Day 15: Yellowstone Day 4

The last day at Yellowstone dawned cold and cloudy, just as predicted. Today, we're going the see the most active area, Norris Basin, and probably the most unusual area, Mammoth Springs. As an aside, I've been told by K they I kinda overdid the text yesterday. This one will be a little shorter, if only that we didn't do as much.

On our way, however, we got caught in an unusual traffic jam. The cars were stopped in both directions ahead, and it quickly became obvious why. A herd of buffalo (bison, whatever) were relocating from Gibbon meadows to somewhere closer to the west entrance. We stayed really still and watched the fun.

The backup of cars in the other direction was already a mile long, and this particular section of road was following a river between sheer canyon walls with no alternate routes for several miles. The buffalo were not in a hurry. I felt really sorry for traffic in the other direction.

After the buffalo passed, I saw the lead vehicle headed in the other direction try to crowd the biggest one to try to get them to move faster. The result of which was that the bull turned and glared at them. They stopped. Good choice.

Along the way in Gibbon's Meadow we stopped and got pictures of the Coyote kits again. Too cute.

Norris Basin Area

Norris has some of the hottest pools, the some of the (potentially) highest geysers, and most acidic water (H2S04!). Even the ground is warmer here. Which is all well and good because it snowed on us. Ok, it sleeted on us, but it was almost snow :-)

We stayed just long enough to see the Steamboat and Echinus geyser, and the Green Dragon Pool. The last time the Steamboat geyser blew in May 2005, it made a plume 300' high, about 3 times the height of Old Faithful.

The Green Dragon had a lot of steam and a sulfur cave just under the walkway. We made Corey stand on the walkway above it so we could get a good perspective (*cough* *cough*) The amount of steam was impressive. I'm sure it helped that it was a cold day. Here on the right, the family is doing the 'Geyser Dance' for the Puff-n-Stuff Geyser. It didn't work :-)

Finally, we skedaddled because the weather turned sour on us. At that point, we were at the most distant point we could be from shelter. Luckily, it was hard pellets of sleet and not slushy or wet. It was chilly though. Here are a picture of the sleet on the ground under the trees. At the history center we met a family from Naperville, that lives near Jefferson and Ogden, just a few miles from our house.

Mammoth Springs

We traveled to Mammoth Springs next -- not a close spot. It was pretty traveling along the Yellowstone river. By now though, the weather and the traveling were getting to the kids. So, of course we captured it on 'film' for posterity :-). This was a travertine "cap" deposited on top of a spring, the "Liberty Cap" - it is 37 feet high, and about 2,500 years old.

Mammoth springs has a different geology. Here the underlying material is Limestone and the hot water dissolves it and redeposits it on the surface as travertine. Huge mounds of it are deposited, and the mounds are surrounded terraces form where the water has pooled. Each pool develops a rim.

The area that still has water flowing over it has bacterial mats that give it different colors; the dry areas are startlingly white. The material is brittle and quickly erodes from weather.

We ate lunch here and the clouds rolled in. During the single brief interlude between the rain clouds we took some pictures and then headed back. The children were much happier when we were headed in the 'right' direction.

But first, we had to stop and look at the Upper Mammoth Springs, something we could do from the car. Here, we found the Orange Mound Spring, way way up on the hillside. The mound is interesting not only for its color, but because the water rolls down from the top in sheets. It doesn't translate to still photography, unfortunately. It's not a particularly fast-running spring, but it's been here a long time, building up the mound.

On the way back, we saw some Elk and babies.

Tonight is the last night at the 'Brandin Iron Inn'. We ate at the 'Gusher' pizza and pub. Blech, again.

Day 14: Yellowstone Day 3

Today is a nice bright day with a 20% chance of thunderstorms, so most of us wore shorts. Today, our itinerary is the Middle Geyser Basin, then onto the West Thumb area of Yellowstone lake. We'll see what happens after that. Today, we'll try swimming, because after the thunderstorms, the weather is supposed to turn much cooler.

Firehole Canyon Drive
On way in to the park, soon after Madison, the Firehole Canyon drive loops off from the main drive. Today, we're going to take it to see what's there. The road is a narrow one-way paved 'trail' that follows the left-hand wall of a canyon. Sometimes next to us, sometimes below us is the Firehole river, which is geyser fed, and very picturesque in the bright sun. The car windows are open and the rushing and chuckling of the river is fun to listen to. The road at times has a very steep grade; always upwards.

