dare2go

Yellowstone Natl. Park


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We headed north again, along the edge of Yellowstone Lake and then followed the Yellowstone River to the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone". On the way we saw the largest herd of Bison we had seen so far, in the Hayden Valley. They seemed to be on every piece of land as far as the eye could see. Two bulls gave us a performance of testosterone-induced head-butting until they seemed to get bored with it and just sat down and glowered at each other.
The "Grand Canyon" was once again one of those sights that go to the top of the 'wow-factor' list. It is just stunning. I will run out of expressive superlatives and start repeating myself if I really try to describe it. Glacial activity formed the present canyon of the Yellowstone River, although the volcanic eruption, which formed the giant caldera of the Yellowstone Park, played its part also. The view from the rim looks just like a painting. Our first stop was at Artist Point on the south rim which gives an amazing view of the lower falls and also the depth of the canyon. The walls of the canyon are an incredible variety of colours, and are caused by volcanic activity. Puffs of steam appear at odd places on the walls and mark hydrothermal features, which are still taking part in shaping the canyon.
After totally immersing ourselves in the view from the southern rim of the canyon we drove to the northern rim. To reach this area there is a one-way road from Canyon Village and the first overlook is called Inspiration Point. I thought I was overawed by the views from Artist Point, but there was still some room for more 'inspiration'. There was a little more sunshine while we were there, which brings out the colours of the canyon walls even more. Then it started to rain and we raced to the truck, only to look back and see a rainbow had formed over the canyon - more photos had to be taken. We also made a stop at Grand View. By then the sun was out again and Juergen managed to get some really fine shots before the cloud cover reasserted itself. This truly is a Grand Canyon.
We spent the night at Norris Campground and woke to snow again. This time it was staying on the ground and falling in large fluffy flakes. I love to see snow, and am always totally awed by it. Juergen, who grew up with it, finds it less appealing. We agree to disagree about its merits! As we drove out, the snow began to melt into slush and the sky was starting to clear. We stopped to photograph a smallish bull elk just outside the campground and then proceeded in the direction of Mammoth Hot Springs on our way out of the Park.
We made a stop at Roaring Mountain, so-named because in the 1800s the fumaroles made such a noise that it could be heard 4 miles away at Obsidian Cliffs! Just outside Mammoth Hot Springs there exists yet another amazing product of the volcanic activity - the Terraces. There is another one-way loop drive around the upper terraces, where we could stop and observe different formations closely. And then you can access the lower terraces on boardwalks from the main road. This terrace-type formation only exists in one other place in the world - Pamukkale, in Turkey. Some of you may be interested to know that a similar formation existed in New Zealand until it was destroyed in 1886 by a volcanic eruption. The sights in Yellowstone NP are amazing - sorry, but this is the only word for it. I am really pleased that we decided to come here - the experience in New Zealand shows just how temporary these places can be.
We went into Mammoth Hot Springs to ask some questions at the Visitors Centre, and spotted a herd of elk in one of the parks there - a big bull with his harem! Now we have seen plenty of females! From there we left the Park and drove up to Billings, once again in Montana, to deal with some things that needed doing. We hope to get back to Yellowstone if the weather improves in the next few days. The snow had closed Beartooth Highway, which would be the most direct route in from Billings, and it is supposed to be one of the most scenic highways around. If it opens again, we will try to drive back to Yellowstone and then head east through Wyoming.

Thursday, 28 September 2006, Cody, WY
We finally left Billings yesterday at about lunchtime and headed back to Yellowstone NP. The Beartooth Highway had been re-opened on Monday so we could fulfil our wish to drive that scenic road. I read somewhere that it is the most beautiful road in the States - well, I am inclined to agree after travelling it. It climbs up and up and you think you've reached the highest point and then it goes up a bit further. And finally you are driving at over 10000 feet and seem to be right up there amongst the other mountains. We thought we had driven the "Top of the World Highway" from Alaska into the Yukon, but I think this one deserves that name even more. It was so beautiful up there with all the fresh snow lying about, and the weather was so sunny and clear. This certainly rates near the top of the list of the best things we have done so far.
When we finally came a little down to earth and started looking for somewhere to spend the night, we were very disappointed to discover that all of the campgrounds in the Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests, that we were driving through, were already closed for the season. We ended up staying at a picnic site which had a sign clearly stating no overnight camping. But what to do if there are no available campsites? We actually spent a really restful night there as there was little passing traffic and nobody else around.
Entering Yellowstone through its Northeast Gate, we were travelling over unfamiliar ground. Once again we were astonished at the wildlife we were able to see. There were of course many of the now familiar bison, but we also saw a herd of Pronghorn, and when we were almost at the intersection at Tower-Roosevelt, we were able to watch a coyote for quite some time at fairly close quarters. When we stopped to see what others were looking at we thought it may have been a wolf, but some friendly Americans explained the difference to me - I told them I was just as happy to see a coyote, as we have neither coyotes nor wolves at home!
We drove a little north of Tower-Roosevelt to see the Petrified tree. We have visited the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, but were particularly interested in this one because it was still standing. It was not possible to see if it contained some of the amazing colours we had seen in the petrified wood in Arizona, but it was still an impressive sight. Our next stop was Tower Falls - a nice waterfall, but not the most amazing I've seen so far.
We drove on over the Dunraven Pass and into Canyon Village. This road had been closed for repairs for a couple of years and several people had told me it was a worthwhile drive. The scenery was really nice - enjoyable but not mind-blowing! However, we did see a bear (bear sighting number 18!) - it was quite close to the road and both sides of the road were full of stopped vehicles. All we could do was drive by and have a quick look out of the window. It was a large black bear and I guess he was after the seeds of a pine cone which is the favourite food of the bears at this time of year.
At Canyon we decided to go and take another look at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The weather was so clear and sunny, that we thought we might get some better shots than we had last week when it was so overcast. It is still a favourite sight of mine and I was happy to experience it again. We also stopped and looked at the Upper Falls this time, which we hadn't seen last week. The views from Artist Point were every bit as stunning, the full sunshine just adding an extra element to the overall impression. Not long after leaving the canyon we saw another crowd of people watching - this time over the other side of the Yellowstone River. It was another black bear feeding on the pinecones. We just managed to park and get out of the car as he decided to head deeper into the forest - but bear sighting number 19 he is.
We drove on to Fishing Bridge and then out of the park via the road works and then the east entrance. It had been a full day again in this magnificent national park and we had been rewarded with some amazing natural wonders, including more volcanic activity along the way, as well as many wildlife sightings. Besides the two bears there were actually two coyotes, a bull elk and about six females in his harem, many ducks and other water birds on the numerous lakes we passed, pronghorns (although not as many as we had seen on our Sunday excursion from Billings - another chapter, which will open in a new browser window), and many, many bison. It is really great that we decided to visit this park, although there were times when we had considered bypassing it.