Thursday, June 26, 2008

Day 11 - Yellowstone

Pictures are at url: http://picasaweb.google.com/mcthomas2005

It is impossible to describe in words what we saw on the south loop in Yellowstone today. I wish I were so gifted that I could even know the right words to use. Suffice it to say, I was impressed.

Anyway, we headed through the west entrance and proceeded south towards Old Faithful. Along the way to Old Faithful, guess what we saw - more buffalo. Believe it or not, we actually became quite jaded about the old buffalo. I guess we were seeing so many that we no longer stopped each time we saw one to snap a picture. We didn't get the picture of the bald eagle on the way in either, because the sun was coming up in the east and you couldn't see anything from the glare. I'm thinking it is going to take a special trip to that tree one afternoon to get my picture.

Along the way, there is an area along the Gibbon River where there is a scenic pulloff for some cascades. They were absolutely phenomenal. But, the most interesting thing there was this raven. He was sitting on the stone wall right next to the car when we stopped. He walked up the stone wall to the passenger door and stayed there until I got out and took a couple of pictures of him. He never moved. In fact, when we came by on the way home (8 hours later), that raven was still sitting on that stone wall and people were still taking his picture.

When we make the turn south at the Madison intersection, the first opportunity we have for scenery is the Firehole Canyon Drive. We learn that the term 'hole' was used by early explorers for canyon areas. Luckily, Firehole Canyon Drive is one way, because it was kind of narrow. In fact, the road was one of the original roads in Yellowstone. We definitely could not have driven the RV through here if there were anyone coming the other way. Along the way, we stopped at Firehole Canyon Falls and Firehole Canyon Cascades for pictures.

I'm not going to describe every thermal area at which we stopped. Suffice it to say, that are wonderful. The colors are beyond description. My pictures just do not do them justice. You can see the bacteria that is able to grow in the heat of the thermal pools. You can see the 'paintpots' where the various minerals cause the surrounding ground to become colors such as red, yellow, and gold. I definitely cannot describe the smell at some of them. They call it rotten egg. Some are not that bad - and some are definitely worse!!!

When we arrive at the Old Faithful complex, it is lunch time. In fact, it is after lunch time and we are both really tired. I think we have walked more this morning than we have in a long long time. So, into the grill we go for a hamburger - which was actually quite good and not tourist expensive. Just regular prices for regular food. Not like most tourist traps you visit where they have a captive audience and make the most of it. According to the sign posted at the cashier, we have 55 minutes until Old Faithful erupts again. So, we finish our lunch and head across the parking lot to find a place to watch the eruption.

We luckily find a place right next to the ranger who is telling the people in his general area about the thermal areas. The first scary thing is that the Yellowstone caldera is a volcano. Not active, but you are still sitting on a caldera. He also tells us that Yellowstone accounts for about 53% of the thermal activities (geysers, hot pools, etc.) in the world. That is quite impressive. He did mention Arkansas, California, Hawaii and Russia as other areas where there is thermal activity like geysers (and I guess volcanoes?). He tells us that they estimate the time when Old Faithful will erupt and that 'she' performs with a plus or minus 10 minute reliability. True to form, about 9 minutes before the schedule says she will erupt, the steam starts to build and the water spurts up to the sky. I'll be honest, it wasn't as impressive as I was expecting, but I could certainly appreciate the fact that Old Faithful is the most reliable geyser in the park and that you can get a wonderful view of the eruption. It just wasn't as high as I expected, nor did it last as long. The ranger did say that other eruptions during the day could be higher or could last longer - so we just were not there for the spectacular one!!! It's okay - I got my moneys worth and more.

From Old Faithful, we proceeded to Yellowstone Lake. Yellowstone Lake has a shoreline of 110 miles at an elevation of 7,733 feet and measures 20 by 14 miles. It is one of the largest mountain lakes in the US. By the end of summer, the surface waters have warmed to a toasty 60 degrees. Heaven only knows what the temperature of the water under the surface is (the book says 42 degrees)!! West Thumb Bay is the deepest area of the lake. It is a crater that is 4 miles across and 6 miles long which was formed 200,000 years ago (before my time). The early explorers thought the lake looked like a fist. West Thumb Bay is at the position of the thumb on a fist - hence the name.

One of the most spectacular areas we went to today was the upper and lower falls areas of the Yellowstone River. The upper falls are so named because they are upstream from the lower falls. The lower falls, however, are 308 feet compared to the 109 feet of the upper falls. Whatever!!! Bottom line, they are spectacular, particularly when seen in concert with the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is 1,200 feet deep, 4,000 feet across and 24 miles long. It is a river eroded geyser basin. Again, the colors are so beautiful that no camera can really do them justice. Again, minerals in the rock result in brilliant colors that the sun just really brings to life.

While driving across the park looking for bear, we come to an area with lots of cars and lots of people with big cameras and binoculars. Based on what we have read, this can only means wolves. So, we pull over and help enlarge the traffic slow down for those behind us. Out come our binoculars (for the first time) and to the shoulder of the road we go. I can't see anything. Jimmy can't see anything. We put our glasses back on and we still can't see anything. There is a ranger with a spotting scope focused on the wolf. She even knows his number, how old he is, and that he is a loner (he has separated from the pack). Of course, I'm going to get in line and look through the spotting scope to see the wolf. All you can see is a grassy field, a rock and a black wolf ear poking up above the grass. Apparently he actually raises his head every once in a while, but I certainly never saw anything but the ear. For a view of an ear - there were sure a lot of people stopped with big cameras with big lenses trying to get a picture!!!! I passed.

Back in the car and on towards the exit, we come upon two rangers directing traffic. This was the elk jam. There were two elk lying on the side of the road. Yes, my Daddy and my brother would have drooled over the rack. His horns were still furry. You couldn't get a real impression of their size since they were lying down - but you would tell they were big. The rangers were a little frustrated with the traffic, because the elk had not picked a place with a pulloff for cars to make their cameo appearance for the cameras.

We got back in the car and had driven no more than a mile when I sighted a small group of elk off at the back of a field. So, off the road we pull so that we can pull out the binoculars and get a real look at the elk. I tried to take a picture of them. I know that they are there - and I labeled the picture so that you can see them!!!

Not much else to tell about today. We did see a lot of burn evidence from the big burn in 1988. We actually saw a small area which apparently had burned within the last month or two. But, the miracle was the regrowth. Nature certainly has a way of preserving and renewing itself.

I told Jimmy at Old Faithful that I don't see how anyone could possibly come to these mountains and see the animals and the thermal activities and not believe in God. How could this exist without Him?

Pictures at url: http://picasaweb.google.com/mcthomas2005

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