Of all the places that I have seen so far, if there is one places that stands apart, it has to be the Yellowstone National Park. A trip to Yellowstone was on the cards for quite some time, but it didn't materialize until the long weekend of 4th July. Summer is the best time to visit Yellowstone, as all the roads are open for visitors. Although we placed reservations a month before, it was no surprise, that we didn't get a hotel inside the park. There is a mad rush of people to Yellowstone at this time of the year. Amongst other things, the park is famous for its geothermal features, verdant vegetation and majestic wildlife. In fact, the park is home to 2/3rd of the all the geysers on the planet.
We flew from Phoenix to Salt Lake and landed in SLC at about 7:30 PM. We then picked up a rental car from the airport and drove to our hotel, which was just about a mile from park's west entrance. The west entrance is strategically located and most visitors prefer this entrance. Profusely exhausted, we reached our hotel at 2:10 AM. Before crashing on the bed, the only thing, which we did was set an early morning alarm.
Day -1
The alarm woke us at 6:45 AM, and it appeared that we hardly had any sleep. Every bone and muscle in our body was resisting motion. I think all electrical signals in my brain were for "Do not wake up now". Defying all those signals, I got off the bed first, while Ankita enjoyed few more precious minutes of sleep. So, there we were, all set at 8:00 AM in the morning, ready to embark on our rendezvous with Yellowstone.
The entrance was hardly a mile from our hotel and we got there in no time. At the gate, along with the tickets, we were also handed a detailed map of the park. We had done our homework well, and had already decided on the places which we wanted to cover on the first day. The roads inside Yellowstone park are in the shape of number "8". So, basically there are two loops - the North loop and the South loop. We had decided to cover South loop on first day and the North loop on second day. On the third day, we will cover whatever we missed on the first two days.
Madison river flows parallel to the road for quite a distance, before it begins to meander. One can only see mountain, river and trees in this place. The beauty of the park can only be dealt in superlatives and metaphors. It is really difficult to focus on driving with such beautiful things around. Those images have been itched in our memory for ever. However, we didn't want to take any chance. So we stopped at a point and took some images in our camera as well. It was at this spot that we caught the first glimpse of wildlife in the park. Hardly at few meters from us, was a deer, relaxing in his territory. For onlookers like me, it was a great opportunity to see wildlife in natural habitat. Yellowstone is a photographer's paradise and this was just one of those many places which one would like to see through and capture in the lens.
The Madison junction is the point from where the north and south loop bifurcate. As planned, we took the diversion for the south loop. The first point was actually a loop which is called the Firehole drive. Firehole river flows through this section of the park. We stopped at the Firehole falls. It was one of the many waterfalls which we were to see in the next 2 days. Out next destination was the Fountain Flat drive. From the fountain flat drive, once can see vast expanse of greenery. Even from a distance, one can see steam emanating from the earth. The unfathomed beauty of this place left us spellbound and it surely a sight to cherish. At this point, we realised that we didn't have sufficient gasoline in our vehicle. Not certain whether there were any gas stations inside the park, we decided to go back to the park entrance. We filled gas and had lunch at a pizzeria just outside the west entrance. At about 1:30 PM, we then entered the park again to start from where we left.
After driving through fountain flat drive, we ran into a herd of bisons. We had never seen a bison earlier and I must say that these creatures are really huge. They can weight as much as 2000 - 2500 lbs and can grow up to 6 feet in height. There was a slight traffic jam at this place, because part of the herd was crossing the road. After working our way through the bisons, we reached Fountain Paint Pot. The Fountain Paint pot is located between lower and midway geyser basin. This place is famous for mud pots of different colors. Apart from brown, one can also see mud pots in red and yellow. The different colors are due to the oxidation states of iron in the mud. All through the park, there are broad walks on which visitors are supposed to walk. That is because the water here is so hot, that it can badly burn your skin and in some cases could even be fatal.
After driving through fountain flat drive, we ran into a herd of bisons. We had never seen a bison earlier and I must say that these creatures are really huge. They can weight as much as 2000 - 2500 lbs and can grow up to 6 feet in height. There was a slight traffic jam at this place, because part of the herd was crossing the road. After working our way through the bisons, we reached Fountain Paint Pot. The Fountain Paint pot is located between lower and midway geyser basin. This place is famous for mud pots of different colors. Apart from brown, one can also see mud pots in red and yellow. The different colors are due to the oxidation states of iron in the mud. All through the park, there are broad walks on which visitors are supposed to walk. That is because the water here is so hot, that it can badly burn your skin and in some cases could even be fatal.
