8/26/12 -- Last Days in Yellowstone

We have had three wonderful days to end our week here in Yellowstone National Park.  Many people who come here only watch Old Faithful erupt, maybe go to the Visitor’s Center and buy a couple of souvenirs.  Then they go to see the lower falls on the Yellowstone River and they think they have “done” Yellowstone.

There is more, much more.  We have seen a lot and yet only scratched the surface of all that Yellowstone has to offer.  We all three want to come back.  Yellowstone is like no place else on earth.

We spent one whole day at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  Yes, there is a Grand Canyon here as well as the one in Arizona.  The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River in Arizona is one mile deep and is so wide you can’t see the bottom if you stand on the rim.  


The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River is ¾ mile deep with walls so starkly steep that you can make out the rapids in the Yellowstone River far below you.

Looking down into the Grand Canyon

There are two falls on the Yellowstone before the canyon really begins.  Above them, the River is placid and relatively calm for a mountain river.  It runs over a couple of cascades and then plummets down the Upper Falls.  We went down to a platform built on the brink of these falls.  The amount of water plunging down made the stones beneath our feet tremble.



Upper Falls on the Yellowstone River
Tiny people on platform on the cliff on the right
We stood there, too!

Several points on both sides of the canyon gave us some magnificent views.  I don’t know if the pictures can do the depth of it justice.  Here in the rocky sides of the canyon, we see the yellow stone that gives the park its name.

Canyon Wall showing yellow stone

Adina and Drichab Anna hiked along the canyon rim for a while – I drove ahead to wait for them. 

A raven kept me company, his raucous voice imparting deep wisdom (I’m sure).  I didn’t get a picture of him, though he strutted and posed for quite a while, as Drichab Anna had my camera to help record their hike.  Please note that all our hikes in Yellowstone are at 6000+ feet above sea level.  We feel it in our joints.  Here are a couple of pictures from their Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Hike. 


Pinnacles far below the path

Yellowstone River 3/4 mile straight down

Tree growing out over the canyon
roots rest on the air alone

 The view that most people remember from this part of the park is that of the lower falls.  It is one of the trademarks of the park.  Drichab Anna took a wonderful picture of the lower falls from Point.

Lower Falls and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Another day we drove down toward Old Faithful but, instead of going there again, we stopped at all the interesting spots along the way.  Beryl Spring is one of my favorites.



Beryl Spring is a deep blue and bubbles continuously

We took a side trip along a one-way road through Firehole River Canyon.  We wound along the beautiful Firehole River. 


The Firehole River in a placid moment

Our road was on one side and huge rocky cliffs rose across the river on the other side.  We could see faces in the rocks – oops, then they were gone.  The rocks were brown and red and black. 

 

 

The Firehole River is so named because of hot springs that drain into it and geysers that rise along its banks.  At one place, lots of people had climbed down a long flight of steps and were swimming in the river.  It looked like fun but our interest in the drive lay farther down the road. 

We stopped and saw the beautiful Firehole River Falls.  Again, we could feel the power of the falling river through the soles of our feet as the earth trembled from the falls.

Firehole Falls -- Beautiful!

On another side road to Fountain Flats, we found a riverside geyser on the Gibbons River.  The water upstream from the geyser was as cold as if it had come from a glacier.  Maybe it had.  There are glaciers here on the highest peaks.  Below the geyser, the water was warm and stayed warm for quite a ways downstream.

We often saw elk and old, grumpy bison bulls, most of whom were blocking traffic!  The bulls’ eyes were red and they swung their huge heads from side to side as they walked beside the road.  I think they resent the presence of anyone who blocks their way to the next resting spot or dust bath.

We loved the side road we took to Firehole Lake.  This is also on the Firehole River.  We saw a couple of geysers.  White Dome Geyser did us the favor of erupting while we were there.  It isn’t as tall as Old Faithful (everybody’s standard of measurement) but it has built up an impressive dome.

Firehole Lake was magnificent.  Lined with geysers, fed by hot springs, it really looks like the whole lake must be on fire.  Drichab Anna and Adina walked around part of it.  I watched from the car and nursed my migraine.  They come when then come.  At least I was able to go and see it.  There was a time when I thought I’d never be able to come to Yellowstone again.  Here are a couple of pictures from Firehole Lake:

 

 

Yesterday, Adina and Drichab Anna climbed down the mountain from our campsite to the Gardiner River.  The path to the river was so steep that Adina slid down on her seat and climbed back up on hands and knees.

Path to the river -- VERY steep

They waded and enjoyed the coolness of the river waters.  Drichab Anna put the top of her head in the water too! 

 

Adina enjoying the Gardiner River

It was like an oasis in the desert.

Rocky bar in the Gardiner River

That afternoon, it was sunny so we went up the mountain (by car) to the upper Mammoth Hot Springs drive, another one-way narrow road.  You really need to take the side roads if you want to see Yellowstone at its best.  We were able to see some hot springs that are still active – a real treat.



A Spring that looked like a buffalo -- this is his head

A Living Spring

We heard that Norris is burning, some 800 acres, just south of Mammoth, where we are camped.  We smelled the smoke in the air Saturday night.  The hazy air is pink in all directions.  We were  at Norris just the day before.  That felt a little strange. 

We had planned to leave Yellowstone on Sunday morning anyway (today) as we must drive to Bozeman, Montana to say farewell to Drichab Anna.  She has to work on Monday and flew out of Bozeman this afternoon.  It was a sad good-bye to see her go.  We will miss her humor and her good companionship.  We will also miss Winston who went home with her.  He livened up every day, and so did she.  She was so much fun to play with.

Adina and I always enjoy each other, too, as we travel.  We had planned to drive to a town half-way to Missoula but learned of a fire on that road.  It still is the best route for us to take but we chose to stay in Butte (that's Bee-oot', for those of you who thought of creative pronunciations).  We are at a KOA so I have a strong wifi connection, Adina has a swimming pool and we have access to laundry facilities.  Tomorrow we will continue our odyssey across Montana.