Yellowstone

Lewis and Clark Caverns

 

Reluctantly leaving Glacier on July 14 (day 5), we headed south to Lewis and Clark Caverns state park, outside Butte in southwest Montana.  We camped in the state park (Montana's first state park)that night and in the morning headed up the hill to the caverns.

 

The tour through the limestone caves is a ton of fun.  A couple hours of bats, dark, stalagmites, stalactites, tiny passages and even a smooth slide down the rock on one section.

 

 

On to Yellowstone

That afternoon we drove to Yellowstone, reaching the west entrance about 6:00.  Unfortunately that was when we learned we had 60 miles to our campsite.  The scale of Yellowstone is massive - still hard for me to fully grasp.  In Yellowstone time (traffic and a 45 minute delay for a bison herd) that put us into camp about 9:00.  We talked the local cafeteria into feeding us dinner, and headed to our campsite.

We stayed at Fishing Bridge RV Park, right in the center of the park at the north end of Yellowstone Lake.  A great central location, but unfortunately it turned out to be more RV than park - lots of asphalt and RVs packed side by side.  It was dark and wet from rains that day.  Spirits were similar - a tough start to Yellowstone!

Geysers and more geysers

 

The next day brought sun, a well rested crew and a fresh start to the park.  We did the south loop - the geyser loop that includes most of the parks most famous thermal features including Old Faithful.  Really stunning stuff and so unique.  We liked Yellowstone again!

West Thumb Geyser Basin sits on the edge of Yellowstone Lake.  It has an amazing collection of hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles and geysers.  Microsocopic organisms create spectacular colors and tell you the heat of teh pools - blacks and browns in cooler water, moving up to yellows and then clear blues in the hottest waters.  Some of the hot springs are right on the lake.  Fishermen used to catch and then cook fish without having to take the fish off the line!

 

West Thumb Geyser Basin

 

Around Old Faithful is a another huge complex of geysers.  We got lucky while there and saw two geysers erupting that only erupt once a day.  And they erupted together!  Castle geyser and beehive geyser.  Beehive geyser was impressive - a high pressure stream hundreds of feet high.  Anemone geyser was a favorite too, with its "toilet bowl" finish.  The Old Faithful Inn was fun to explore.  Built in 1904 by Robert Reamer with a massive lobby and treehouse upper levels, this Inn is exactly what a national park lodge should be.

The boys at Old Faithful

 

 

Castle geyser (left) and Beehive geyser (right).  Castle geyser is visible behind Beehive.

Anemone geyser and the Old Faithful Inn

Our final stop of the day was at Grand Prismatic Spring, is the third largest hot spring in the world.  It is also one of the most photographed spots in Yellowstone, with its striking colors.  You can see the colors showing the temperature of the water in different parts of the pool.

Grand Prismatic Spring - look at those colors!

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Day two in Yellowstone was spent exploring the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  An amazing display of geology where the Yellowstone river has cut through the lava flows of Yellowstone's most recent eruption 600,000 years ago.  We started the day at the Canyon Visitor Center learning about how most of Yellowstone is actually a huge supervolcano - overdue to erupt again!

We finished the day (our last night in Yellowstone) with a dinner at the Yellowstone Hotel.  It instantly became a favorite for everyone - good food, classic simple décor, and a string quartet playing in the sitting room overlooking Yellowstone Lake.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

 

 

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River

 

Hayden Valley

Animals
The animals of Yellowstone are remarkable.  Driving through Yellowstone feels like going on Safari (with a lot of friends).  I think we took it a bit for granted after seeing all the life in Glacier, but as our trip wore on I really came to appreciate the animal life in the park.

Bison traffic jams

"Buffalo, very common"

Osprey nest over the Yellowstone River



Elk in the trees

Two cubs in a tree

Mama watching over the cubs

Final thoughts on Yellowstone

The scale of this park is really amazing.  I honestly think you could spend years and keep finding new adventures.  We didn't get to Mammoth or the Lamar Valley, which we want to come back and see.  The crowds were big, and although I think the park does an amazing job of handling the crowds as well as they do, I wouldn't call Yellowstone in the summer a wilderness experience.  I'd like to see the park in the fall after Labor Day.

But overall Yellowstone is amazing, and you can see why it was the first National Park created.  Such a unique spot with so many one of a kind things to see.