While I've been having a blast so far, Yellowstone was the part of the trip I was most excited about. We had an amazing time here, and managed to see just about everything the park has to offer in just four days. Yellowstone was the first national park in the entire world, created by President Grant in 1872. The park is centered around the Yellowstone Caldera. The caldera, also known as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is essentially a crater 34 miles wide by 45 miles long that was created by massive explosions about 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago, and 640,000 years ago. This caldera exhibits volcanic activity through the numerous geothermal vents that are scattered throughout the park. With this unique volcanic activity, abundant wildlife, and natural beauty it is obvious why Yellowstone had over 3.6 million visitors last year.
August 30
On our first day we went to the Old Faithful Geyser Basin. This area houses the famous Old Faithful geyser as well as many other geysers and springs.
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| Let the fun begin! |
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| We spent most of our first day here. |
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| Old Faithful erupting right on time. I couldn't believe this was natural! I was convinced the National Park Service had laid pipes and just flipped a switch every 90 minutes. |
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| Me being dwarfed and drenched by Old Faithful! |
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| A hot spring in the basin. Notice the clear blue water and the deep crater through which hot gases and minerals rise. |
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| Though much smaller than the typical gyser, the springs can also experience some movement. |
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| Tamara in front of a geyser cone. Everytime a geyser erupts it ejects mineral-rich water. Some of the minerals remain around the edge of the geyser. Over hundreds of years this process slowly creates these cones, with each eruption slightly (though not noticably) increasing the cone's size. |
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| This would be a typical view of the beautiful scenery of Idaho and Wyoming...except for the steam flowing up from the ground everywhere! |
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| The temperature of the springs can reach the boiling point (which is only 199°F at Yellowstone's altitude of almost 8,000 ft in contrast to 212°F at sea level). Though an environment this hot would quickly kill most animals, certain bacteria called thermophiles thrive in it. Each color in the picture above is a different type of thermophile. The dark green in the middle is the hottest while the brown at the edges is cooler (though still hot enough to burn you). Who knew bacteria of all things could look so pretty?? (not as pretty as the girl though) |
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| Grand Geyser is the tallest predictable geyser in the park. Its eruptions can reach up to 200 feet high. Though it has an eruption window of four hours (it was supposed to go off anytime between 4:30 and 8:30 PM for 9 minutes), Tamara and I were lucky enough to be only several hundred feet away from it when it went off. We quickly ran over and were treated to quite a show! |
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| Afterwards we went to the nearby giftshop. After just several short hours in Wyoming that Old West feeling started infecting me. If it wasn't for Tamara I probably would've bought it! And for those of you who are familiar with my dad's hat preference - like father like son I guess. |
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| A waterfall near the basin. |
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| Preparing a delicious dinner. Thanks Tamara! |
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| An underwater geyser |
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| During the day the weather was nice, but at night the temperature dropped down into the 20s! If it wasn't for our campfires I probably wouldn't have survived to write this blog. |
August 31
Most of Day 2 was spent at another basin called Norris Geyser Basin. In 1929 a test well was drilled to determine dubsurface temperatures. One whole had to be abondonded at 265 ft when the temp. reached 401°F and the steam pressure threatened to destroy the rig. As such this geyser basin is billed as the hottest in YNP. Norris Geyser Basin is also home to the world's largest geyser, though its eruptions are not predictable. This geyser, called Steamboat Geyser, is currently in a period of dormancy. But when it does erupt its waters have been know to reach 380 feet!
On the way to Norris Geyser Basin is Midway Geyser Basin. Though it is called a geyser basin, Midway is known for its large and beautiful springs. It is home to Grand Prismatic Spring, which is the largest spring in the US and the third largest in world.
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| At the entrance to Midway Geyser Basin. The area is full of steam from the hot springs. Water is continously pumped up from underground into the springs, causing them to overflow. This hot, mineral-rich water then flows down the hillside into river, destroying any plantlife in its path. |
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| Tamara in front of Excelsior Geyser. Its deep blue color is obscured by the huge amount of steam it releases. |
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| The hot waters from the springs flow down the hillsides and kill everything in their path. This results in a volcanic wasteland right in the middle of the forest. |
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| View of Grand Prismatic Springs from above. The colors are amazing. |
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| When a gust of wind blows the steam away for a moment the brilliant colors can even be seen at this angle. |
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| Look at all that steam! |
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| In front of Turqoise Pool. I'm pretty sure I don't need to explain why it's called that. |
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| Tamara and I stumbled across this geyser, called White Dome Geyser, as it was erupting. We thought we were extremely lucky, but it turns out that this geyser's eruptions last for over 100 minutes! |
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| In front of another erupting geyser. |
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| This lake had several geysers that would erupt quite often. This one, called Steady Geyser, erupts virtually non-stop, though only to a height of about two feet. |
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| One of the many waterfalls found in YNP. |
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| The lower part of Norris Geyser Basin. In the background is a steam-vent that roars as it continuously emits massive amounts of steam. |
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| This area is named after me! It's not such a flattering name though :( |
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| Some of the wildlife we saw today. A mama and baby elk |
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| A closer look at a female elk |
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Some more wildlife we saw later in the evening. Just kidding! We ended the day with another wonderful meal cooked by Tamara on our camping stove. She cooked rice, black beans, tomatoes and corn for these awesome burritos.
