Yellowstone 6 - Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces

I thought the Old Faithful loop was a painful hike....but Mammoth Hot Spring terraces and all its many hundreds of stairs hurt even worse. I think the collective nature of being in the park driving and hiking day after day has taken a toll on us old farts. I think we have decided that this last week was the dividing timeline between middle aged and officially old. Or so say the legs anyhow. The altitude hasn't helped much I am sure, and maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to look back and blame our fatigue on that.

Mammoth Hot Springs are vertical, not horizontal like many of the springs in the park. Covering them from one end to the other hurts, but it sure is nifty to look at and produces such amazing sites as Canary Springs which is actually of waterfall of boiling water that has built up the hillside with its highly calcified water content. Add to that the thermophile bacteria and you have a recipe for rare intrigue and beauty- the likes of which IS here on earth but much more resembles what you might expect to find on some other distant planet. This is our final chapter from within the park. Don't know if time will allow more from West Yellowstone Village where we are camped or not. Still dealing with a slide issue on the coach- the part should have been here and done last week but that didn't work according to plans and so we won't know if the part will arrive before our scheduled departure and/or if it will solve the problem when it does. I do know for sure we are sick of dealing with it- so hopefully it all comes together at the last minute and we hit the road with renewed confidence. Hope so. Hope so. Hope so.

Yellowstone 5- The Old Faithful Basin

Last post closed with the eruption of Old Faithful, the presumptive "must see" of Yellowstone National Park. Yea, I guess. But there is so much more that is even more fascinating in one way or another that gathering in the great outdoor amphitheater with as many as a thousand people to await its timely eruption was almost a bit of a letdown. To us, it felt much better to get off by ourselves as much as possible to investigate the far reaching features of the park. The park is enormous, and even on a day when thousands and thousands of people are roaming the park along with the buffalo, it is possible to find solitude to enjoy the grandeur of our nation.......

with one exception!

And Marilyn commented on it one day as we drove endlessly through the park. You see, we have been at this game for a long time. We can spot wildlife be it large or small, with the best of them. In fact we often make it a competitive sport on a drive. First one to spot each roadside animal wins that round and so on. And in the park, this was no exception- we spotted much of what we saw. BUT- there is no escaping the fact that if you are driving along and come upon a bunch of cars and people yielding binoculars and cameras, you can pretty much rest assured that they have spotted something that you have not yet seen, and so, like the eagle, you swoop in to see what you may be missing. This works to help more people see more stuff, and I have no problem with that. But on a few days this became a bit of a problem in its own right. To wit: One day we watched as the guy up in front of us pulled over to the side of the road. Before we got there, there were nearly 25 vehicles pulled over to see what he was seeing. But as we cruised by slowly so as not to miss a special opportunity ourselves, we realized that there was actually nothing at all there to see except the side of the road. We chuckled about that....and as I continued down the road toward the next sighting, Marilyn said: That poor guy probably just pulled over to take a leak and there were 25 tourists with cameras pointed right at him...."

This post reveals what is out and about in the Old Faithful Basin- way more good stuff than Old Faithful itself. And seeing the area makes for a long hike. Too long for us perhaps, but we did it anyway and found it almost impossible to put one foot in front of the other by the time we made it back to the Inn and the parking lot. Tired puppies! But worth it as I hope you will see here....

Yellowstone 4: Journey To The Center Of The Earth

They say the center of the earth is still a ball of molten lava which churns constantly and tries despite its constraints to reach the surface if for no other reason than to cool off a little. Well, Yellowstone provides at least a glimpse of what lies deep below our feet as we walk this earth for the whatever time we are allotted. I was tempted to say that visiting the geo-thermal features of the park is like standing on the rim of an active volcano and peering down at the bottom of it. But the reality is that when you are in Yellowstone you are standing ON TOP OF the caldera that once was an active volcano, and you are taking a tour in essentially what will again become an active volcano at some point. Moreover, the Yellowstone Volcanic activity area is one of, if not THE largest area of such activity in the world. Simply put: in the future, this could well be the source of the site of the largest active volcano on planet earth. You get a sense of that here. You are not afraid. But you take the signs that tell you to stay on the marked trails very seriously....because you can see the boiling water and mud and steam just below the surface and in fact coming to the surface all around you- all the time. It is impressive to say the least.