About half-way there we come to a 30 or 40 foot waterfall and stop to take some pictures. we meet the Becky-eating chipmunks again (they are failing at their task!) and something we haven't seen yet -- one of the park's kangaroo mice. I had to lean over the ledge to get the pictures (boy was Kelley pissed!)

A little farther along, the road becomes even more tortuous (Kelley is firmly grasping the panic handle on the dashboard :-) and about two-thirds of the way to where the 'trail' rejoins the main road we discover a swimming area. The area is a slightly wider area in the river between two steep and rocky walls but there are steps leading down. Humans are the only ones using the swimming area.

There are actually two parts to the swimming area; the upper is a rapids, and after two 90 degree turns the river widens into a slower pool with a rocky rim just under the water. For now, we just do some wading on the rim. The water is a little cool, maybe high 60's, low 70's (F). [Later we find out that the current water temperature in Yellowstone lake is in the 40's, so the geyser water is definitely having an effect.]

Midway Geyser Basin
We skipped this area the previous day because we were on a schedule to see the geysers. We were intrigued by the small, multi-colored waterfalls we could see from the road. Today, we discover that this part of the park includes one of the most spectacular pools, the Great Prismatic. This is the one that you see in the postcards with an aerial view.

Ya' know what? There's a reason why you see it that way -- from the ground it's big enough that you can't see it all at the same time. So taking pictures of it is ... difficult. And it's steamy. And the clouds have rolled in (Kelley's pissed again :-). So ... we took pictures of the steam and the kids. Deal with it. It has some very cool colors, tho.

On the path up to the Grand Prismatic, we passed the Excelsior Geyser. This geyser is not active and hasn't been for a while. This is a good thing -- it erupted so violently the last time that it carved out the 10-foot rock cliffs that you can see here.

Continental Divide
On our way to Yellowstone lake, we pass the Continental Divide, twice. The divide meanders through the park. The last time we saw this we were someplace in Arizona? Along the way, we convince the kids to watch out the windows -- we're going through rougher territory in the mountains, winding back and forth, up and down, and they're going to get paid in M&M's for wildlife they see. Immediately after, there's a break in the trees to the left with a small lake/pond and we spot a moose. Unfortunately, by the time Dad gets the car turned around, it's gone into the woods, so no moose picture; however, M&Ms were awarded to both kids.

We stop for lunch at Grants, a very small area along the way with a (closed) campground, it's own post office, and (thankfully) a place to eat lunch. Not bad food, and it's decorated with very pretty wood (no antlers like the Inn!); has a nice view of the trees.

West Thumb Geyser Basin of Yellowstone lake
The West Thumb portion of Yellowstone lake is a (mile wide?) volcanic crater that has filled with water, become part of the lake. Right next to the water, there is a nice area to park and see the geyser basin. It is home to the Abyss geyser, one of the deepest, the Black pool (which is beautiful blue), and one of the most unusual, the Fish Geyser. There are more, but these are the most interesting.

The Abyss geyser is 54 feet deep (16.5 meters) and quite hot. As a geyser, it doesn't do much, in fact none of the geysers here are very active -- as such they look more like springs or pools. When they erupt though ....

The Black Pool used to actually to be black. If I remember right, the 1959 earthquake caused this pool to get hotter, which killed off the bacteria that gave the pool it's color. Today, it's a cerulean blue, one of the indicators of very hot water -- nothing lives in it.

Finally, the Fish Geyser became famous because fisherman could actually stand close enough that they could catch a fish and without removing it from the line, cook it in the geyser. Can't do that anymore because 1) some fisherman boil their feet instead of the fish, and 2) the rim of the geyser was getting damaged. Depending on the level of the water in the lake, it can be in the lake like it is today, or along the edge. The average water temperature is just shy of boiling (199 degrees F, 93 degrees C). A vista of the basin area is to the right.

