I had a rough start to the morning. When I woke at 4:30 a.m., it was 57° in the camper, which might explain why I had been freezing for the previous two hours. We had run out of propane in the middle of the night.
Anyway…
We were on the road to the national park at 6:45 a.m. to see if we could catch the sunrise.
We didn’t quite make it, but we came close.
We decided to drive the loop road around the park to see if we could get our bearings. We were finding the park maps difficult to understand, and the ranger at the visitor center last night was not terribly helpful either.
We figured a lap around the park would give us a better idea of what we would like to go back and spend more time on.
The Loop Road
Grand Teton National Park is a very different park from Yellowstone. As far as I can tell after one day’s experience, the loop road is all about scenic overlooks of the Teton Mountains.
Beyond that, there are many hiking trails, opportunities for float tours down the Snake River, horseback riding, and a multi-use trail for biking or walking.
Mormon Row
One of the most popular things to do at sunrise in Grand Teton National Park is to take a photo of the barn on Mormon Row.
Yes, I really did take that photo! Even I’m surprised.
We were lucky enough to get there just after sunrise.
We would have spent more time there, but it was absolutely freezing! I hope to go back and explore a little more another day.
Since most of what we did today was take pictures of the Teton Mountains from various overlooks along the loop road, I will post a few of my favorite pictures without giving a blow-by-blow of every stop we made.
What says “Western USA” better than bison and mountains?Jackson Lake Reservoir.Driving down the loop roadGreg, standing out in a field.The sun came and went all day. Mostly, it went.Photo taken from Jenny Lake Overlook.Chapel of the Transfiguration. There is a picture window in this chapel, right behind the pulpit. It looks out on a beautiful view of the Teton Mountains. Unfortunately, it was hard to photograph.Jackson Lake Lodge. The view of the Teton Mountains from the windows was spectacular. Greg and I relaxed with muffins and coffee while enjoying the view.
Greg was a man on a mission today, and that mission was to get to our campground in Jackson as quickly as possible.
As a result, any photos I wanted to take had to be done from the car’s windows, because he was not stopping, despite the breathtaking views and ample pullouts for just that purpose.
I can tell you that the Snake River is a beautiful river. I just can’t prove it with pictures.
However…
I did manage to snap a few photos of the Palisades Reservoir, which is fed by the Snake River. So here are those:
I finally realized why so many of my car photos look underdeveloped. It’s the tinted windows. See those weird ridges in the soil (rock?) below the line of vegetation? I have no idea why it’s like that, but I think it’s cool.More weird ridges The water level seemed to be really low.
After we arrived at the campground, we headed into Grand Teton National Park to pick up some information at the visitor center.
The last couple of days have been very quiet, so I don’t have a lot to post.
In addition to doing various chores, like getting an oil change on the truck and doing laundry, we’ve taken a few short trips into the park so that I could get some photos. But none of those photos have been better than the ones I’ve already posted.
Despite that, here are the best of the ones I took this weekend.
This poor fisherman had snagged his hook on a bush. I offered to untangle it for him, but he said no thanks. I love the way the mist rises off the water.
Our very last stop of our Yellowstone National Park trip was Terrace Springs early on a chilly morning to get a look at the steam rising off the water. I have no idea why, but I think this phenomenon is magical.
This water is runoff from the spring.More runoff.Walking up to the spring.The spring itself. The steam from the spring covers the entire area. So cool!
On Thursday, we decided to try Hayden Valley again. We went slightly later in the day in the hopes that the fog would have cleared by then.
Shortly after entering the valley, we encountered a gaggle of tourists.
We quickly grabbed our binoculars and joined the throng. They were observing a black wolf.
We arrived a few minutes too late to see it ourselves (we got to see it later), but on the way back to the car, we saw two eagles and an osprey.
Next, we headed to Mud Volcano.
The mud is created by sulfuric acid breaking down rocks and soil.
Photos of steaming muddy potholes aren’t terribly interesting. Videos are more representative.
Then we stopped to check out LeHardy Rapids.
And Sulfur Cauldron, which wasn’t particularly impressive. However, I walked a little further down the trail and got to see something pretty cool. The river was boiling!
Okay, it was probably steam, but it was still cool.
On Wednesday, we headed to the Lamar Valley, where a lot of wildlife at Yellowstone National Park hangs out.
I don’t feel a strong need to see animals in their natural habitat, but Greg enjoys it. I was basically along for the ride and to see the scenery.
