Gary-Summer: Sept 13, 2021 - Day Seven: First Visit to Yellowstone

Monday, September 13, 2021

Sept 13, 2021 - Day Seven: First Visit to Yellowstone

Title: Sept 13, 2021 - Day Seven: First Visit to Yellowstone
Hike Info : Description : Background : Extra Photo's : Animals

Trail head: Colter Bay Campground

Hike Info:

Type: Car

Mileage: 183 miles

Description:

Lingering cloud over Jackson Lake

No reason to wake up early and I did not. Also it still is pretty cool outside. We eventually all roll out of bed and have breakfast. We are trying for a morning shower before it gets too busy. We are hoping to be one of the first in to minimize any exposure to COVID.

Andrea and Lawrence at the boundary

Turns out we are not the first ones, but there are not too many people. The shower is hot and comforting. The stall is a bit small for my big body. Still, I am able to enjoy my time there. Feels good after four days of just sponging off.

After we take a wander through the store, we return back to camp and make ready for the day. Today we will go for our first exploration of Yellowstone-Andrea was here several summers ago for a day. I guess that makes her our tour guide. So we all pile into the the car and make our way north. We are wondering how different it will be from what we have seen Grand Teton. We thinking how can Yellowstone top these past few days.

Lewis Creek

We left Grand Teton eight miles after we started. In between the Grand Teton and Yellowstone is the John D Rockefeller, Jr Parkway. I think it is more of a preserve, not a park, nor anything like that. We do not have enough time to examine it-must be there for another trip to the area.

We come to the Yellowstone entrance with the sign. A tour bus is there as well. So we take our turn to be pictured in front of the sign. Andrea and Lawrence have been making it a thing to do this. Not a bad thing to do.

Shortly afterwards we come to the entrance station. The ranger does not think we are deserving of a second map. We will get one later on when we come in a couple of days. We travel up the road. There is a nice looking river to the side of the road. When we see a turnout, we stop. Then follow a path to an overview. A good introduction to Yellowstone.

But we are looking forward to the Big Name Place-Old Faithful

Old Faithful

. Fortunately Andrea has been here before and remembers the way there. There is a miniature inter-change leading to a “park”way to the parking lot. I would hate to be here during a crowded season^*

Upon leaving, we go out to Old Faithful. There we wait about 15 minutes, and then “there she blows!” It is both fascinating and wonderful. But maybe a bit of a let down. After all these years of buildup, maybe I was expecting something like the Bellagio in Vegas or some big dollar production. But Old Faithful came through with a completely natural glamour-I am glad. It helps to focus me on what is real and what is an imitation.

Firehole River

After Old Faithful’s display, we wandered around the Upper Geyser Basin, wondering at the various vents, pools and geysers. Some seemed to be pretty quiet. Others would spout off with spray, going all the way to the boardwalk. Still others looked tempting to jump in with their cold clear blue water. And then there were those which looked down right treacherous with alluring colors of yellow, oranges greens and blues. In places we saw how thin the crust was-either someone had decided the signs were not meaningful or lost their balance and caved in the area. We wandered around for over an hour until we got hungry for lunch.

Sherri and I kept our meandering while Lawrence and Andrea were more interested in eating. They headed off to the car and would meet us at Old Faithful. So we were able to watch the Castle Geyser spurt and sputter for a good 10 minutes. When we wandered by the Yellowstone Lodge, there was a bison lounging on the grass by it. Our first one up close-not that we got that close. But it almost looked like the bison was paid to lay there. Then as we passed by the Lodge, Old Faithful erupted again. So good looking.

Looking back towards Old Faithful

Yellowstone Lodge

We find Andrea and Lawrence resting in an open area to the side of the boardwalk around Old Faithful. Enjoyable lunch spot, just watching all the activity. And now the question, what to do next? Off to the car we go and continue on the road north. Not sure we will have the time to do the full loop, but we will get to see parts of Yellowstone besides Old Faithful, as if that was not enough.

So we head north along the Grand Loop. There are several fields of geysers, but we do not stop at them, until we see hot streams of steam falling into the Firehole River. The parking area is all full and the road is full of parked cars for about a quarter mile. So we find a parking place at the end and walk along the river, stopping to gawk at the river and watch the steam. We cross the bridge over the river and walk up the boardwalk. There are three pools in the Midway Geyser Basin: Excelsior Geyser, Grand Prismatic Pool and Opal Pool.