Broadly, there are three different belts, where most of the geothermal activity in Yellowstone is concentrated - The Lower Geyser Basin, the Midway geyser basin and the Upper Geyser Basin. The Upper geyser basin is the most active belt. After Fountain Paint Pot, we moved towards Firehole Lake. The drive leading to Firehole lake is very beautiful. On the way to the Firehole lake is the 'Great Fountain Geyser'. The Great fountain geyser is the tallest geyser in the park with a maximum height of 220 feet. It is the only predictable geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin. It usually erupts once in every 12 hours. When we reached this place, the next eruption was due anytime in 2-6 hours. So we decided to move ahead. Before the Firehole lake, we also stopped at the 'White dome geyser'. As the name suggests, it is in the shape of a dome. There is a mushroom pool near the white dome geyser. A very important enzyme in molecular biology was first isolated in the mushroom pool. After seeing these two geysers, we then finally reached the Firehole lake. Though Firehole lake is not big, there are many active sections of geothermal features in this area. The lower geyser basin ends at the Firehole lake.
We then moved into the Midway Geyser Basin. The highlight of Midway Geyser basin is the Grand Prismatic Spring. Grand Prismatic spring is the largest spring in the United States and the third largest in the entire world. The spring is famous for its vivid colors, which is attributed to thermophiles. Thermophiles are bacteria which survive in extreme temperatures. These bacteria produce colors ranging from green to red. As one moves away from the center of the pool, the temperature of water decreases. Different bacteria survive in different sections of the pool, according to their temperature tolerance. Orange color is prominent in the periphery. The color of the water in the center of the pool is deep blue. Besides the Grand Prismatic spring, is the Excelsior geyser. Excelsior geyser was once the tallest geyser in the world. The geyser erupted as high as 300 feet till the late eighteen hundred. Frequent eruptions damaged its inner vent, and the geyser is dormant now. It last erupted in 1985.
It was already about 4:30 PM by this time and we were running slightly behind schedule. Next in our plan, was the famous Old Faithful geyser. The Old Faithful is known for its predictable eruptions. It erupts once about every hour. The time of next eruption depends on the height of previous eruption. By the time we reached Old Faithful, it had started drizzling. It was tough to find parking space in Old Faithful. From the parking lot, we could see the Old Faithful erupting. We ran towards the geyser, to get a closer look. After reaching a vantage point, we could see the eruption for about 10-15 seconds. Slightly dejected, we then went to the visitor center to check out the time for the next eruption. We were really surprised to learn that the sunset time that day was 9:10 PM. So, we decided to cover all other points till Lake village, and then come back to Old faithful in late evening. Before we left, we saw a small 15 minutes movie about the park in the visitor center. The movie was pretty informative. I bought a DVD about Yellowstone National Park and Ankita bought few souvenirs, after which we moved ahead.
We then set off to the Yellowstone Lake. The Yellowstone lake is the largest freshwater lake above 7000 feet in North America . For large part of the year, the lake is totally frozen. The mountains surrounding the lake still had some snow left. The drive along the lake led us to Lake Village. As soon as we entered Lake village, we spotted an Elk, which was hardly 10 meters from us. The unaware creature was nonchalantly grazing, as bevy of photographers were anxiously waiting for the most opportune moment. Lake village is in the northern part of Yellowstone lake. Words fail me in describing the beauty of Lake village. The verdure and serenity of this place left us spellbound. There are lots of cabins at this place and we were ruing our delay in booking an accommodation inside the park. We decided to go the extreme end of Lake village (Fishing Bridge), and then cover all the points while returning back. Surprisingly, fishing is not allowed from fishing bridge. In fact, it was allowed till some point in time, until it was discovered that overfishing in this place was actually depleting the cutthroat trout in the lake. We then started our way back towards West thumb. On the way we stopped at Bridge Bay. Bridge Bay is famous for boating activities. Cruises to the Yellowstone lake start from here. By the time we reached Bridge Bay, it was already late evening and all cruises had closed. We decided that if time permitted, we would come back to this place on the third day for boating.
