On day three in Yellowstone National Park, we planned to complete the lower loop (96 miles plus the 14 miles each way to the west entrance - not too ambitious). Of course, anytime a buffalo (or any wildlife) wanders along the road it creates havoc with the traffic. I think our desire to see Buffalo has been satisfied, so, now, instead of gawking and snapping pictures, I just make sure I don't hit them.
First stop - Fountain Paint Pot for a lot more thermal features. I took my non-contact thermometer (thanks, Jon) to measure the temperature of the different springs. I found the water was anywhere between 115 degrees and 190 degrees. The color can indicate the temperature based on what kind of bacteria thrive there, but I think it's safe to say you really don't want to sit in any of them.
Just past Old Faithful on the loop was Kepler Cascades. This might be a great place to take a day hike - but that will have to wait.
This part of the park was very mountainous so there was a lot of climbing, but the Fit took it all in stride. We stopped at Isa lake on the Continental Divide. Water from this lake seeps to both the Atlantic and the Pacific sides of the divide. Even stranger is that the water seeping from the east end goes to the Pacific and water from the west end heads down to the Atlantic. The lake was filled with Water Lilies just starting to bloom.
On our way to West Thumb...
...we crossed the Continental Divide not once..but twice!
Over the mountains, we stopped in at the West Thumb Geyser Basin. It was unique in that it was situated right on the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake - there were old geyser cones underwater. We also found that some of the most colorful springs and pools were at West Thumb.
We stopped at Lake Village and had lunch at the Yellowstone Store Deli counter - chili cheese nachos and a burger and chips - mmm! Continuing on, we found many more interesting turn-outs that required stops for pictures. Sam waited in the car sometimes, but the look on his face says he was not always happy about that. I'm sure he liked it better than being abandoned in the coach all day and we were happy to have him along.
Mud Volcano Area and Sulphur Caldron could probably be at the bottom of the list of attractions to see. They were different, but not exactly picturesque and were, by far, the smelliest areas we visited. Mud Volcano also included some pretty steep climbing - we had to work for this one!
We drove through Hayden Valley. Even though it was not prime time for viewing, there was quite a bit of wildlife. Most of it was pretty far away. We saw one herd of maybe 30-40 buffalo on a hillside probably a mile away. As we went by the canyon area, we stopped at the south rim Artist's Point again to see how the afternoon light looked on the falls. It was beautiful, of course, and different. We listened to a painter talking about being caught in a storm at Artist's Point. He was explaining that without seeing the view in the storm's light he would not have been able to create his current painting (note it is fairly dark).
At Norris Geyser Basin, again, we hiked the back basin trail and hurried back to the main area as the light started to fade. Sunset is pretty but doesn't provide the best lighting for the springs and geysers if you want to see all of the varied colors.
Sunset falls on another beautiful day at Yellowstone!
No comments:
Post a Comment