Week 5, 9-16 June 2007 - Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
We left West Glacier, MT (Glacier National Park) on Saturday, 9 June, and headed south west, from the Rocky Mountains and across the Great Plains toward our next stop over at Great Falls, MT. They call it “Big Sky Country” and you can see why with wide open spaces. At Great Falls we visited a Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center overlooking the Great Falls of the Missouri River, a place where Lewis and Clark spent three weeks portaging their boats and equipment around the falls. The Center was very interesting, but dams have been put around the falls so they are not as impressive as they once were From here we headed south along the Missouri River for a while on the Lewis and Clark Trail (I-15) and back into the Rocky Mountains to finally ended in West Yellowstone, MT late Sunday afternoon (Grizzly RV Park).
After watching an IMAX movie about the park to learn about the history and geology of Yellowstone and visiting the Grizzly and Wolf “Experience” in town, we decided to go and see the real thing. Yellowstone is by far the most fascinating and magical place we have ever experienced. It sounds bombastic, but words and photos just can’t do it justice. There are huge areas of dramatic geothermal activity, boiling springs, thousands of geysers, steam vents, fumaroles, churning bubbling mud pots, steaming fields, and hot lakes. In some lakes the acidity approaches that of car batteries. There are turquoise, white and red hot steaming pools teeming with life of microorganisms that thrive on sulfur, minerals and heat. Walking on the boardwalks installed around these geothermal basins, we were frequently engulfed in thick, sometimes acidic and chocking, sulfuric fog and steam. You hear the vigorous hissing of steam vents, and the rumbling of boiling gases just below. There are areas where thousands of trees died because they could not tolerate the boiling ground, and concentration of acids and salts. When you touch the wet ground right next to the boardwalk, it is really quite warm, and unstable. You are really up close and personal with the violence just under the surface, where hot magma is churning and moving. You realize that there is only a thin crust separating you from what’s below. One of the most incredible places we saw was “Mammoth Hot Springs” where you see multi-colored terraces that looked at times like frozen waterfalls, snow avalanches, or cascades of molten white and gold colored marshmallows, with soft steam above them. What a sight!!! They were created over millennia by deposits left by now extinct hot springs. Then there is the incredible Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, with its gorgeous falls, Yellowstone Lake, and of course, Old Faithful Geyser. All that, in one park, which is only roughly 250 square miles.
As if that is not enough to take your breath away, right beside this turmoil, there are also miles and miles of rushing rivers, streams, lush green meadows, lakes, rapids and scores of waterfalls. Large herds of Bison (Buffalo) roam the park and frequently wonder onto the road, seemingly oblivious to cars, creating huge traffic snarls. On a narrow road with no shoulder, we passed so close to one of them, probably startling him, that he was ready to charge the RV. (We quickly closed the window and took off—forget the picture!) We did get many close-ups of buffalo later. The most magical time of day was late afternoon when the animals come out of the woods to feed in the meadows and along the rivers. Driving slowly along the roads, we saw large herds of buffalos feeding in the meadows, flocks of geese, flying in formation and swimming with their chicks in tow. There were deer and countless elk, crossing the highway, or grazing in the meadows, some with impressive racks of antlers. In the distance we saw several bears, including a sow with her two cubs. (The binoculars really came in handy!) . At many places there were groups of wildlife lovers ready with spotting scopes setting up to scan the horizon for animals in those evening hours. We saw a bald eagle and its nest with a couple of baby chicks waiting for mom to bring food, several coyotes, including a couple of pups in their den. It is hard to imagine that there is still a place in the US where wildlife is still so abundant and free. It was a real paradise and like being on safari. We hated for the days to end and the sun to set.
Having seen Yellowstone now, we feel if there is one place on earth one should not miss seeing, it is this incredible park. Seeing it now for the second time, and 30 years later it seems even more incredible.
Thursday night we stayed at the south end of the park and in the morning headed south to Grand Tetons National Park, which is right next to Yellowstone. The distinct sharp snow capped peaks of the Tetons reflected in Jackson Lake were a beautiful sight. We saw large herds of buffalo and elk in the distance, had lunch at the beautiful Jackson Lodge with gorgeous panoramic views of the Tetons and took a nice hike at Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls. Arrived at Jackson Hole, WY in the early evening.
