From sunbathing to snowstorms

Trip Start Oct 01, 2008
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Trip End Oct 27, 2008


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Flag of United States  , Wyoming,
Thursday, October 9, 2008

We drove to Yellowstone in beautiful sunshine and enjoyed a picnic lunch sitting outside in the sun by the Yellowstone River, shortly after leaving Livingstone. Once we arrived at Mammoth Springs visitor centre, we found out that snow was forecast for the next couple of days, so we quickly decided to visit as much as we could during Wednesday afternoon. We drove down the west side of the park, visiting a couple of geyser basins and enjoying the view of the Gibbons Waterfall and Firehole River canyon and falls before arriving at Old Faithful, where we observed the geyser spouting right on schedule at 5:35. Then, it was back in the truck to get back to our campsite before dark, as the roads are windy and steep and wildlife often crosses the road at dusk. We saw a large herd of buffalo, as well as many single bulls, groups of elk, pronghorns and deer. The elk are quite dangerous as this is the rutting season; there are large groups of them all around the visitor centre, with rangers and volunteers there to see that you do not approach too closely Bathing at the pools near Boiling River
Bathing at the pools near Boiling River
 . We finished up the evening in a cafe in nearby Gardiner, where we had our first dinner out of the trip.

We woke the next morning to clear and cold weather. Our first objective was to visit the Mammoth Hot Springs complex, which extends over many acres and has several different terraces. The site is a mixture of old and new fumeroles, springs, mud springs and impressive cones formed by the hot water. Much of the water flows through an underground stream to the Gardiner river, where it flows into the river, creating hot pools. After lunch, Margaret and I drove down to a parking lot near a path to the pools. There were at least a dozen people enjoying the two main pools. We choose to sit in the smaller one where the temperature was more even. At the lower pool, the water entering from the underground stream (referred to as the Boiling River) cascades into the stream, but one has to be very close to the entry point to avoid icy water from the Gardiner. Boiling is no misnomer as the water from the underground stream is 54 degrees We rounded out the evening with a campfire and homemade clam, halibut and scallop chowder, served with bruschetta. Snow was forecast for the evening and the first flakes were falling as we sat around the campfire.
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