And look at the scenery!
I did not edit this photo other than to crop it. Aren’t those mountains gorgeous?This photo is quite representative of the Lamar Valley.Pronghorn. We saw them a couple of different times.
Since Greg was driving and my eyesight is not good enough to pick out tiny little animals far in the distance, we relied on crowds of parked cars to identify where the wildlife was.
This crowd of folks standing on a hill were looking at a herd of bison and a family of wolves.
I don’t have good pictures of the bison or the wolves because they were too far away to capture on camera. One really needed a high-powered set of binoculars to see them, which we did not have. However, some of the folks who did were kind enough to let us look through theirs.
I often have to take my photos through the windshield of the car because Greg is so focused on his driving that he doesn’t hear me express interest in pulling over to take a picture until it is too late. But I got lucky with this photo (above).
Greg had turned off the car so that he could get out and take a photo of a herd of bison across the street. Unfortunately, he left the windows open and this mother bison with her calf started wandering in my direction. At one point, she got so close I was afraid she’d stick her head in the window. I was scrunching down and trying to make myself look as invisible as possible!
Over the course of the day, we got to see black bears, pronghorn, bison, elk, and wolves.
After Lamar Valley, we headed back to Tower Roosevelt. The plan had been to eat lunch at the lodge there. Greg’s fishing captain had recommended it. Unfortunately, they were closed for the season.
The photo below is of Petrified Tree (a short detour from Tower Roosevelt). It is 50 million years old.
Next, we headed to Calcite Spring. I had been wondering why I was still smelling sulfur since I hadn’t seen any steam rising anywhere. I didn’t wonder any longer after I saw the geyserite on the walls of this gorge.
That is the Yellowstone River.This photo was taken looking in the other direction from the photo above. Can you see the line of basalt columns near the top of the cliff on the left? Very cool.Still at Calcite Spring, just further down the trail.
On the way back to Tower Fall, we stopped to take some photos of this basalt cliff. The size of the cars should give you some idea of how massive this thing was.
Our next stop was Tower Fall, where we had lunch and ice cream floats at the general store followed by a walk to the Tower Falls overlook.
Then we took the Tower Falls Trail down to another overlook. Greg stayed there while I followed the trail all the way down to the bottom of the gorge.
Greg (in the light blue shirt), patiently waiting for me to finish taking pictures.Looking in one direction… Then looking in the other. Greg told me that while he was watching, this fly fisherman caught two fish.And another photo taken from around the corner. A storm was moving in. Hence, the dark clouds.
After Tower Fall, we headed back in the direction of the campground.
We detoured to view the Virginia Cascades, but we were unable to stop and take pictures. The road was barely wide enough for the car. One side was a rock cliff, and the other was a steep drop off into the river below. It was edged with temporary cement barriers that wouldn’t have done much to keep us from tumbling over the sides into the river far below. I was terrified.
We did get to see the cascades, which were impressive, but I wasn’t willing to find a spot to pull over and take photos.
Tuesday didn’t go quite as planned, but we still had fun. Greg was interested in fishing on Yellowstone Lake, and I was interested in taking a boat tour of the lake.
We had hoped that we could do our various activities at the same time, but the schedules did not align. I ended up hanging out at the campground reading my book while Greg went fishing.
Look at that smile! Someone is having a wonderful time.
Lake trout are an invasive species at Yellowstone Lake. Consequently, if you catch one, you are required by law to kill it. In contrast, cutthroat trout are native to the lake. If you catch one of those, you are required to throw it back.
The first trout Greg caught was a lake trout. All the others were cutthroat trout.
Apparently, cutthroat trout are feisty little buggers.
This one managed to wriggle out of his hands.He was able to get it overboard before too much damage was done.
On Monday, we headed to Mammoth Hot Springs. Since it is a good distance from where we are staying in West Yellowstone, we had another early start.
That meant I got to enjoy another foggy morning! Who knew I would find fog so enthralling?
I’m pretty sure that this is fog, but it may have been drifting steam from one of the hot springs in the area.
By the time we arrived in Mammoth Hot Springs, the geography had changed dramatically! It was no less beautiful, though.
Our first stop was the visitor center. This bull elk was hanging out on the lawn in front of the visitor center, bugling for his does.
When we first arrived, he was lying down. I think he finally got tired of waiting for the does to show up, so he stood up and started hollering for them.
The photo below shows Mammoth Hot Springs from a distance. All that white is siliceous sinter, otherwise known as geyserite. To me, it looks like a mound of dirty snow.
