August 23, 2010

Yellowstone National Park

68 Sunny

Day 93

After a day of cold and rain, today we are touring Yellowstone National Park.The temperature is in the low 60's, but it's very sunny.We have chosen to travel a 95-mile circle around the inside of the park.We are roughly following the rim of a huge caldera.Inside the caldera the magma is still close to the surface.

Our first stop is Lower Geyser Basin.We stop on the way to take some photos of Buffalo resting by the road.What great beasts they are.Imagine an animal as big as your car!Lower Geyser Basin and Biscuit Basin were wonders of geothermal activity.We saw mud pots, boiling like bubbling pudding.We saw sulphur-smelling vents called fumaroles that hissed as they spewed forth steam.We also saw colorful hot springs, their water clear and at a rolling boil.Of course there were geysers.

Old Faithful was our next stop.We found out Old Faithful is not quite as dependable as it used to be.It used to be more predictable.Now it erupts every 90 minutes within 15 minutes.It was 15 minutes late when we watched.It was a grand sight.The water shot up 100 feet in the air.

We notice as we drive around the park large burned areas.A fire in 1988 burned these areas.

Right before Craig Pass we cross the Continental Divide.It meanders around Yellowstone and we will cross it again on our drive.

We drive around the northwest shoreline of Yellowstone Lake.The lake is at 7733 feet above sea level, and is 430 feet deep. Yellowstone Lake is North America's largest mountain lake.It was strange to see such a lovely lake and no swimmers.I'm told swimming is discouraged due to the temperature of the lake.The temperature never gets above 60 degrees…brrrrrr!As we drove we saw many hot springs and fumaroles (steam vents) dotting the shoreline.

We turn north after Yellowstone Lake and travel along the Yellowstone River.We see many of the parks resident animals.Wild Buffalo are everywhere.They seem to take a little heed of the people or cars.The elk and deer graze and rest comfortably in the fields.We even got to see a grizzly bear roaming a hill across the river.

After following the river we start to climb.We visit the upper falls.It is a short walk to the falls.The Yellowstone River drops 109 feet over the edge of the falls.It is a spectacular sight.

We continue to climb to 7500 feet.The altitude here takes your breath away.We cannot walk as far or as fast as we are used to without becoming winded.

As we make our decent and complete our circle of Yellowstone we follow the road down the mountains.The views of the valleys that lie below are wonderful.The road is under construction.Most of the guardrails are being replaced with beautifully crafted stone walls.

Yellowstone seems well organized.Sight seeing is easy without compromising the wilderness areas.

As we head back to the Blue Beast we are thinking of Abbie.She has been with a dog sitter today, and we are anxious to see her.

We talk about the wonders of Yellowstone National Park.We are so glad that we included this stop on our trek.Yellowstone is so unique; we wish everyone could get to see it.

It was beautiful!