Steaming Streamings from Midway

Our first stop and one which we spend most of our time at is the Excelsior Pool. This is where we spend a lot of time. The sides of the pool are about 15’ high with us above it. It is a steaming big pot of blue water with its outlet going down to the river. The boardwalk circles around the pool. Lots of people, so we try to keep out of the way of them-you know, we still have to be aware of COIVD, even in a place like this. The boardwalk now goes to the Grand Prismatic Pool. It lives up to its name. A pool of many colors-from the pictures I see, at sunset the colors grow expectionetional. There are layers and layers of pools, reminiscent of an Asian rice bed. After all of this, the Opal Pool seems a bit tame. Any other place it would be stellar. After this, we return back to the car.

Is this the best which we will see in Yellowstone? I will say I have been impressed. We travel on to the Madison Junction

Excelsior Geyser

. We will be here again in a few days and go on to Yellowstone West from here. But we are doing the Grand Loop so we head east. The landscape changes from being spotted with boiling water pots and geysers to steep canyons covered by evergreens. I am not as familiar with these trees as I am with my Sierra pines and firs, even though they are in the same classifications. Also the rock is not granite, but more crumbly. More clodish than Zion’s sandstone, but just as colorful.

White Geyser

There is a sign saying Gibbon Falls with lots of people. We find a parking place and stop. The Falls are pretty much below us. So we need to walk a paved pathway for about a quarter of a mile to get a good view. Pretty nice falls. Not the towering falls of Yosemite Valley, more of the falls like Mist Falls in Kings Canyon. Nice and in a deep canyon as well. Well worth the stop.

It is getting late and the light will start to fade soon. We make it to Canyon Village

Gibbon Falls

just a touch before 5 and take the loop around, stopping at three points: an unnamed one, Lookout Point and Grand View. Yellowstone Falls and Canyon are spectacular, not in the sense of Yosemite Valley and its falls, but in its unique setting. Yosemite is cut by glaciers and is U-shaped, while this canyon has been cut by Yellowstone River and is a steep V-shape. Instead of the whitish-gray, you get a kaleidoscope of colors. After seeing so much forest, this view is one of change and beauty. Each vantage point gives a new perspective. We gawk for at least thirty minutes, maybe more until our stomach speaks to us.

Yellowstone Canyon

We then go into Canyon Village to find someplace to eat. There is a restaurant with a line out the door-it did not look well spaced for COVID concerns. There is a gift shop which looks like it may have sandwiches. When we see them, we think, how old are they? So we decide to go on down the road for our eats-maybe around Yellowstone Lake there will be something. Andrea takes over driving.

We feel confident that this is the best which Yellowstone can offer-not the old sandwiches, but the Falls, Canyon, and geysers. But we are mistaken. Before we hit Yellowstone Lake, we come across a herd of bison. In Kings Canyon we have bear jams, I guess here we have bison jams. Because we cannot go anywhere. There are vehicles stopped in front of us and now behind us. So we are content to wait and watch. Entertaining and then a bit scary. The biggest bison starts to meander towards the road and then crosses the road-right in front of us. There is both the thrill of having a beast this big so close and the unnerving thought of, what will he do? He crosses the road, along with a friend, and peacefully munches on the grass and takes off.

Bison roaming

This leaves us with our quest for dinner. After all, this man will not live on bison sightings alone, no matter how wonderful it is. We start checking places on the Internet about what is open and what we want to eat, and particularly if there is take out. Fishing Bridge on Yellowstone Lake is closed for the season and so is the store at Lake Lodge. But there is something at Lake Village’s hotel which looks interesting. There is something. The main restaurant is sit down and looks crowded, but there is a deli. When we arrive, we find the deli has prepackaged sandwiches. But by this time, we think we cannot be too choosy. So that is what we buy. Then continue on down the road until we find a nice turn out overlooking the lake. While the food is just OK, the ambience of a setting sun and the colors on the lake is spectacular. Cannot ask for anything better.

Yellowstone Lake at sundown

The rest of the way back to camp at Colter Bay was in the dark. So really not too much of a reason to stop. By the time we got back it was closing in on 9:00pm and none of us were terribly ready to stay up. I read for a while in my sleeping bag before going off to slumberland.

Background

Geysers. The word comes from Geysir, which is a geyser in Iceland. a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Earth. From Wikipedia Also National Geographic has a page on geysers.

^*Apparently this is a crowded time. September 2021 was the busiest which Yellowstone and Old Faithful has been in September. This is following the busiest month ever of August 2021.

Extra Photo's