We apologize for including so many pictures of Yellowstone; we hope they don’t get boring. We should be home in a week and update the blog then.
After watching an IMAX movie about the park to learn about the history and geology of Yellowstone and visiting the Grizzly and Wolf “Experience” in town, we decided to go and see the real thing. Yellowstone is by far the most fascinating and magical place we have ever experienced. It sounds bombastic, but words and photos just can’t do it justice. There are huge areas of dramatic geothermal activity, boiling springs, thousands of geysers, steam vents, fumaroles, churning bubbling mud pots, steaming fields, and hot lakes. In some lakes the acidity approaches that of car batteries. There are turquoise, white and red hot steaming pools teeming with life of microorganisms that thrive on sulfur, minerals and heat. Walking on the boardwalks installed around these geothermal basins, we were frequently engulfed in thick, sometimes acidic and chocking, sulfuric fog and steam. You hear the vigorous hissing of steam vents, and the rumbling of boiling gases just below. There are areas where thousands of trees died because they could not tolerate the boiling ground, and concentration of acids and salts. When you touch the wet ground right next to the boardwalk, it is really quite warm, and unstable. You are really up close and personal with the violence just under the surface, where hot magma is churning and moving. You realize that there is only a thin crust separating you from what’s below. One of the most incredible places we saw was “Mammoth Hot Springs” where you see multi-colored terraces that looked at times like frozen waterfalls, snow avalanches, or cascades of molten white and gold colored marshmallows, with soft steam above them. What a sight!!! They were created over millennia by deposits left by now extinct hot springs. Then there is the incredible Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, with its gorgeous falls, Yellowstone Lake, and of course, Old Faithful Geyser. All that, in one park, which is only roughly 250 square miles.
As if that is not enough to take your breath away, right beside this turmoil, there are also miles and miles of rushing rivers, streams, lush green meadows, lakes, rapids and scores of waterfalls. Large herds of Bison (Buffalo) roam the park and frequently wonder onto the road, seemingly oblivious to cars, creating huge traffic snarls. On a narrow road with no shoulder, we passed so close to one of them, probably startling him, that he was ready to charge the RV. (We quickly closed the window and took off—forget the picture!) We did get many close-ups of buffalo later. The most magical time of day was late afternoon when the animals come out of the woods to feed in the meadows and along the rivers. Driving slowly along the roads, we saw large herds of buffalos feeding in the meadows, flocks of geese, flying in formation and swimming with their chicks in tow. There were deer and countless elk, crossing the highway, or grazing in the meadows, some with impressive racks of antlers. In the distance we saw several bears, including a sow with her two cubs. (The binoculars really came in handy!) . At many places there were groups of wildlife lovers ready with spotting scopes setting up to scan the horizon for animals in those evening hours. We saw a bald eagle and its nest with a couple of baby chicks waiting for mom to bring food, several coyotes, including a couple of pups in their den. It is hard to imagine that there is still a place in the US where wildlife is still so abundant and free. It was a real paradise and like being on safari. We hated for the days to end and the sun to set.
Having seen Yellowstone now, we feel if there is one place on earth one should not miss seeing, it is this incredible park. Seeing it now for the second time, and 30 years later it seems even more incredible.
Thursday night we stayed at the south end of the park and in the morning headed south to Grand Tetons National Park, which is right next to Yellowstone. The distinct sharp snow capped peaks of the Tetons reflected in Jackson Lake were a beautiful sight. We saw large herds of buffalo and elk in the distance, had lunch at the beautiful Jackson Lodge with gorgeous panoramic views of the Tetons and took a nice hike at Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls. Arrived at Jackson Hole, WY in the early evening.
We apologize for including so many pictures of Yellowstone; we hope they don’t get boring. We should be home in a week and update the blog then.
posted by Dahlia and Lance Riley @ 6:41 AM
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