Feb 11

Feb 11 Yellowstone National Park

In 1872 Yellowstone became the first National Park in the world, and for good reason. The natural wonders contained within the borders of the park are like the greatest hits of public lands. Mountains, canyons, waterfalls, wildlife, and an assortment of geothermal phenomena let you experience the majesty of the natural wonders found within this beautiful country.

HOT SPRINGS AND GEYSERS

Thermal features in the park are superheated by the volcano that lies beneath the park. Water is often heated to boiling temperatures and although the pools may look inviting, they can be seriously dangerous and entering one can be fatal. Stay an appropriate distance from any hot water feature, as the possibility of the ground collapsing and falling into a feature is a real possibility. Thermophylic bacteria thrive in certain extreme conditions and different colored varieties live at different temperatures, giving the features their unique appearance. Some geysers erupt somewhat regularly, but other erupt more randomly. It is important to stay vigilant near geysers, as the water the eject is dangerously hot. Due to the volcanic nature of these features, they also tend to burp up sulfuric gas, which smells a lot like human flatulence. Areas where there is a high concentration of thermal activity smell like eggs, and although you do get somewhat accustomed to the smell, a warm belch of sulfur from a hot spring is sometimes unsettling. An enormous variety of thermal features are scattered throughout the park. Hot Springs are the rainbow colored pools, teeming with vibrant extremophile bacteria. Mud Pots are burbling, bubbling puddles of mud that blub and plop. Fumaroles are volcanic vents of steam and sulfur. A geyser is caused by an underground chamber of water that is superheated. As the heated water tries to expand, the pressure in narrow channels builds enough to eject hot water through a vent at the surface.

WILDLIFE

Yellowstone is very much still a wilderness. Animals in the park are wild animals, and it is not like a zoo. Within the park you may encounter bison, bear, elk, mule deer, wolves, and moose, among others. Stay a safe distance from wildlife, and do not try to feed or provoke the animals. Yellowstone is one of a few national parks that has its own jail and courthouse and it is primarily used for people who cannot keep to themselves around wildlife, or those who can’t leave thermal features alone.

WILDFIRES

Yellowstone has a history of coexistence with incredibly beautiful, yet terribly destructive natural forces, wildfires being one of them. Throughout the park you will see the scars of wildfires that have burned through portions of Yellowstone throughout the years. Some areas have seen fires relatively recently and are not much more than burnt stumps and charred remains of a once flourishing forest, while other areas have had a few decades to recuperate and the forest’s resilience is on full display. Wildfires are a natural and necessary part of life here. The Lodgepole Pine has pine cones that will only open and release seeds when exposed to the extreme temperatures of a forest fire. These trees got their name from their long slender trunks that are used in Native American tipis. You can tell these trees apart from other pines by their tall narrow trunks that have relatively few branches until near the top.

POINTS OF INTEREST

OLD FAITHFUL

Everyone’s heard of Old Faithful. It is the symbol of Yellowstone and wilderness adventure itself. Although it is not the largest geyser in height, it is one of the most voluminous geysers. It is a relatively tall geyser and each eruption lasts for minutes. If you have never seen a geyser you might expect one single eruption like a single squirt gun pump, and some are, but many are more like a pulsing busted fire hydrant. Old faithful can last up to five minutes, and it’s a rather impressive amount of water. Eruptions happen roughly every 75 mins or so and there is a grandstand style boardwalk around half of the geyser, so getting a view of an eruption is easy and you can see it many times before you leave Yellowstone.

Other notable geysers include Beehive, Castle, Steamboat, White Dome, Echinus, and Great Fountain Geyser. Steamboat is the tallest active geyser in the world, spouting water up to 400ft in the air, although it does not erupt very often. Each geyser is different and predicting an eruption is challenging, so check with park rangers for estimated times and be patient! Castle Geyser erupts every ~15min while others can take hours or days.

LOWER FALLS

A lot of magnificent waterfalls have grandiose names, but not this one. This is one of the largest and most impressive waterfalls you will likely ever see, yet it remains mostly unknown to anyone that has not been to Yellowstone. At 308ft, it is nearly twice as tall as Niagara Falls. The falls can be viewed from a number of overlooks along the north and south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Brink of the Lower Falls overlook takes you the precipice of the falls and you can experience the might of the falls up close, but the trail is a steep, descending 600ft over 3/4 mile. Uncle Tom’s Trail offers the best views of the Lower and Upper falls, but the trail has been closed for some time. Currently Lookout Point gives you the best view of Lower Falls, but you cannot see the Upper Falls from here. Artist’s Point provides perhaps the most stunning view straight down the barrel of the canyon toward Lower Falls, giving you an appreciation for the scale of the canyon, the waterfall, and the turbulence of the Yellowstone River.

GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE

Yes that is its name. This is a massive canyon with many overlooks on each side looking down both end of the canyon, capped on the one end by the monumental Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. Here, the yellow tinted rock that makes up the canyon walls makes it obvious why the park is called Yellowstone. The canyon is 1000ft deep and four times as wide.

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS

Thermal features manifest themselves very differently at the ground’s surface, but perhaps none more spectacularly than travertine terraces do. Travertine mineral similar to limestone, dissolved in the hot water water underground it makes its way to the surface where pools form, and the minerals left behind when water evaporates create small terraced pools of remarkable colors.

GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING

If you’ve ever seen pictures of a Yellowstone hot spring before, this is mostly that spring. It is the largest and deepest hot spring in the park, and possibly the most beautiful. The bright blue water in the center is reminiscent of the Caribbean and the water fades to greed, yellow, orange, and red near the rim of the spring. A boardwalk leads you around the spring, but depending on ambient air conditions the steam rising from the pool might obstruct your view. It is so large, that it is better viewed from a distance. You can do so from an overlook along the Fairy Falls Trail. It is an easy 3/5 mile hike to the overlook from the trailhead parking lot, but parking here is very limited.

MORNING GLORY POOL

This small colorful hot spring is a one of the more remarkable hot springs. It requires a small hike to get to, but nothing strenuous and the walk is worth the view of the unusually green and orange pool.

ROOSEVELT ARCH

The famous arch with the inscription “For the benefit and enjoyment of the people” is located at the northernmost entrance, just outside of Gardiner, Montana. If you’ve made it to Mammoth, the arch is only a five mile scenic drive north.

YELLOWSTONE BUSSES

More than 400 of these beautiful machines used to take tourists around Yellowstone in the early twentieth century, but as automobiles became more and more commonplace, the busses were gradually retired and sold off. Recently, eight of the classic original White Motor Company busses were refurbished and fitted with new Ford E450 diesel engines and they once again take tourists around the park. A variety of themed tours depart from Old Faithful, Mammoth, or Lake Hotel. The busses have canvas tops that can be removed if the weather is nice enough, but even with the top on there isn’t much protection from the outside temperatures so dress appropriately. Between the diesel engine and the flapping canvas roof, the ride can be a bit noisy and tour guides are hard to hear sometimes.

TIPS

WILDLIFE

If there is a traffic jam within the park, it is most likely because an animal is blocking a roadway, or cars have stopped to observe transient wildlife. Mule Deer are most common and Bison can be found relatively easily. Depending on the time of year bears can be seen. If you care to see wildlife, embrace the traffic hang ups and be prepared for them at any time. Keep and eye out. If you haven’t seen a bison, head over to Lamar Valley where hearts of bison usually hang out.

CELL SERVICE

You will most likely not have any cell service in most of the park. The park is large and requires a lot of driving between features, but there aren’t very many roads and everything is well marked, so navigating without GPS is not hard. Various geysers go off at different times and ,although there is an app that helps approximate geyser times, service is very limited throughout the park.

FOOD IN THE PARK

The average restaurants are nothing more than cafeteria food, but meals can easily become 15$ per person. Unless you’re a fan of dry un-breaded circle chicken patties slathered in bargain barbecue sauce I would pack a lunch and snacks. Don’t waste your money and, more importantly, time in the park waiting for rather disappointing food.

SCENIC DRIVE

If you’re a connoisseur of cruising in the comfort of your car, with a good song on the radio, the tires hugging the winding lines on the road and epic scenery, then Yellowstone will not disappoint. There is plenty of driving to do in the park, and you never know what will be lurking around each bend. Wildlife, geyser basins, waterfalls, verdant valleys, and mountain vistas are all possibilities along the roads that weave through Yellowstone. For mind-blowing driving experiences, make sure to take the East Entrance Rd (US-20) between Yellowstone Lake and Cody, Wyoming. The road slaloms through the mountains following the North Fork of the Shoshone River, passing Buffalo Bill Reservoir, hugging canyon walls, and passing through tunnels. If you’re heading toward or coming from the direction of Casper, Wyoming (or Colorado) it is absolutely necessary to drive US-20 between Thermopolis and Shoshoni. The Wind River Canyon is the ultimate scenic drive. The road plummets into the canyon following the Bighorn River (even though the river flows up the canyon somehow) around sweeping bends and through narrow tunnels. The canyon walls continue to grow until you have to strain to see the sky out your window. On the opposite bank of the river is a set of railroad tracks that mimics the road and the river and passes through its own set of rustic timber tunnels that are straight out of the old west. I cannot recommend this drive enough.