And this is what it looks like close up.
We started by driving through the Upper Terrace before parking the car and walking the boardwalk of the Lower Terrace.
This pile of geyserite is still venting steam, although it is a little hard to see from this photo.
The formation shown in the photo below is what makes Mammoth Hot Springs unique. These are called travertine terraces.
This is what they look like close up.
And from further away.
After leaving Mammoth Hot Springs
We did so much after leaving Mammoth Hot Springs that I’m going to post the photos with captions and leave it at that.
Undine Falls Another picnic lunch A hike to Wraith Falls. I enjoyed the 1/2-mile hike significantly more than I enjoyed the falls!Wraith Falls The Golden Gate (the names for things here are really weird)Obsidian Cliff. I have a close-up of the cliff, but I liked this photo better.Roaring Mountain. I will never get over geysers and steam vents coming out of mountains.Terrace Springs. In the morning, the steam rising off the water is an impressive sight.Firehole Falls, accessed via Firehole Canyon Drive.Looking in the other direction from Firehole Falls. (Firehole Canyon Drive had some truly impressive views. Unfortunately, there was no place to pull over and take photos.)
Fountain Paintpots. This geyser was the most active one I’ve seen so far.This is what happens to lodgepole pines when they are immersed in the runoff from geysers.
On our way back to the campground, we experienced our first true bison traffic jam. The park rangers eventually showed up to scare the bison off the road.
There’s always at least one idiot in the crowd…
It was a great day, at least for me.
By the time we arrived back at our campsite, Greg’s normal equanimity was experiencing some tatters around the edges. Between the stress of driving on winding narrow mountain roads, walking thousands of steps, and sightseeing, he was exhausted. (I think he has also had his fill of geysers, hot springs, and steam vents to last a lifetime.)
We spent Saturday morning relaxing around our campsite. The weather was picture perfect.
After lunch we headed out to do a little sightseeing. We stopped at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, since I’m pretty sure we won’t get to see any grizzlies (God, I hope not!) or wolves in Yellowstone National Park.
I asked a staff person what kind of birds these were. They seemed too large to be crows. They are ravens, and they are everywhere. They kept surrounding the grizzly, hoping for some leftovers.This wolf was quite obliging. Greg got some great pictures of him.
In addition to the grizzlies and wolves, the Discovery Center also had a number of raptors and reptiles. However, it was difficult to get good pictures of them. This photo of a bald eagle taken by Greg is the best of the lot.
Then it was back to the campground for more rest!
Sunday was also a rest day. We did laundry, had a video call with Erin and her family, and had the water pump on the RV replaced.
Hopefully, a little rest will rejuvenate us, and we will be raring to go on Monday!
On Friday I dragged myself out of bed at 4:30 a.m. so that we could head to Hayden Valley at dawn. Apparently, that is the best time to see the wildlife.
Oh, my, those colors!I will never get over all of the steam vents everywhere you go here.
We were very quickly overtaken by fog on our way to Hayden Valley. The air was below 30°, but the land and rivers were still warm.
At one point, five elk darted across the road in front of us. This beauty stopped to give me a look.
Greg was lucky enough to capture a photo of the buck. My phone was having trouble focusing because of the fog.
I love the way the bison own the road.
When we drew alongside this guy, we saw that he had a pine branch stuck to his forehead! He seemed completely unbothered by it.
There were plenty of wolf spotters pulled over on the road in Hayden Valley, but Greg and I decided to move on. We were pretty sure it would be nearly impossible to see anything due to the thickness of the fog. We will try to return another day at dusk and see if we have better luck viewing wildlife.
Fishing Bridge Visitor Center
We kept driving and eventually crossed Fishing Bridge and arrived at the visitor center. The exhibits there focused on all of the varieties of birds that live in Yellowstone or pass through during their migrations.
The visitor center is right on the edge of Yellowstone Lake, so we stepped outside to take a look.
The view of the lake from the visitor center is rather boring, so I used this one instead. This photo was taken a little later in the morning from a different location. Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake above 7,000 ft in the country.
Bay Bridge Marina
We kept driving and eventually arrived at the Bay Bridge Marina. We went into the office to ask for information about fishing, boat inspections, and boat tours. (If we want to do any kayaking while we are here, we need to get the kayak inspected first.)
I’m hoping that we can take a boat tour of Yellowstone Lake sometime in the coming week.
