The Golden Gate – Meanderings & Mind Munchies

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.

A hike to Wraith Falls. I enjoyed the 1/2-mile hike significantly more than I enjoyed the 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.)

Tuesday will be a less intense day.