So in this post and with the images today, I would like to share our look into the earth below us....

Yellowstone 3 - Wolf and Bear Discovery Park

It's a tough time of year to see bears in the park. Mostly they are way off in the wilderness seeking food far off the beaten path. Same with the wolves. But it's easy to see them both up close and personal at Discovery park- a non-profit organization and facility where animals that cannot survive in the wild are given a home. A happy home. A healthy home. We totally enjoyed visiting and since admission includes a second day in the park at no charge, we just may be going back in again real soon.

Be sure to watch the slide show, especially for the last shot of Marilyn in a Teddy Bear......OOO lala.... Has ya curious, doesn't it???

Yellowstone 2- The Great American Buffalo Hunt

Lots to see in Yellowstone National Park. But this day was for hunting buffalo. And hunt the buffalo we did. Most all day we found lone bulls- off by themselves, because they WANT to be off by themselves. We found 28 in all; 27 more than the day before so we were feeling good. But during the day- no large herds, no cows, no calves. Until we had put well over 200 miles on the car in the great and earnest search and then there they were, just over the hill, near the north entrance to the park. Herds. Large herds. Herds of perhaps thousands. Certainly too many to count. Love it when a plan comes together.

But, incidentally, where were all the elk. A stray elk here or there, but no herds of them either. Until, again, near the end of the day when we pulled into the village of Mammoth Hot Springs...and there they were as well. Not out in the wilds. On the front lawns of the village homes and offices and churches. Munching on nicely cut green lawns and laying in the shade of the buildings. Safe. Secure. Comfortable. So pictures we took. Not the photo of raw nature you hope for, but the picture as nature presented on this day.

 And then there were the two coyotes who hunted in the grasses beside our roadway on the way back to camp after a long, long day. Special.

Today, we focused on wildlife. But there are always the geo-thermal features of this park to remind you that this is not an ordinary place in any way.

Yellowstone 1

We did what we always do on our first full day in a place where there is a lot to do and see- we headed off to the visitor's centers for maps and an overview of the place. Since the ranger station is only a few miles into the park, we decided not to lug all the big camera gear, choosing instead to take Marilyn's Lumix point and shoot and my Android phone camera. I knew it was a mistake when we decided that, and sure enough it turned out to be a big one. Just inside the park on the far edge of a large marsh was a lone bull bison, too far off for any picture worth having with the equipment we were toting, but fun to watch in the binoculars.

We traveled the rest of the way to the info center and ranger station without any sightings other than the admittedly awesome scenery. So maybe not having the cameras wouldn't bite us too hard. Wrong again. Elk. Cows on the side of the river and one little calf stuck in mid stream trying to figure out what his next move needed to be. At least the camera caught some of that and the cell phone got a respectable video clip which I'll embed later in the post. Not what we could have done with the big guns (you know I mean cameras, right?), but not too bad either. Then a short distance down the road we came upon not one but two bald eagles sitting by the side of the river, seemingly not doing anything but chillin' and hanging out together. Sure was wishing for the telephoto lens. Didn't even try with my phone. Marilyn caught a few shots with her camera.

But then out of the clear blue sky, one of these eagles drops into the water and then starts trying to swim back to shore in the swift current. Huh? Was he drowning? Nope, he had caught a big trout- heavy enough that he could not take to flight from the current so had to head for stiller waters. Back on shore he made short work of that fish, much to our wonderment. No video. No closeups. What are the chances I will ever see this again? If I do though, I WILL have a camera at the ready. No shortcuts!