arch and 29 foot span. There had been a bear in the area lately and signs and scat made it obvious! I carried my bear spray and made noise while I walked.
Discovered in 1871 by a Hayden survey party, the bridge was made available to the public in 1881 when a trail was constructed across the bridge. Luckily, the proposal to turn it into a road failed.
At 11:10 AM, it was back in the car with a quick photo stop at the LeHardy Rapids at a cascade in the Yellowstone River. In the spring, cutthroat trout spawn here.
At 11:40 AM, it was onward to the Mud Volcano area where I spent 20 minutes and did a 1 mile round trip hike around it. The first thing I noticed was a strong, sickening sulfur smell. This area with its interpretive signage, gave me a real feel for how fragile, ever-changing and even dangerous Yellowstone is, along with the bubbling, gurgling earth beneath it. It might be millions of years before the next catastrophic event, but then again....
The Washburn Expedition and the Hayden Survey discovered Mud Volcano during the early 1870s. Both groups heard the sound "resembling the reports of distant artillery" for several miles before arriving at Mud Volcano. Mud Volcano at that time exploded with mud from its hillside alcove. Since then Mud Volcano has quieted but still remains a bubbling, seething spring.
Mud Volcano Area, also known for Black Dragon's Caldron, Sour Lake, Mud Caldron, Dragon's Mouth Spring, and Sulfur Caldron, is very acidic. Iron sulfide is responsible for the dark-gray, blacker brown-colored water, while hydrogen sulfide produces the "rotten egg" smell common to the Mud Volcano area.
At noon, back in the car for a drive through Hayden Valley, one of the best wildlife viewing areas in the park... allegedly. The broad rolling valley is a remnant lake bed formed when glaciers created a dam that backed up water, flooding the valley. The Yellowstone River meanders through the valley forming marshes that attract swans, Canada geese, elk, bald eagles, deer, bison, and their predators... bears and wolves. I didn't have time to sit and scan the valley with binoculars ;(
Sure enough, I spotted my first bison. No sooner did I slow down to take a photo, he lay down to take a nap. Not to worry, there were plenty more ahead!
Next stop, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, one of the park's most breathtaking sights. The Yellowstone River meanders for 20 miles through the canyon. Wow! I parked and got out to climb down (and back up) a narrow, steep metal staircase, bolted to the side of the canyon. Uncle Tom's Trail has 328 steps... each way! Views of the Upper and Lower Falls are beautiful, and the colors of the canyon walls are amazing.
At the bottom, across from Lower Falls
At 1:30pm it was back in the car. I drove an additional mile up the road to see inspiration/artist's point for more spectacular views, spending about 15 minutes...
Next stop, Dunraven Pass and views of Mount Washburn. The weather changed quickly as I climbed, turning to sleet and light snow! Temps were in the 30s...
As I came down the other side of the pass, the weather changed again with blue skies and sun and gorgeous views towards Montana.
Now that's a huge bison... just feet from my car!
At 3:00 PM, a quick pit stop at 132 foot Tower Fall, a thundering cascade.
Note the cone-shaped rock formations at the top of the falls...
And at 3:15pm, a quick photo stop at Calcite Springs... read on:
That thing that looks like a fence running left to right is actually rock formations!
The rustic Roosevelt Lodge was closed for a private event, so I missed seeing it. A few miles beyond that, I saw some bighorn sheep nestled in the grass. A ranger was stationed on the road to keep people at a distance, and he told me it was two males (rams) determined by the curved horns... fun fact.
At 3:30PM, exhausted, I took a right (east) and drove about 10 miles into Lamar Valley, another area known for wildlife viewing. I drove about a mile and came across bison herds right on the roadside... forget being tired, this is Yellowstone! Only 4 more hours to go until dusk. Gotta keep moving ;)
Oh look, blue skies again....
Back on the main road at 4:15pm, I took another detour to see the Petrified Tree... pretty cool.
Guide books recommended taking a six mile detour off the main road called the Blacktail Deer Plateau so I did, not realizing it was a bumpy dirt road. Yikes... my car did fine, and the views were beautiful. It took about 30 minutes... no traffic either! And guess what? MORE huge bison right off the road... never gets old.
Back on the main road (again) at 5:30pm, I stopped at Wraith Falls for a 1 mile hike.
The 100 foot cascade is formed by Lupine Creek, not one of Yellowstone's biggest or boldest falls, but still pretty.....
The walk back down as dusk approaches... a few more stops to make. Whew!
Not far from the falls is the town of Mammoth Hot Springs and the amazing travertine terraces. Yellowstone's first superintendents struggled with poaching, vandalism, squatting and other problems. In 1886, the U.S Army soldiers marched into Mammoth Hot Springs at the request of the Secretary of the Interior and took charge of Yellowstone. Soldiers oversaw Fort Yellowstone's construction... sturdy red-roofed buildings still in use today as the Albright Visitor Center, offices, and employee housing. In this wilderness outpost, the Army applied discipline and hard work. Soldiers arrested poachers, educated visitors, provided medical care, managed wildlife, fought fires, and expelled squatters.
The town is clean and quaint with a beautiful hotel and spa, and elk and other wildlife roaming freely.
At 6pm after 11 hours in and out of the car, I parked and walked the 1.75 mile loop through the terraces as the sun got lower in the sky. There were lots of stairs winding through the travertine, and it was unlike anything I had ever seen, other worldly in fact, more like a lunar landscape. Just enjoy the pictures.... while most of the thermal features I had seen so far were bubbling, spraying, steaming, erupting or gurgling, Mammoth was sort of "trickling".
"Delicate travertine formations were created by hot springs water. Heated by Yellowstone's volcano, water travels through buried limestone, then bubbles to the surface to deposit travertine."
I spent an hour there, and then headed north towards Gardiner, MT. I had one more stop to make, Boiling River, for a quick soak in the hot pools of the river.
Discharge from Mammoth Hot Springs creates a year round section of heated pools for swimming and soaking. There was a big crowd and parking lots were full, but what the heck. This was the longest day of my life! ha-ha
The trail back to the car....
Back in the car at 7:15pm, I drove along the winding roads for 5 miles to Gardiner MT, a quaint little western town. I wish I had time to explore, but alas my bed was waiting 10 miles further up the road.
Montana sunset over the mountains.
North Yellowstone Lodge and Hostel is a clean, quiet Trip Advisor recommended place right on a river. It was $40 a night for a bunk in a shared room. I had two polite Asian guys in my room and was asleep by 9pm. Private rooms were also available but I wasn't going to splurge. Might as well mix and mingle with other adventurous Yellowstone travelers ;)
View from the the lodge porch. Clean community kitchen, comfy living room and free Wifi. Toast and coffee were provided in the morning.
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