Trail head: Colter Bay Campground
Hike Info:
Type: Car
Mileage: 183 miles
Description:
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Lingering cloud over Jackson Lake
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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.
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Andrea and Lawrence at the boundary
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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.
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Lewis Creek
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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
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Old Faithful
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.
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.
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Firehole River
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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.
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Looking back towards Old Faithful
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Yellowstone Lodge
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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.
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Steaming Streamings from Midway
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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
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Excelsior Geyser
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.
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.
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White Geyser
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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
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Gibbon Falls
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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.
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Yellowstone Canyon
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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.
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Bison roaming
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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.
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Yellowstone Lake at sundown
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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.
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Castle Geyser
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TwinGeyser
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Twin Geysers
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Bison resting by Yellowstone Lodge
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Old Faithful
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Old Faithful
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Firehole River
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Andrea and the tour bus
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Gary and Sherri and the Yellowstone sign
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Old Faithful
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Old Faithful
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Colored mud
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Wonder who stepped in
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Yellowstone Lodge
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Twin Geysers
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Firehole River
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| Sawmill Geyser |
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Crested Pool
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Old Faithful
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| Steaming Streams from Midway Basin Geysers into the Firehole River |
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Steaming Streams from Midway Basin Geysers into the Firehole River
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| Excelsior Pool |
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Excelsior Pool
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Firehole Geyser
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Firehole Geyser
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Gibbon Falls
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Yellowstone Canyon
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Upper Yellowstone Falls
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Yellowstone Canyon
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| Bison |
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Upper Yellowstone Falls
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Animals
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| Bison |
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| Bison |