Yellowstone Lake
Finally, we drove along the Yellowstone lake 20 miles to the marina. Here they rent boats and have boat rides to Steven's Island. They have row boats and power boats, but the ranger puts the kibosh on swimming -- the water is 40 degrees F (4.4 degrees C, brr!) -- and suggests the Firehole canyon swimming hole. We look at sky (cloudy), the conditions (windy), and the 4:15 boat ride (just leaving the dock), and decide to head back to Firehole Canyon. Ok, we'll just have to be satisfied with the scenery. The geyser basin area was fun, though.

On the way we stop for ice cream at the general store, and see some really, really, tacky clocks. The moose and bear heads with the tongues wagging back and forth are probably the worst. The funniest part was the tourist couple looking at the moose clock with the clock face stuck in the middle of it's 'moose' face (and tongue wagging) opining that it looked good except the antlers weren't 'realistic'. Yep, we see moose running around all the time with clocks embedded in their faces and their tongues hanging out, going back and forth, back and forth. I accidentally paid for Corey's ice cream twice. Outside, the wind is picking up and throwing sand, but the air smells good.

Back in the car, back across the divide, past the exit to the Firehole Canyon drive, double back along the drive to the swimming hole. We have just about 2 hours of light (sunset at around 8:30pm), and it's just warm enough to swim, maybe 83 degrees F.

Along the way, we run into several cars parked in the road (no way to get around) and see that folks are taking pictures of an elk and here fawn (?) in the river below us. So, we shrug and take pictures too :-)

We get to the swimming hole, park and change into our bathing suits to swim. Everyone except Mom, though. She's going to take pictures. Becky is the first, brave soul that she is, Scot decides to jump in (not too bad!), and Corey followed.

Corey immediately tries to swim upstream, which convinces him he really needs to stay near the sides as he (and Dad) can make no headway. After a while, we all do some exploration of the upstream part of the swimming area. Where the river takes two right-turns, the current is swift, but by clinging to the rock walls we make it upriver -- twice. The second time is so that we can ride the rapids.

Um, now that we have some experience, I can suggest: life preservers are a good thing :-) There are eddies and whirlpools that are really a lot of fun unless you're getting tired and somewhat cold! Next time we'll be smarter. It still was fun, but after struggling against the current we were pooped and getting chilled. Making our way back downstream to the swimming area was an adventure all on its own, but we made it, safely, and dried off to finish our trip for today.

Later, we found out that we were in a tornado watch. No worries, but you should have seen how big Becky's eyes got when she heard (back in the hotel room). I suppose we won't hear the end of that for a while.

Oh, and tonight we went to Outpost something or other to eat. Forget it, blech.

Day 13: Yellowstone Day 2

All right, the day I've been waiting for; we're going to the geysers, geysers, geysers. I can't help it, I think geysers are cool.

Today we enter by the west entrance again, the skies are clear and the weather is that nice shorts or pants weather. No rain expected, and it's pleasant out. The Moab weather has caught up with us. Meanwhile, it's over a hundred in Moab, and the temperatures in Salt Lake City are climbing to the century mark as well.

Today, instead of head north-east, we'll head south to the main attraction, Old Faithful. A quick stop by the ranger station in Madison shows us the times that the other geysers may go off. I'd never realized how many geysers were in the park. Apparently, two-thirds of the world's known geysers are here.

Some geysers are predictable -- if you call a 2 hour window predictable. But Old Faithful keeps to a plus-or-minus 10 minute schedule every 65 or 92 minutes. There's a walkway starting at Old Faithful and its geyser-ettes (there's a brood of them just to the north) that heads roughly north-west. At the northern most end of the trail is the Riverside geyser, and it's the next one that is to go off. (I should mention that most of the others are a once-a-day thing, unlike Old Faithful.)

So we start out from Madison by car to the Old Faithful visitor center, and before we got there we started seeing plumes of steam. At first, I thought we'd come across some of the geysers near Old Faithful. Instead, we were seeing the Fountain Paint Pot area. More specifically, we are seeing the plumes of steam from the Fountain Geyser and the Clepsydra Geyser. Corey and Becky are in the right-hand picture somewhere. The water from the geyser has an interesting quality. It's crystal clear and is mixed in with pure white steam. The droplets we can see seem to scintillate a bit. It might have something to do with the fact that the water is boiling.

The area also contains other interesting features like the Silex Spring (beautiful blue) and the Fountain Paint Pots. Again, the mud paint pots don't transfer to still pictures well, so I'll include the information sign.