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September 1
On our third day in Yellowstone we saw the Mammoth Hot Springs, which is know for its unique, naturally terraced landscape, and made an unexpected foray into Montana (which like Idaho is home to a sliver of the park), increasing the total amount of states visited from 10 to 11. We saw some spectacular views and were fortunate enough to see more wildlife.
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| In front of a HUGE mineral deposit |
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| The upper part of Mammoth Hot Springs |
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| The Mammoth Hot Springs Historical District is home to Fort Yellowstone, a former US Army base that currently serves as the administrative headquarters for the park. In 1886, just 14 years after Yellowstone's establishment, control over the park was delegated to the Army due to the inability of the civilian staff to protect it. The town of Mammoth is now also home to several shops and restaurants. |
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| Hot water comes out at the top and flows down the terraces |
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| Without a doubt the tallest geyser cone we saw! |
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| A close-up of the very strange, yet very beautiful terraces |
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| A herd of elk! |
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| A racoon, which is actually quite rare in YNP |
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| Entering Montana, an unexpected stop on the trip. The Montanta section of YNP is home to the one hot spring in the park that people are allowed to swim in |
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| Pronghorn Sheep - Though not actually antelope they are often reffered to as such |
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| Now the name Pronghorn makes sense |
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| The old west town of Gardiner, Montana. This town has served as the main entrance to YNP since its establishment in 1872. |
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| Me standing underneath the Roosevelt Arch. Theodore Roosevelt laid down the cornerstone in 1903. Written on the arch is a quote from The Act of Dedication, the piece of legislation that created YNP, the first national park in the world: "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People" |
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| Tamara enjoying the hot waters of the Boiling River, which joins the Gardner River, during the coldest day of our trip |
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| The Gardner River |
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| These two guys walked right across the path as we were walking back from The Boiling River to the parking lot. The camera is zoomed out as far as possible. You don't get any closer than this to wildlife!! |
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| Although obviously not unique to YNP, this was a pretty cool piece of information |
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| Undine Falls |
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| Tower Fall |
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| Literally as Tamara and I were lamenting the fact that we probably wouldn't see a bear this time, we stumbled across this guy! |
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| Petrified Tree - Though this looks like a tree, it is actually a stone fossil of an ancient redwood that lived 50 million years ago. Through a process called permineralization, all of the organic materials become replaced with minerals while retaining the original structure of the wood. |
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| A stunning view of the Grand Canyon Of The Yellowstone |
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| A massive rockwall that juts out over the road. This part of the road is strewn with soccerball-sized rocks that have fallen off the wall over the years |
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| A close look at a male elk and his awesome antlers |
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| This guy was also right next to the road. Since the bison are so big and unpredictable it is a bit freaky getting this close to them. But they sure are interesting creatures. Today was a lucky day: elk, racoon, pronghorn sheep, bear, and bison all within a few hours! |
September 2
On our fourth and final day in Yellowstone I was determined to see our nation's national symbol living in the wild. After a short hunt we not only found a Bald Eagle nest, but we were lucky enough to catch several of them in flight. We also went on two hikes, saw several more thermal features, and of course, saw more wildlife.
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| We started off the day with this cool sight. No matter how many times we saw them we still got excited. |
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| More typical YNP scenery |
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| Upper Falls. There was actually a double rainbow but I couldn't fit the second one into the frame! |
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| In front of Upper Falls. We had to hike down more than 300 steps over 500 feet down to reach this point. Going down was easy, but getting back up was a different story. |
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| A higher view of Upper Falls |
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| Another great view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This was a backcountry trail that bordered a huge area of the park that was closed off due to increased bear activity, so I had my bear pepper spray at the ready just in case. |
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| Tamara in front of a lily pad covered lake |
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| A very blue lake. It almost looks like we're in the Caribbean. |
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| The Yellowstone River twisting through one of YNP's valleys. |
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| After our hikes we were famished. We found this perfect lunch spot and Tamara prepared a perfect lunch. While she did that I scouted the area and scared away several bears who wanted our food...jk :) |
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| In front of a faster section of the Yellowstone River. |
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| This bison popped out of nowhere, got scared of all the people, and climbed up a steep hill that you or I would have trouble on. I thought he was going to roll down into the parking lot, where he could have easily totalled a car, but he made it all the way up. |
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| A Bald Eagle nest. If you look closely you can see one of the fledglings poking his head out just a bit to the right of the tree trunk. |
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| It was hard to get a good picture of the Bald Eagles so this one is a bit blurry, but it is still very clear what it is. This bald eagle was circling the nest with another one, either searching for food or keeping a lookout over the nest. Seeing them soar through the air gave me a very proud and patriotic feeling. |
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| Mud Volcano. When this site was found in the early 1870s the discoverers heard a sound "resembling the reports of distant artillery" for several miles before arriving at the site. Since then a mud explosion has occurred, riping away half of the surrounding cone and transforming Mud Volcano into a bubbling spring. |
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| Another steamy mud pit. The temperature can reach over 170°F! |
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| Although I thought I had left it all behind in LA, on the way back to our campsite we got stuck in traffic. We were stuck in the middle of a bison-jam for over 20 minutes. |
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| In Yellowstone the bison ALWAYS have the right of way. |
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| We finally made it up to the front when this one walked in front of us. I sure wasn't going to honk at him. He's HUMONGOUS! |