Our last stop before Old Faithful was West Thumb. By the time we reached West Thumb, it has started to drizzle. There were very few people around. We hurriedly walked over the boardwalk in West Thumb and then headed back to Old Faithful. We reached Old Faithful at around 8:00 PM. The next due eruption was at 8:25 PM, so we were back on time. It was getting cold outside, so we decided to grab a cup of coffee in the Old Faithful Lodge. It was still drizzling, so we came out only when the eruption was about to start. The rain made it difficult to take any picture or video. Otherwise it truly was an amazing sight. Then at about 9:00 we started on our way back to the hotel.
Day -2
Norris Geyser Basin
On second day, it was Ankita's turn to get off the bed first. We started from our hotel at about 8:30 in the morning. Our plan today was to cover the north loop. From Madison junction, we took a diversion towards Norris. The drive to Norris was very beautiful and we were lucky again to catch a glimpse of a herd of deers on the way. The Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest thermal area in Yellowstone National Park. Our first stop in the Norris Geyser basin was at the Artist Paint Pot. We were slightly hesitant whether we should see this point because the trail is slightly longer and we had not yet reached the heart of Norris. In hindsight, we don't regret it now, because Artist Paint Pot probably has the best mud pots in the park. The summit of the Artist Paint Pot presents an amazing view of the park. Our gamble definitely paid off !
We then proceeded to the Norris geyser basin - visitor center. Basically there are two trails which start from the visitor center - Back Basin Trail and the The Porcelain Basin Trail . Both the trails are packed with geothermal features. Unlike the water in all other geyser basin in the park, the water in Norris Geyser basin is acidic in nature. As a result, different class of thermophiles survive in these conditions and so one can see different colors in Norris geyser basin water. We decided to cover the Back Basin Trail first. The Back Basin trail has a lot of colorful geysers and springs. Pearl geyser, Cistern Spring and Emerald spring are the notable ones. There were also lots of noisy steam vents in the back basin trail. One particular steam vent was so noisy that we felt that it could burst any moment. The world's tallest geyser, called the Steamboat geyser is present in the Back basin. Its major eruptions are not predictable, though small eruptions of about 10-15 meters are frequent. We happened to see one of these small eruptions. Steamboat's major eruption measure as high as 380 feet. After completing the back basin trail, we came back to the visitor center. We were a bit exhausted, because this trail was probably about a mile and the sun was right above us. To overcome our fatigue, we decided to spend some time in the visitor center. Learnt quite a few interesting things here, like there is a geyser in India too and that New Zealand is one of those few countries which harness geothermal energy to meet its energy needs. Rejuvenated, we set off for the porcelain basin trail. The porcelain basin trail is named for its milky white color of mineral saturated water. The white steamy landscape is punctuated with pools colored by minerals, bacteria and algae. The colorful water flowing alongside the boardwalk was a treat to the eyes. I have never seen so many colors (green, orange,yellow and blue) in one stream.
The Waterfalls
Next, we headed towards Canyon village. We stopped at the Canyon village visitor center, where we saw a short film about the wildlife at the park. By this time, we were really hungry too. The Potato wedge and macaroni and cheese which we ate here was probably the best we had ever eaten. With our stomach full, we were again raring to go. To say that geysers is all that Yellowstone is famous for would be an understatement. One just cant ignore the splendour of the majestic waterfalls and the amazing sights that one can see from some of the view points. We first went to the Upper Falls. Unlike the Lower falls, the brink of the Upper Falls was very close to the parking lot and so we decided to go all the way down. There is a bridge at the basement, which present a splendid view of the waterfall. The amount of water that gushes out and the noise that it makes is just mind boggling. Our next stop was Artist Point. The point presents a breathtaking view of the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. No camera or lens can do justice to the beauty of this place. One truly feels overwhelmed and humbled by the enormity of what mother nature has created here. There are few other points from where one can see the Lower Falls.
We then proceeded to the Tower Falls. The drive from Artist Point to Tower Falls is very scenic. There is vast expanse of lush green vegetation surrounded by mountains. At some places we also saw trees burnt down by forest fire. Of all the places where I have been to in the US, this is by far the best drive. Having just seen the majestic Lower Falls, I honestly didn't like the Tower Falls much. The hike to the brink was quite a walk. Unfortunately, when we were almost reaching the brink, we found that the visitors were prohibited to go beyond a certain point. Dejected, we sat there for some time to catch our breath, before we started our hike to the top. Just when we were reaching the top, we met the Indian family whom we had met in Norris. We told them our experience. They took out advise and took a U turn.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Our last destination for the day was Mammoth Hot Springs and it was already about 6:30 PM, by the time we go there. We weren't really sure whether we would be able to cover Mammoth Hot Springs. However from our first day's experience, we were hopeful that day light would be there for the next few hours. The park head quarters is located very close to Mammoth Hot Springs. When it was discovered, the Yellowstone was managed by U.S Army. The army maintained the park from Fort Yellowstone, which is just besides Mammoth Hot Springs. There are also some Army quarters in the vicinity. Eventually the army handed over the maintenance of the park to the NPS(National Park Service) in 1918.
