Day 27: Yellowstone National Park
Trip Start
Jun 21, 2008
1
17
42
Trip End
Ongoing
Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming,
United States
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Drove into the park today. Took about an hour from Livingstone. Had a hard time deciding which campground to stop at, but knew we had to stop and find a campsite before they all filled. Finally decided on Norris Campground, halfway between Mammoth Hot Springs (North entrance) and Old Faithful.
Had a quick lunch then walked down to the Museum of the National Park Ranger at the entrance to the campground. Very interesting; learned a lot. The Park Ranger idea started here at the 1st National Park. While at the museum we saw a bison grazing outside. Then we headed back to our campsite for water and camera to then head on to the Norris Geyser Basin, a thermal area another mile past the Ranger museum. When we walked back past the museum, the boardwalk to the front door was blocked and the bison was in the grass beside the front door. Apparently, someone from the road on the other side got too close to the bison so he quickly headed across the creek up to the museum; it startled everyone at the museum. The bison was agitated the Ranger said. I'm glad we left when we did.
We carefully walked on to the Norris Geyser Basin. A lot like Lassen Volcanic NP only bigger and with a few small geysers. We did see bison scat out in the thermal area. Amazing they can walk out there without falling through or getting hurt.
Rushed back to the campsite trying to beat a thunderstorm. The bison had moved just left of the museum and the board walk was still closed. Oh my!
After dinner we went to the Ranger Program at the museum. We saw another bison sitting by a tent in Loop A down by the creek. I'm sure glad we are up in Loop C!
The Ranger told the history of Yellowstone with much animation and incorporated music into it too. He played about 5 songs on his violin. The best Ranger Program we've attended so far.
Day 28 - Yellowstone NP - July 18, 2008 - Friday
Today we drove to the Old Faithful area. We arrived about 10 and watched the 11am eruption. It was cool, but not as high as I imagined. We then had lunch at a picnic table. I called Mullett Lake while Michael waked around taking pictures.
We walked around the Old Faithful geyser basin and saw many springs and geysers. We also walked around the Old Faithful Inn, a historic building. The lobby was 4 floors high with balconies looking down to it. We walked to the second floor and out onto the balcony where people were watching Old Faithful. We'll have to come back in the winter. We learned that the bison hang around the thermal areas in the winter to keep warm. We could come back and snowshoe, too. Maybe it would be less crowded.
On the way back to the car we saw Old Faithful erupt one more time and got a neat picture with the sign and the gnome.
Day 29 - Yellowstone NP - July 19, 2008 - Saturday
Drove to the Canyon area and parked at Dunn Raven Pass to hike up to the top of Washburn Mountain. At the top was a fire lookout. It had three levels: the top level is the residence of the Ranger on fire duty during fire season. There was someone there but we could not go up and see him or her. From the top you could see the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone."
On our way up, a gentleman coming down told us there was a bighorn sheep you could see from the lookout, but when we got there we could not see any animals. Apparently the sheep had moved on, too bad. We were hope to see a sheep.
We drove back to the Canyon Area and looked around the Visitor Center. Very informative about Yellowstone Volcano and how the geysers work and much more. I cannot remember it all. We stopped for ice cream, a nice treat, and headed back to camp early for a little rest.
Day 30 - Yellowstone NP - July 20, 2008 - Sunday
Drove to the Mammoth Hot Springs area. Went to the Visitor Center to find out about a church service; starts at 10:30am in the historic chapel. So, while waiting, we walked around the lower basin of Mammoth Hot Springs. In Mammoth there were elk everywhere! Traffic was stopping to take pictures and rubberneck. The weather was cool and cloudy. They elk were lying on the grass.
Church was nice, different, from the service in Glacier NP. It was in a real church built as part of Fort Yellowstone. The Glacier NP service reminded me more of camp.
After church and lunch, we walked the remainder of the geyser basin. We stopped for a break to write postcards. Then walked around the fort on a short self-guided walking tour. Ended our day at Mammoth with a shower at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. For $3.25 each we took an untimed shower - very nice. I took my time and got my money's worth.
It seems like the Rangers and volunteers do more tourist control than animal control. Some visitors are either clueless about wild animals or simply don't care.
Day 31 - Leaving Yellowstone NP, Grand Teton NP - July 21, 2008 - Monday
We broke camp early in an effort to watch the sunrise at Old Faithful. On the way we stopped twice to view bison and elk. When we arrived at Old Faithful we had just missed an eruption, and the next one would not occur for 90 minutes. The sun was still lower than when we saw it 2 days ago. We stuck around, had breakfast, then watched Old Faithful one more time (3 times, total). I called mom and wished her a happy birthday. We did not stop again until we were out of Yellowstone NP.
We decided to visit Grand Teton NP for a few days and arrived at the Colter Bay campground around 11am. There was a snafu with some people occupying our site but we got it resolved. While waiting for them to leave, we decided to go to the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center was nice and had a museum attached. There was a member of the Navajo Nation who was painting and selling work. We found a painting we liked. A museum of Indian Art, most from one man's collection, very cool. And very well displayed.
The Shoreline Trail is our first hike in Grand Teton NP; 4 miles of forest, lake shoreline, and mountains. Amazing views!
As we were starting dinner a fox trotted through our campsite! We jumped and he moved on. Our first fox!
Colter Bay is named after John Colter who was a member of the Corps of Discovery. On the way back to Missouri, John Colter asked to leave the group and explore on his own and "found" the Teton Mountains.