The hotter the pool, the more steam we see from them, and the steam has a sulfurous smell. Some pools have a very strong smell others hardly have an odor at all. And the steam is warm and humid -- on a cool day wearing shorts, the warmth is welcome, but when the cold comes back in fits and starts, it is startling!

Then we passed up the Middle Basin; we are on a schedule, now.

We get the Old Faithful visitor center, but Riverside Geyser is the next to go off, and should be going in about 20 minutes, so we skip OF and head along the path. We should be able to do 1/2 mile in 20 minutes, right? Well, to make a long story short, no. They make them miles longer in this part of the country, apparently. However, do not be saddened dear reader, because even though we hit none of the predicted geysers except Old Faithful, it turns out there are plenty of other non-predictable geysers -- some of which are continuously venting -- as well as hot springs, and fumaroles.

The most fun one is the Sawmill Geyser at the bridge over the Firehole river. It is going almost continuously, the the kids (and me, and Kelley) can stand on the boardwalk and have the water splashing on us. By the time it gets to us, it's not very warm. But the kids think it's great fun (middle right of right-hand picture).

Castle geyser (left) is impressive, but it just steams gloweringly if that's possible. No fun there. The Grotto geyser (right) is more fun, because it's constantly spurting. I've two pictures to give it some perspective, 'front' and 'side'.

Here we are taking a break to talk to Catherine and Ruth. Hi guys!

Walk, walk, walk. We reach Great Fountain, it's done and gone too. Beauty and Chromatic pools are pretty cool. Have to stop here at Beauty pool. By the way, the color tells a lot about the temperature. The blue or clear ones are the hottest, just short of 199 (F). Wait you say, isn't it 212? Nope, not at 6,000+ feet above sea level.

And Riverside? Well, you already know the story. But what is really wild is all the fumaroles and small geysers along the river. Yes indeedy, the river is warmer past this point. (As we find out on day 3!)

Well, Riverside may be a bust, but the Morning Glory pool, so named because of its shape is remarkably like the flower. The colors really are this bright, and it's fairly deep. Ok, end of the trail, time to head back and capture Old Faithful ... however the length of those half-miles is almost our undoing again. But we make it!

[This day will be continued when we reach our next destination. I'm afraid this connection is just too sloooooow to upload the pictures. And it's getting too late. But tomorrow is another day!]

Back to Old Faithful. On the way we see Anemone Geyser that slowly fills, erupts to about 3 feet, and then the water drains back in and disappears. Then the process is repeated. By the time we reached Old Faithful, Kelley and Scot are huffing and puffing a bit. That air is thinner here.

But we finally get back to our starting point. There's a walkway that goes almost all the way around the geyser. We were going to watch the geyser from the east until we realized that the steam and plume would be drifting straight toward us; we relocated to the south with the rest of the crowds.

It looks like we needn't have hurried, the geyser is going to take all of its +/- 10 minutes. Plus, the geyser 'burps' several times, sending water up a few feet before quieting again. Folks around us start wondering aloud if this is going to be the first time the geyser fails. But of course, a few minutes later, it starts in earnest. Interestingly, the expected roar is a loud hissing as the plume reaches somewhere around 80 feet(?). Corey timed it at 4 minutes 28 seconds 15 milliseconds. Very cool. (Unfortunately, there's very little around it to give the plume perspective in the pictures.)

After lunch, we get to see it again while looking for ice cream. This time, though, the kids have found somebody with 2 dogs to pet, and they hardly look up. Tsk tsk, blase already :-) We walk over to the Inn.

The Yellowstone Inn is supposedly the largest log building, and it is very impressive. Three floors of logs, and it is very pretty. It is also quite a tourist destination apparently. It's very busy even this early in the season. We could watch Old Faithful from the second-floor balcony, but it is getting late and the trip back is long (30 miles at 45mph or less) -- time to head out.

Yesterday we at at Mooseberies, a little ice cream and hot dog hole-in-the-wall. Very friendlly and good food. Tonight? Everybody is bushed from walking, so Scot walked out and got a 'bowl' of soup. It was 'ok'. [Turns out, we never find a good restaurant in West Yellowstone ... ah well, this is a constant problem on our trip, But we do hit good restaurants elsewhere. -ed]