Thursday, August 1, 2013 – Yellowstone
Today we ventured into the Park on our own. The main objective was to head part way up the Upper Loop. Once again, the weather was holding up. It was a chilly 58 degrees but the forecasted high was 80. So we dressed in layers again.
Our first stop was at the Gibbon Falls along the Gibbon River. Then we went on to Artist Paint Pots. This is an area of a number of thermal pools, fumaroles that are spread over a large hillside. We walk for about a mile round trip winding our way up and then back down the hill in a large loop. The raised boardwalk keeps us safe as we explore the many different pools. The minerals in the pools give the soil around the pools different colors. The water in the pools also takes on different colors. It ends up looking like a series of artists paint pots. It was very unusual and interesting and we ended up really enjoying the visit.
From there we headed toward Roaring Mountain. On the way, there we ran into a bit of a traffic jam. There was a huge bull bison sauntering down the middle of the road. It brought traffic to a complete stop. It eventually made its way to the side of the road and strolled along for all to snap a photo.
Eventually we made our way to Roaring Mountain. This is a large steep mountainside that is entirely devoid of vegetation. It stands at 8150 ft above sea level. It is impossible to miss because it is covered with fumaroles (steam vents) and it appears as if the mountain is on fire. Very eerie looking. Because of the cool morning temperature, the steam was pouring off the mountain.
After that we made our way up to Mammoth Hot Springs. The trip there was amazing. We had to traverse Obsidian Cliff and make our way 2000 feet down the mountain side. About 2/3 of the way down, we come to an overlook that looks down on Mammoth Hot Springs. It is so steep, you really can’t see much unless you hike our quite a ways. So we headed on down. From the bottom of the hill is incredible. There are countless terraces that have been formed over the many years. This formation is the results from underground fissures that stretch for several miles from the Norris geyser field. The water that percolates through these fissures is rich in calcium carbonate. It rolls out over travertine hills, the combination makes for this incredible display. The boardwalk snakes it way for over a couple of miles. We opted to for a shorter walk but it was still quite a work out going up all those stairs. Eventually, we made our way back down to the the hillside and stopped for a snack at the Terrace Grill. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very good. We decided to head back to West Yellowstone to get some real lunch. Yesterday, our guide had recommended Red Lotus for chinese food, so we thought we would give it a try. While there, I learned that Chinese immigrants made the largest group of immigrants to Montana in the 1850s. The came out to work on the railroads and the gold fields. The history lesson was good, but unfortunately the food wasn’t.
When we finished we tallied up all the wild life we had seen on our treks through the Park and we were disappointed that we could not include bears or wolves among them. So we decided to head over to Bear and Wolf Discovery Center. They have many displays of live animals. These animals were either abandoned by their mothers, injured or in some cases the bears had become nuisance animals and may have been destroyed if not for the Center being there to take them in. It was very nice and well done. On our way out we took some photos of the trash and recycle receptacles that are “bear resistant”.
Tomorrow, we head for Kalispell, Montana near White Lake and Flathead Lake. While we are there we will visit some friends as well as Glacier National Park.
Here is the link for all the Yellowstone photos –
We’ll keep you posted.
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