Yellowstone National Park

Finally...the motherland of National Parks! I feel like I've finally graduated to the upper echelons of National Park visitors. Yellowstone was the first land protected by the U.S. government (est. 1872) for the "benefit and enjoyment of the people". And enjoy it we did.

We started out by getting our backcountry permits and visiting a few road side hydrothermal features, wildlife, and waterfalls. It was too late when we got to our trailhead to hike in that night, so we slept in the GD until the next morning, when we embarked on our two day backcountry hike. After emerging from the trail the next day, we did the typical Yellowstone-by-car route to see the hydrothermal events.

Documentary director Ken Burns is right; the national park system is undoubtedly one of America's best ideas. Below you will find visual evidence supporting this statement.














Yup...another park sign to put on our "life list" board!















Unlike us, the Green Dragon was loving the snow. Good thing because, in much of the park, snow cover was the norm. Like most of the country, the weather this winter was unusual in that they got a lot more snow than is typical. Because of that, our backcountry hiking options were limited to the northern part of the park due to the lower elevation and warmer temperatures.















Sweet waterfall picture in front of Lower Falls.



















The Yellowstone River winds its way through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.















There really isn't anything cuter than a baby bison. Spring is calving season, so there were baby bison everywhere. It was amazing to see the bison roaming the plains and imagine what it was like back before the white people almost drove them to extinction. Before the reintroduction program initiated by YNP, there were only 23 identified bison in the entire Greater Yellowstone area.















Teetering on the edge of doom at Mammoth Hot Springs. Part of what makes Yellowstone so special is that it is the only place in the world to have all 4 kinds of hydrothermal activity: mudpots, geysers, hot springs, and steam vents. Although they are all caused by pretty different processes, they all occur because YNP sits right on top of a hot spot, an area where the mantle of the earth is very close to the crust bringing with it of course lots of heat. Heat causes conduction, convection, pressure build up, etc. Add gases, fissures, and groundwater and you've got a perfect recipe for some sweet hydrothermal action. And for some very uncouth noises: burps, belches, plops, hisses, and the noise of gas exiting a small hole (I think you get the idea).















On our backcountry hike into Blacktail Creek. We slept in the Green Dragon the night before to hit the trail early. Luckily, it gets light around 5:00 a.m. so it's not hard to get up early. We were instantly greeted by a bison herd, lots of gophers, and a few elk in the open rolling hills before descending into the Blacktail Creek valley and eventually into our site next to the Yellowstone River. We then set up camp, grabbed our day pack and set out on a 10 mile day hike up the Yellowstone River Valley.















Mike on our hike a little further down the Blacktail Creek before we decsended into the Yellowstone River Valley. It was only 5 miles to our campsite from the trailhead, but he's a champ and carrying most of the weight since my knee is not fully cooperating. These hikes have been the perfect artistic inspiration and training ground for the creation, improvement, and utilization of our bear songs. Let me tell you, these songs are pure gold. I'm thinking of recording all of them and selling them for people who need more creative inspiration on the trail besides clapping and saying "Hey bear!" Boring.















It's not a tumor! The elk and moose lose their antlers in the spring before growing them back during the summer in time for rutting season (when they play their male games of butting heads and antler wrestling to determine who will reign over a harem of female ungulates). Because there are so many elk in the park, the antlers are common. I thought I had a lot of weight on my head with my huge brain and long thick hair, but the moose antlers can weigh up to 50 lbs per antler!















Our backcountry site was near this alpine lake, Crevice Lake. We attempted some dusk animal watching at the lake, to no avail.















On our day hike we strumbled across this awesome rock outcrop higher up the side of the Yellowstone River Valley and proceeded to take a nap.



















Mike makes fun of me, but I absolutely love looking at National Park lodges. Their architectural style amazes me and is different than any other buildings I've ever seen. The Old Yellowstone Lodge was built in 1904 entirely of lodgepole pine harvested near the location. There are 5 stories, with a crows nest up at the very top where an orchestra used to play while people danced in the lobby below. How romantic is that?



















Old Faithful geyser is serious business for the YNP. There are hundreds and hundreds people anxiously awaiting this explosive action every 90 minutes. The parking was worse than downtown Austin. We happened to see it twice and it was pretty neat, but I was mostly impressed with the consistency of the timing between eruptions. There was a much more impressive geyser going off in eyesight (Riverside?) that looked taller and was much longer.















Opal Pool at Midway Geyer Basin. We saw Grand Prismatic Spring too, the huge one that is often shown from above because of its awesome colors, but it was too steamy to see much of anything except glimpses of color. The brilliant colors around the springs are due to thermophiles (oranges, pinks, and reds), algaes (greens and blues), and deposited sulpher (yellows). Add to that the blue from the water and you've got a pretty amazing color spectrum.















DOUBLE RAINBOW! Right over our campsite the last night in Yellowstone, at Mammoth.



















The original stone entrance at the North entrance to the park. It reads "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people".

We're off to Calgary, Alberta tonight to stay with an ultimate friend for the night before heading off on the Alcan for 3 days of solid driving to Alaska! Looking forward to a shower (we haven't showered in 5 days!) and washing clothes as well as a comfy warm bed.

Cara