Yellowstone, Vol. I

Yellowstone Vol. I

The little town of Gardiner, Montana where we were staying is literally a stone’s throw away from the northern entrance to the park.  The majestic arch is visible from many points in town.  Teddy Roosevelt dedicated the arch in 1903, “For the benefit and enjoyment of the people”.

Mammoth Springs, the first stop, is only five miles from the arch.  We were in the park every day and the roads became as familiar to us as the roads around our home town.

The road system is basically a figure 8.  There are great differences in the various areas of the park and we learned them quickly.  Although there is wildlife throughout the park, the small circle at the top of the figure 8 was, hands down, the best for wildlife.  Nearly everything we saw, we saw there and in the Lamar Valley, which runs off the circle.

The larger circle at the bottom is where all the spectacular geothermal features are – the big ones like Old Faithful, the beauties such as Grand Prismatic.  That area is also where the tour buses go -- huge tour buses and lots of them.

 

 

That brings us to another point of curiosity.   Who is in this park, our crown jewel of parks?  The following is absolutely non-scientific and may have zero bearing on the actual facts.  It is merely from my own observances. The American family is represented.  But from a numbers standpoint, they are not in the majority.  My guess is the majority are Chinese Nationals.  This is simply because instead of coming two or three to a car, they arrive 30 or more in a tour bus.

How did I know their nationalities?  I learned from conversations with the bus drivers.  Following the Chinese, are Europeans – the French, German and English come because America is such a “bargain”.  A great many Australians and New Zealanders were also there.  Instead of buses, they tend to rent RVs in family groups.

We focused on the big circle first, as it was still early in the tourist season and, being so close, it was easy to see it in the mornings before the buses arrived.  The wonders of the big circle are not to be missed.  The breath-taking colors of the pools, the spectacular geysers, the blurp-blurp of the mud volcanoes, you will never see anything like it anywhere else.

A picture taken from ground level cannot do Grand Prismatic justice.  The water in the center is brilliant turquoise.  Heat-loving micro-organisms called thermophiles create the tapestries of color wherever hot water flows.  Only a few thrive in near boiling water, so we see the clear, blue water.  In these springs, the water absorbs all wavelengths of light except blue, which the pool reflects.

The mud volcanoes are not as colorful, but nevertheless interesting and rather entertaining.  You never know exactly what they are going to do.

But Old Faithful, you always know that about every 90 minutes you are going to see something spectacular.

Ready!

Set!

Gooooooooooooooooooooo-

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Thermophile bacteria mat

Sometimes, the geysers play with people …

And then there is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  Did you know there was a grand canyon there?  I didn’t.  It doesn’t have the size of the one we all know in Arizona, but it is, none the less, awe-inspiring.

Cut by the Yellowstone River, the canyon is 24 miles long and between 800 and 1,200 feet deep.

Inspiration Point, such a beautiful place that would become such a sad place, just days after this picture was taken . . . more in the final volume.


Next:  Yellowstone Vol. II  - The animals