Today we headed towards another corner of the Yellowstone National Park, WY - Mammoth Hot Springs and the north entrance to the park. Since we were staying in West Yellowstone, MT, at the west entrance, every trip into the park took us along the Madison River and the meadows teeming with wildlife. A herd of buffalo, the largest we have seen, were crossing the river maybe fifty yards from the road. By now you might think we have seen enough buffalo, but they still cause a stir in us that demands we stop and watch them, even just for a little while.
North of the Norris/Canyon junction it started snowing again. This part of the park was still heavy with wet snow clinging to the trees.
At the north entrance, the iconic arch stands where the dedication ceremonies in 1882 opened our first National Park. We spent some time in the Yellowstone gift shop and came back outside to snow. It did make for a nice picture when I noticed the elk grazing by the park entrance sign. There were probably at least 50 in this one herd.
About six miles into the park, just south of Fort Yellowstone (unfortunately, the Visitor Center was closed for refurbishment) is the famous Mammoth Hot Springs. We ate our picnic lunch in the car hoping the snow would stop, but I think it only got thicker. Finally, with umbrellas in hand, we headed up the boardwalk.
It was cold and windy and the snow did not really enhance the photos, so we ran back to the car and headed to the springs upper access walkways.
There was very little snow falling at the top of the springs, so we tackled some of the longer boardwalks. Along one, this lone buffalo was slowly eating as he intently watched us. I suspect the boardwalk fence would not really provide much protection if this guy wanted to get to us, so we quietly passed him with no sudden moves.
I was almost hidden behind a tree when I looked back and took this shot of him. You can see he was still keeping his eye on me.
The top of Mammoth Hot Springs is my favorite. Even though there were less than ideal conditions, I think a few of the pictures captured the beauty of this natural wonder.
On the road south of Mammoth, the fresh snow added to the trees. It was warm enough that some of it was dropping out of the trees like large, wet snowballs.
At one pull out, we liked this snowbank against the stream. It was interesting how pictures in this direction with the gray skies looked like a completely different day from the bright fluffy clouds and sun in the other direction. This was the back side of the snow storm we had been experiencing while we were at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Back at Norris, the snow had passed and the sun was out again. We wanted to see it in the different light and it was still early, so we stopped in again. It was definitely a good idea. The clouds were spectacular over the basin, vastly improving the pictures.
Instead of heading home, we continued further south to Midway Geyser Basin hoping to see all of the colors in Grand Prismatic Springs. The sun held, but the cold temperatures over the hot spring created thick steam and very little was visible.
Undaunted, we stopped at the Lower Geyser Basin hoping to see Fountain Paint Pot. Getting out of the car, it was clear the temperature was quickly dropping again. The boardwalk makes a large loop passing many different thermal features. It was still clear as we viewed the mud pots, but shortly after, the sleet started. Our path was blocked by a video crew recording a Travel Channel show, so we had to backtrack the long way and the sleet started really pelting us. It never felt so good to get back to the car.
We knew better than to get out of the car when they were this close.
No comments:
Post a Comment