Yellowstone National Park - 2014
During the last week of August, 2014, I took a road trip to Salt Lake City, Utah, Yellowstone National Park, Colorado National Monument and Arches National Park. I spent the first night near Provo, Utah. The next day, I spent a few hours visiting Temple Square, in Salt Lake City, Utah. After lunch, I continued on to Yellowstone, getting to West Yellowstone late evening. I spent 5 nights in West Yellowstone, visiting a different area of the park each day. The park is very big and I spent a lot of time driving each day. It would probably have been better to spend one night in each area. The main loop road inside the park is in the shape of a figure of eight. The areas of the park are all unique.
I saw a lot of bison and elk at Yellowstone. Every day, in the evening, I saw elk. Once, I saw two of them locking antlers. They would lock antlers for a little, then break off and eat, then start over again. I also saw at least one bison on the road, every day. They would amble slowly along the side of the road, or even along the yellow line in the middle. Cars would slow down, while people took pictures, and the bison totally ignored us. One day, in Hayden Valley, I saw a herd of bison in the meadows on both sides of the road. I pulled off to the side, to take pictures. One of the bison decided to come up to the road, to cross over to the other side, right by my car. I walked to the back of the car, so that my car would be between me and the bison. The bison walked to the back of the car along one side, and I walked to the front of the car, along the opposite side. When it reached the back, it sopped and looked back. I thought it was looking at me, and I had visions of being chased around my car by a bison! I wondered if I would have time to open the door, jump in and close the door, whether the bison would ram it's horns into the door, and whether my insurance would cover 'bison attack'. It turns out that she was just waiting for her baby to catch up. As soon as the little one trotted over, they both crossed the street and went to the other side. That was so cute. I thought it was weird that the bison has so much fur in the front, and none at the back.
The first day, I visited the geyser basins. This area has the world's largest concentration of geysers. There are several places where these can be viewed, by walking on wooden boardwalks. It is dangerous to step off the boardwalks, because the soil may only have a thin layer of crust, with hot magma below. I stopped at the Lower, Midway and Upper Geyser Basins. I drove along Firehole drive and also made quick stops at Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin. Upper Geyser Basin has the most famous geyser in Yellowstone, Old Faithful. This erupts about every 50 minutes. It's eruptions can be predicted within 10 minutes. While I was there, another geyser, Beehive, erupted. Midway Geyser basin has the colorful Grand Prismatic Hot Spring. I had lunch at the Old Faithful cafeteria.
The second day, I visited Gibbon Falls, Norris Geyser Basin, Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Falls. Norris has the park's hottest and most acidic hydrothermal area. I thought it was also the most colorful. Norris has two walking trails. The shorter one is the prettier one. At Mammoth, I drove through the upper terrace, and walked through the lower terrace. The lower terrace is really spectacular, and is made up of colorful travertine. I had lunch at Mammoth cafeteria.
The third day, I drove to the Canyon area. This is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. While not as deep as the real Grand Canyon in Arizona, it is still very dramatic. You can drive or walk along the north and south rims, and stop at various viewpoints along the way to see Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone river and Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. I drove along the North Rim and stopped at each of the viewpoints. At Brink of Upper Falls, you can stand beside Yellowstone river thundering over a lava cliff. At Lookout Point, I took the Red Rock trail down to a great view of the Lower Falls. This trail descends about 500 feet in .38 miles. I then crossed the Chittenden Bridge to the South Rim, and parked at Artist's Point, which gives you a picture postcard view of the canyon. This is one of the most photographed areas of Yellowstone. From there, I walked to Uncle Tom's Point. I took Uncle Tom's trail down to a platform where you can hear and see the power of the Lower Falls. This trail consists of a series of steep inclines and over 300 steps made of perforated steel sheeting, that descends 500 feet to the canyon. I had lunch at the Canyon cafeteria.
The fourth day, I visited West Thumb Geyser basin, where geysers line the shores of Lake Yellowstone. Geysers also occur under the bay. I then went to Lake Yellowstone, which is the largest high altitude lake in North America. I drove to the Lake Butte Overlook, to get a view of the lake. Unfortunately, it doesn't give you a view of the entire lake. I also hiked to Natural Bridge. On the way back, I saw the mud volcanoes and sulphur springs.
The fifth day, I drove through the park, and exited through the south entrance, to Grand Teton National Park. I did not find this park very interesting. I went to Jenny Lake, croseed the lake in the shuttle boat and took the popular trail to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. I spent the night at a cute log cabin in Jackson Hole, and left for Colorado the next day.
Click on the picture below and you can view the photos.
Yellowstone National Park
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| Yellowstone 2014 |
