More Yellowstone beauty/Visit to West Yellowstone

One evening we took the Geyser Discovery Stroll with a Ranger around the Upper Geyser Basin which is near Old Faithful.  She was very interesting and informative. We learned lots about the geology of geysers including the fact that there are more geysers at Yellowstone than all around the world combined. We were fortunate to get to Grand Geyser, the world's tallest predictable geyser, just as it was about to go off which is about every 6 to 7 hours. It gave quite a show lasting for about 15 minutes and shooting to a height of 200 feet. It stopped and restarted three times much to the delight of the crowd. It reminded us of people watching fireworks with all the "ooohs" and "aaahs". We both decided that is is our favorite geyser of all the ones that we have seen. Notice how far it is above the trees.

We walked past many other geysers, pools, and hot springs, and the Ranger told us about many of them and how they interact. The last stop was Morning Glory hot springs named from the morning glory flower. Back in the day (1800's) it was a beautiful blue color, but unfortunately it was vandalized in the 1950's when visitors took pieces of it for souvenirs and used it as a wishing well. Although it has been cleaned out it has not recovered its original beauty.

Last weekend we decided to explore the Midway Geyser Basin, about ten miles north of us, and hike to Fairy Falls. The Grand Prismatic Spring, a 250 by 350 foot hot spring, is the main attraction there. It is the largest hot spring in the park and the third largest in the world. When we walked up to it on the boardwalk it was so steamy that it was hard to see the beautiful colors. But when we began our hike to Fairy Falls there was a hillside that we climbed to get a picture from above. It was a pretty rugged to climb so we didn't go to the top. I remembered the saying "what goes up must come down." We had out walking sticks for balance but it was still hard to maneuver. This picture doesn't show the brilliant blue that we saw. Those little spots on the other side are people on the boardwalk.

The hike to Fairy Falls was about five miles round trip. It was mostly flat with shady areas of lodgepole pines contrasting with open areas with flowers that we had not seen before. Fairy Falls is a delicate, 197 foot waterfall named for its graceful beauty. We enjoyed a picnic lunch while watching and listening to it.

 

 

 

I was quite exhausted by the time we finished, but recovered after resting a bit. It was well worth the effort.

 

On another day off we decided to visit West Yellowstone, MT which is a small tourist town about 30 miles away with a population of around 1500 just west of the west gate into Yellowstone. We have been repeatedly reminded by Larry that it quite often is the coldest spot in the nation. Fortunately when we visited it the temperature was in the mid 70's and it was sunny. In addition to the visitor center, hotels, gift shops, and restaurants there are several interesting attractions. The ones we chose to see were the IMAX theater and Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. At the IMAX theater we viewed "Yellowstone" which was a movie depicting the many facets of the park including the history, geology, wildlife and plant life. It brought the park to life on the BIG screen.

 

We then proceeded to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center. We arrived just in time to view the wolf feeding and hear an explanation of the four wolves that we were watching. This is McKinley who is the Alpha male of the pack.

 



 

And this is Leopold, McKinley's brother, who is the third ranking or Omega male on the pack. 

 

 

They paced around and shortly after they were fed they curled up and relaxed in the grass. It was fascinating watching them. Since we haven't seen a wolf in the park we were happy to see some even though they were in captivity.

 

After walking through the naturalist cabin and eagle aviary we stopped at the bear habitat where two bears, Grant and Roosevelt, were tromping around and playing with each other. They were brought to the park last fall when their mother was euthanized out of concerns for public safety. They were born in 2011 and weigh about 250 pounds. There were ravens all around them, and at one point one of the bears took off after one of them. It was funny to watch their antics. 

 

 

Before we left we watched a movie, "Living in Bear Country," which showed bears in the wilderness and the need to keep a safe distance away from them.

 

Since we still had time we decided to go back to the IMAX theater and see "Lewis and Clark" which was a story of their journey west and all the hardships that they encountered. It was amazing that only one person died on that trip. It makes me want to read and learn more about the Lewis and Clark trail. When we left the theater we noticed a snow coach beside the building. We had heard about tourists who come in winter when the roads are closed and are taken into the park on them. It looks like a fun way to travel in the snow but we won't be here to try it.

 

 

On our way back to Old Faithful we took a two mile road called Firehole Canyon Drive which is parallel to the main road but follows along the Firehole River. This is the area that is open to swimmers during August. The water is warm enough because the hot water from the springs and geysers flows into it. We saw swimmers enjoying it but didn't stop and go down to feel how warm it was. We did stop to see Firehole Falls, a 40 foot falls that was not spectacular but pretty in its own small way.

 

 

We worked four days this week, have three days off, work three days next week, and then we are finished for the season. We're beginning to get the RV ready for the trip and planning to visit a few places that we still want to see. Time has flown by so quickly, and we are somewhat sad that it is coming to an end.