We were going to hike the Natural Bridge Trail, but we were the only ones there, and we were in grizzly country at this point. I chickened out.
The sign warning about bears recommended traveling in groups of three or more. That was enough for me!
But while we were standing at the trailhead and debating on the hike, we saw this little fellow. I have no idea what kind of bird it is, but it was beautiful.
West Thumb Geyer Basin
We kept driving and arrived at West Thumb Geyser Basin. This is another thermally active spot in Yellowstone, right on the edge of Yellowstone Lake. In fact, some of the steam vents and geysers are under the water.
Yellowstone Lake is extremely cold, but this is one area where the water is warm.It was weird to be walking along the edge of the lake with the lake on one side and hot springs and steam vents on the other.
On our way out of this area, we stopped at the Grant Village General Store to pick up some lunch. I had made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for us, but I forgot them in the refrigerator in my rush to get out in the morning.
Continental Divide
As we headed in the direction of Old Faithful, we crossed the Continental Divide. Twice.
There were a bunch of people stopped here to take pictures. Everyone was taking pictures of each other.
One of the fun things about being here has been meeting folks from all over the country.
Interestingly, we have met no one else from Pennsylvania. Most of the people seem to be from west of the Mississippi. We have seen more Canadian license plates than East Coast ones!
Kepler Cascades
Next up was the Kepler Cascades. This is another location where the photos will not do it justice.
Black Sand Basin
Black Sand Basin was a delight. I think it may have been the most active thermal location we’ve seen so far, and one of my favorites, second only to Porcelain Basin.
Between the hot springs with their boiling water and the constant geyser eruptions, it was awesome.
That geyser in the distance erupted every few minutes. And look at those gorgeous bacterial mats flowing into the creek!Looking into the depths of a hot spring pool was an eerie experience. You could see the stone walls, but the pool seemed to have no bottom.Sometimes the bacterial mats were so colorful that they reminded me of an abstract painting.
The smell of sulfur permeates the air here. Even when there is no evidence of thermal activity, you can still smell the sulfur. At times, it is so strong that I get nauseated.
Grand Prismatic
We arrived at Grand Prismatic in the afternoon, which is the best time to view it. Any earlier, and the steam rising off the surface obscures the colors. We walked the Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail so that we could see it from above.
Needless to say, it did not disappoint! Looking at all of the people standing around its edge gives you a good idea of how giant it is.
Fairy Falls
The Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail led us to the Fairy Falls Trail.
By this point, Greg and I had already done a lot of walking that day, and we were tired (an understatement if ever there was one!).
The Fairy Falls Trail was long and boring. It also made me nervous because I did not want to encounter a bear.
But this lovely falls was the reward!
Greg and I walked over 8 miles this day. By the time we got back to the campground, we were zombies. By mutual agreement, we decided to give ourselves the weekend to rest.
On Thursday, we started our day at Norris Geyser Basin. First, we did the Porcelain Basin Loop, which was incredible. The landscape was like something out of a science fiction movie. Everywhere you looked, there was steam rising from the ground.
Boiling water from the steam vents and geysers runs along the ground. Bacteria that is able to survive in high temperatures grow in the water, creating colorful rivers of orange, rust, blue, and bright green. These are called bacterial mats.
Hot Springs are everywhere. The water is blue or green, but the outer edges are often bright red or orange from the bacteria that grows there.
A white crust forms around the edges of the steam vents and geysers. It is called siliceous sinter (although every time I tried to recall the name at first, all I could come up with was “seditious sphincter”).
Before we came, I knew that Yellowstone National Park was basically a dormant super volcano, but I didn’t realize how much of the park is still thermally active.
As we’ve traveled around the park, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that several miles below my feet, a giant volcano lies waiting.
Norris Geyser Basin – Back Basin
The Back Basin Loop was a bit of a disappointment after the Porcelain Loop. There were still plenty of geysers (like the one below) steam vents, and bacterial mats, but it didn’t have the same science fiction feel.
After we finished at Norris Geyser Basin, we found a picnic spot and had lunch sitting by the Gibbon River.
One of the great things I’ve discovered about Yellowstone National Park is all of the truly lovely picnic spots.
Artists Paintpots
After lunch, we headed to Artists Paintpots, another area with geysers, steam vents, and even some mudpots.
Gibbon Falls
On our way back to the campground, we stopped at Gibbon Falls. Again, this is another site where pictures simply cannot do it justice.
Meanderings & Mind Munchies 