Mr Wizard, Bill Nye, and your favorite science teacher would love Yellowstone! It is so cool! Or maybe your favorite plumber?
We found an RV Park near the western entrance which isn't too far from Old Faithful. Our first evening there, we drove to Firehole River Canyon. The walls of the canyon show the volcanic history of the park, and it is one of the few places in the park that people are allowed to swim in one of the calmer pools.
The next morning we drove further into the park with the idea that we would see some of the Old Faithful area and drive as far as we could. Well that idea didn't last long. The geysers were so interesting that we ended up spending the whole day there.
On our way to Old Faithful we came around a bend in the road and had our first glimpse of the Fountain Paint Pot geyser field. So cool! This is also one of the areas where there are the bubbling mud pools. There is a very distinctive odor to the area however!
We arrived at Old Faithful close to its predicted eruption time, so stayed there to watch it. It puts on quite a show.
But there is so much more to see than just Old Faithful! There is a walkway that winds in and out around the geysers, pools, and fumaroles, which are very noisy steam vents. There is a bulletin board that gives a predicion of when some of the more dependable geysers will erupt and we just wandered around seeing as many as we could. We were really fortunate to see some of the more interesting ones go, including one that goes higher than Old Faithful and has three spouts going at once. There are also beautiful pools that are deep shades of blue in the middle, and browns and yellows on the outside edges where micro organisms can survive the harsh water.
There is a web cam for Old Faithful that our brother-in-law told us about. You can watch it erupt and see the people watching it. Just find the Yellowstone National Park web-site and look for the web cam to click on. We made some phone calls and had a good time waving to family and probably lots of other people.
Unfortunately, part of one of the park roads has been closed for the season for bridge repairs, so driving to some of the interesting places takes longer than it usually would. We headed out to go to the Yellowstone Canyon the next morning. There is quite a hike going down to see the lower falls, but very impressive when you get to the bottom. Those of you that have been to Yellowstone will recognize the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and those that haven't may be inspired to visit the park.
The Yellowstone area is very unstable, and within the National Forest area is Earthquake Lake. In 1959 there was a huge earthquake that caused the side of a mountain to block off a river and form a lake. Many people lost their lives trying to escape the landslide and flooding. We found a very interesting visitor's center with displays and a movie about the event.
We stopped there on our way out to see some ghost towns that were recommended. We stopped at Virginia City and Nevada City. Virginia City had been the capital of Montana for a short time but when the railroad went through Helena instead of Virginia City, the capitol went with it.
Another morning we took a walk out to Fairy Falls. It was a good walk and the falls were really pretty. The area had been one of the places in the park that had been damaged by fire but is recovering. Someday the trees will be big and shady again.
There is plenty of wildlife in the park also. We saw herds of buffalo and plenty of elk. It's easy to tell when there is something to see because there are cars all pulled off on the side of the road. Unfortunately, some people are taking real chances by getting very close to the animals. One big bull elk was getting very upset with the people getting too close to his herd. We got to hear his opinions on the issue!
But there are also single bison walking on the roads! That really stops traffic. They just amble along the roadway and don't seem to be too disturbed by people slowing down to take pictures.
We did some figuring, and realized that we had some extra time to spend at Yellowstone so we drove around to the other side and got a site in Mammoth Hot Springs campground in the park. This would be one of the first "dry camping" we have tried with the RV. As long as we plan ahead, it works pretty well.
There is one herd of elk that stay around that part of the park and can usually be found on the grass in and around the hotel, the old fort grounds and on the terraces of the hot springs. The park rangers direct traffic and block off sidewalks and roads to keep people and elk safe.
Again with our brother-in-law's recommendation, we drove out the Northeastern entrance of the park toward Cooke City and the Beartooth Mountain Pass. You are really on the top of the world there! The views were just beautiful and driving the twisty winding roads was exciting. There was road work going on and guard rails being installed. Very glad it was just in the Jeep!
We had planned on getting an early start the morning that we were heading east toward South Dakota. Well, we woke up early, with the help of that herd of elk. They were in the campground calling out to each other. It took us a few minutes to figure out what the bleating sounds were. We were able to get all ready to go with the car hooked up, but driving out was tricky. The whole herd, including the bull had made themselves quite comfortable eating grass, resting in the bushes and standing on the roads. There was one doe that seemed to be very interested in a small tent. She rubbed her head on the frame and pawed at the nylon. There wasn't anyone inside, but there must have been something in there she wanted. It took quite a bit of noise, waving, and clapping to get her to leave it alone. But whatever kind of tent it was, it held up to her abuse!
So, we left Yellowstone knowing that we had only scratched the surface of the park. We are heading east to arrive in Forest City, Iowa on September 8. Who knows what we will find on our way!
Jim and Sue
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