Mammoth hot springs is a large hill of travertine (rock formed by precipitation of carbonate materials). It actually lies outside the caldera, but is fueled by the same energy sources, as are the other geothermal features of the park. Terrace mountain at the Mammoth is the largest known carbonate depositing spring in the world. The yellow and white staircase formation at the Terrace mountain was shimmering in the fading sunlight and presented a wonderful sight. There is another famous formation, called the Minerva Terrace. Due to a recent earthquake, the spring vent has shifted from Minerva terrace, making it parched. The boardwalk took us through Terrace mountain and Minerwa terrace before we reached the summit. It had started getting dark by then, so we decided to hurriedly cover the remaining part of Mammoth. The formations at the other side of Mammoth had more colors - red and green. This part would have surely been more beautiful during the day. Contended with what we saw, we started walking back to the parking lot. There was a restaurant close to the parking lot. We had dinner at the restaurant and then we started driving back to the hotel. On our way back, we realised that the road from Norris to Madison will be closed after 10.00 PM for construction. So, there I was, speeding at 65 miles per hr in a 35 miles zone. All the effort paid off and we reached Norris at about 9:55 PM. Yellowstone is surely a paradise for geologists. Driving back to the hotel, I was wondering how much Papa would have enjoyed seeing all this.
Day -3
Third day was basically a reserve day. We had decided to cover all that we couldn't on the first 2 days. Our flight from SLC was at 8:30 PM. So, we decided that we would leave the park at 2:00 PM. There were some scenic points near the park entrance which we had not stopped by on the first 2 days. So, we stopped at those points and took some snaps. Then there were some points in the Upper Geyser basin which we had not seen on the earlier two days.
The first one was the Biscuit Basin. Biscuit Basin contains many small geothermal features. The prominent ones were Sapphire pool, Black Opal pool, Black Pearl geyser, Shell geyser and Jewel geyser. To me Sapphire Pool was the most impressive. The water in the pool is crystal clear and the color resembles that of an oriental sapphire. As the Biscuit Basin is in the Upper Geyser Basin, the geysers were very active and there were frequent eruptions.
After the Biscuit Basin, we went to the Black Sand Basin. The Black Sand Basin is called so because of small patches of black obsidian sand found here. The Black Sand basin mostly has geysers and colorful hot springs. The most famous hot spring here is the Emerald Pool. The pool is emerald green in colour and is surrounded by yellow and orange ring. There is another pool called the Rainbow pool which is called so because the edge of the pool displays all the 7 colors of rainbow. There is yet another pool called the Sunset Lake. The lake has yellow and orange edges becasue of the bacteria and algae that thrive here. Cliff and Spouter geyser are the famous geysers in the black sand basin. The Cliff geyser reaches a height of about 40 feet. We were lucky to see eruptions of both Cliff and Spouter geyser.
Having seen the black sand basin, we then went to the Old Faithful. The next eruption was due in about 20 mins. So we went inside one the restraunts and grabbed some stuff to satiate our apetite. It started drizzling, just about 10 mins before eruption. We decided that we will endure the rain, but have a closer look at the Old Faithful eruption. So we came out and sat on the bench on the boardwalk. With us, there would be perhaps another 400-500 people at the Old Faithful, eagarly waiting for it to erupt. Its definitely worth seeing the eruption up close.
By the time we started from Old Faithful to SLC airport, it was already about 1:30 PM. Our trip had come to an end. We really had an amazing trip. Yellowstone has so much to offer to its visitors - enormous geysers, colorful springs and pools, active mudpots and fumaroles, thunderous waterfalls, abundant wild life. One is truely humbled by the enormity of mother nature in the Yellowstone and the vast variety and abundance of ecosystem in the park. Its truely a different world inside the park !! As we drove back, we talked about all that we had seen in the past 3 days. It was surely a trip which we would remember for a long time.
