Yellowstone 9/3/10-9/5/10

Paige and Mike in Yellowstone

What to do with a four day weekend? Well back in September we chose to go to Yellowstone. Only a five hour drive from where we live and it being an epic adventure vacation for anyone in the United States because of its popularity, it was an easy decision for both of us. We actually saw everything in two days and drove back on the third. It wasn’t that it was boring or we skipped things either. Basically it’s such a tourist place that you didn’t really have to hike or find things so everything was quick and easy to get through. We even stopped at places we hadn’t planned on going. Every little place was not on our agenda both because we had looked over maps beforehand and as we were driving through. One other problem is that the park is outlined in a big circle drive, so you don’t camp in one spot and go back to that spot because it would be a lot of backtracking. The park is located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.  So it was not the best time to go on Labor day weekend because campsites filled up quickly every day. There are cheaper campsites with the bare minimum and other sites with more luxuries that cost more. One thing is for sure, you can not park and camp outside of a campground anywhere in Yellowstone. They want your money. Haha! But it is the first National Park that opened up in America, in 1872, and they have a lot of really cool natural formations that they are hoping to share with everyone for quite awhile, so you can’t blame them too much.

hot paint pot

hot paint pot

hot stream

We started out early on Friday, the third, and by the time we made it to the entrance of the park on the Wyoming side, many people were there taking pics of the entrance sign, so we decided not to stop.  When we first got into the park, there was a beautiful lake in front of a mountain. The water was so clear you could see right through to the waving seaweed underneath. Stepping in the water was a little colder than I was expecting but it was beautiful nonetheless. Since it was the time of the year that does not rain very much and all of the snow water had barely made it through the hot summer, there was not as much water at all of the attractions. The paint pots pictures on the internet had tons of water gleaming from all of the parts along the trail, but when we were there, most of it was a trickle. It actually made some of the areas look better in my opinion. The big premise of Yellowstone is that it is on a big “hotspot” that makes most all of the water or openings in the ground have hot water coming out of them or bubbling out. There are signs everywhere that the temperature of the water can be up to boiling, so no one should ever touch it. Also, signs of how different formations have changed over time were very interesting to read. For instance Jupiter’s Cycle showed how once the trees & flowers were flourishing until the hot water came down the mountain and all of the flowers & trees died. Now the hot water spring has stopped and been dormant since 1998 so eventually flowers & trees will grow back again. The rock that was the last spot where the water was trickling is white. We also saw a petrified tree that had a sign of a picture of a guy with it in like the 1920’s and it looks exactly like it did then.  There was a waterfall that we had a short walk to and then could see from a distance away. It was actually flowing really well.

Mike



Paige



By the time we finally found a campsite available for Friday night, it was late and we were way tired. We planned on getting up early for the next day to be jam-packed. So that’s what we did. It was probably the coldest that I have ever camped in at night before. But of course, Mike has camped in freezing temps with snow on the ground. Our tent was soaked in the morning from our hot breath against the cold of outside. We had to wipe down our tent before packing up. The ground also had a lot more dew than we expected and it was much harder to make a fire in the morning. Good thing we packed milk and cereal ;). The tent we used on this trip was the one that goes in the back of Mike’s truck since we would be packing up everyday anyways. We got several comments in the campgrounds about how others (even people with RVs) liked it. It definitely has been useful on trips that we aren’t sure how the ground is going to be and it is pretty comfortable with the futon mattress. No pictures of it this trip because every day after we finally found a campsite and set it up it was dark and we left out early in the morning as well.

Jupiter's Cycle sign

 


part of Jupiter's Cycle





Paige at the Mud Volcano area



Being early in the morning that we started out, the smoke from the hot water hitting the cool air was more apparent than ever. So at the mud volcano area, there was lots of smoke off of the areas of hot water and bubbling mud, but it smelled like rotten eggs even worst too. I had seen the Dragon’s Mouth hot spring in pictures online and definitely wanted to check it out. The smoke was too much so we actually visited it again a little later in the day for better pictures. The area was called mud volcano and there were mud geysers everywhere. You could hear them bubbling as you get closer, and then see the spots where the water comes up.

Eating lunch with the Buffalo

All over the areas in Yellowstone there are signs to avoid all wild animals because you never know what they will do. They have pictures of Buffalo goring people and Elk chasing people and Bears ravaging people. So when a herd of at least 50 Buffalo came through our campsite we got a little nervous. I was actually in the bathroom at the time & could hear grunting and rummaging, like it was a big animal. And it was! I looked out the window and there they all were. I snuck past and let Mike know they were coming. Haha! They didn’t even pay attention to us and kept moving through our campsite well into the evening. There were lots of times that Buffalo would be walking down the middle of the road with the cars, seemingly unaware. But we never saw bears…and we saw one elk and several deer. We even ate lunch with a buffalo right behind us.

Dragon's Mouth

Mud Volcano area

Hot pools were everywhere as well, which actually was really pretty and you can see the steam coming from the top of it. We really wished we could touch them, though, to really see how hot they are. But we were good this trip ;).



Mike & Paige at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Yellowstone has what is called The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I have never been to the Grand Canyon (yet, anyways), but I have heard its basically a big crater. So it was a big canyon with a river flowing down the middle, and a couple of waterfalls along the way. There were lookout points that you can walk to. And there was even a huge staircase to walk down (and up) to get a closer view of the waterfall. Besides being on the opposite side of the rim of the stair case, we really did not feel like walking up and down that many stairs. We did however walk along the path by the rim. We saw deer in the forest and was able to look at more viewpoints. It was really beautiful. You can even see some “hot spots” on the wall of the canyon. I wonder if the water in the river and waterfall is warm.

Mike at the waterfall in Yellowstone Grand Canyon





Paige

The last place of the day was, of course, Old Faithful. This was the biggest visitor center and by far the most people we had seen on the whole trip. Mike and I decided that a lot of people come in to the park just to see Old Faithful and that’s it. It’s probably true, looking at all the people and the increased learning center. It was really magical seeing the geyser that everyone in the world has heard about but not everyone has seen in person. They had a countdown to when the expected time is for it to “blow” again. The whole premise about Old Faithful is that it is mostly predictable of when it will go again, and that it will go, and they can usually predict how long it will go for. So the hot water builds up pressure under the ground and then squirts out in to an amazingly high geyser, usually for 3-5 minutes. When we saw it, we got the full 5 minute view. There were actual benches at this viewpoint and a lot, a lot of people! Haha! It starts out small and then really gets height and then just goes and goes and goes. Its breathtaking really, to experience something you have only seen pictures of, and heard about as an epic adventure to see in person.









Old Faithful staring up



Old Faithful at its peak height for our time watching it!

At the Old Faithful location there is a walkway to other geysers. They aren’t as faithful or epically popular but they are really cool to see. Not every day do you see water exploding out of the ground as a natural formation and have been there for a long time.

Geyser

Mike & Paige in front of the geyser

We could not find a camping spot in the park for the night so we decided to head out of the park and check a local town. The camping places were not much to choose from and most were full. The only one we found available was KOA. It was my first time camping in a KOA, and lets just say you spend way too much money, no matter what you get. Camping is supposed to be a primitive hobby, not a luxury away from home. We did walk around and saw a lot of campers and RVs, though.





I know I definitely loved Yellowstone and recommend it to everyone to see before you can’t anymore.