Day 64 - Alright Geyser
Trip Start
May 19, 2008
1
66
161
Trip End
Nov 08, 2008
Wapiti,
Wyoming,
United States
Monday, July 21, 2008
Our first stretch of road was the one we had come back to Mammoth on last night, but again, in the early morning light and temperature it took on a whole new appearance. Plumes of steam were rising from the ground in every direction, from streams and lakes and even just from the earth itself. The first wildlife we saw this morning was a huge elk with huge antlers just by the side of the road. Then the deer that we had to use binoculars to see yesterday afternoon, were quite clearly visible from the side of the road along one of the rivers. There were tens of them, grazing for their breakfast and warming themselves from the steam rising from the ground
Enormous Elk © MFox 2008
. And then just a couple of hundred yards along the road, a bison, firstly walking along the edge of the road and then after we passed him, down the middle! Thank goodness there wasn't a lot of traffic around. The Norris Geyser Basin was particularly impressive to see as we drove past, plumes of steam rising all around out of the trees. Quite eerie really. A little further south from here we drove into the actual caldera which provided an interesting feeling, knowing that you're driving right through the middle of a volcanic crater. Mmmm! It was around here that we met yet another bison, this time casually strolling down the middle of the road, on the brow of a hill, near a bend! As she was showing no signs of deviating from her chosen path, we had to take a deep breath and drive past her very slowly, hoping that she wouldn't suddenly decide to run at us. It was quite unnerving as she kept giving us sideways glances as we passed her. And bison are fast, they can run at 30 mph, and probably with faster acceleration than our old Chip!
We arrived at Old Faithful around 7.25 am and already people were starting to gather, although in no way near the numbers we imagine there to be in the middle of the day. We took seats around the geyser's edge and then just sat and patiently waited
Breakfasting Deer
. Old Faithful is not the largest or the most regular geyser in the park, but it erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers. Its average interval between eruptions is about 92 minutes. An eruption lasts 1½ to 5 minutes, expels 14,000-32,000 litres of boiling water and reaches a height of 30-55 metres. We didn't have long to wait before "he" erupted just around 7.45 am. Quite impressive. Behind Old Faithful are many other geysers and we took the boardwalk trail that leads through them. The eruptions vary in height, length of eruption and also the frequency, anything from every 7 minutes to twice a year. We were lucky enough to see the Sawmill Geyser which erupts for very long intervals although we're not sure of the frequency. We followed the trail as far as Grotto Geyser and then headed back as we were starving.
When we left Chip in the car park there were about a dozen other vehicles parked up, when we got back to him there were hundreds and it was only around 9.30. We drove for about 20 minutes and then pulled into a picnic area, where we enjoyed a hearty sausage and fried egg breakfast. Why does getting up early make you so very hungry?
Back on the road we climbed up to Craig Pass at 8262 ft before descending down the other side to the Yellowstone Lake
Steaming Pools © MFox 2008
. Our next stop was the Mud Volcano area. Mud pots are acidic hot springs with a limited water supply. Hydrogen sulphide from deep within the earth is converted into sulphuric acid by micro-organisms, which then breaks down the rock into clay. Various gases escaping through the wet clay mud cause it to bubble and plop! Along the trail we saw another bison, probably only about 50 yds away. Some American kid was yelling towards him and he seemed to become agitated, looking at one point as if he were going to charge the kid and his family, and us, as we happened to be behind them! Thankfully he ran off across the front of us, as if to say "don't mess kid, if I want you I can have you!" We got back to the bus not a moment too soon, as we had only driven about half a mile when the heavens opened. It rained hard but we were through it in no time and back into blue skies and sunshine, while behind us we could still see the rain and the storm clouds.
We headed towards the park's east entrance and the descent out of the park was very spectacular, winding down through the mountains. As soon as we exited the park we entered Shoshone National Forest. The rock formations along this stretch of road rival those of Monument Valley. Admittedly most of them aren't as big but there are far more and the shapes are just as impressive
Steaming Earth
. About 25 miles out of Yellowstone we arrived at our chosen campground, Elk Fork Creek in the Shoshone National Forest, one of several N.F. campgrounds in this area. It's proper bear country again and each pitch is supplied with a bear box. Now that we've actually seen one it's not so hard to believe that one may come wandering out of the woods. Not long after we arrived the rain moved in on us again and we could hear the rumble of thunder not too far away.
Miles travelled: 150
Total miles travelled: 4727
Days on road: 44
States visited: 9
National Parks visited: 8
