An Artistic Array of Bacteria, Indeed

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It’s hard to know what to expect as we approach the northeast entrance to Yellowstone. We’ve seen countless photos, watched the PBS documentaries, and even read a bit about the history and wildlife in anticipation of this leg of our trip, but what is one supposed to make of one of the most, if not the most, famous National Park? Should we stare in awe out our windows at the river running through the Lamar valley, set out on the backcountry trails in search of the red fox, wolves and other predators, grumble in annoyance at the tourist bottlenecks that clog the roadways every time a chipmunk scampers by? I suppose not having any preconceived expectations means we won’t be disappointed, but I suppose in a way, I expect to be wowed beyond anything I could expect. But not right now. Right now we’re on a mission and our objective is clear: secure a campsite in a first-come first-serve location during peak season, preferably a nice one with a view. While we are thrilled to be here, driving through the Lamar Valley and through the mountain passes, we can’t stop and admire much. We are on a mission and there is no time to waste.

When we do finally arrive at Norris Campground (nearing 2pm, so much for that 10:30 arrival!) it is nearly full, but we are happy with one of the few remaining sites and set up our home for the next few days. So much to see and do, but we’re exhausted from last nights journey over Bighorn Mountain in the dark without good brakes so on our first day, we’re just going to kick back, relax and take a nap.

Friday finds us energized and in good spirits. Even though I’d complained initially (and pouted a little afterwards) about the purchase of the “unnecessary” sleeping bag, even I have to admit that last night was the best night sleep we’ve gotten thus far and it is likely due in part to the fact that our toes stayed warm and we weren’t jostling with each other for cover (the other part is due to pure exhaustion). Since we’re camping in the Norris Basin area, we set out to discover the unique wonders that surround us before venturing further into the park. The smell of sulfur meets our nostrils a good ½ mile away from the thermal area so there is no question that this is the real deal. And just in case you find the smell of hot sulfuric acid inviting, signs have posted all over the geyser basins with hilariously necessary warnings instructing you not to jump right on in. Not only have they been translated into eight or so written languages, they’ve also been translated for the illiterate with pictures describing exactly what they say. So, when they say that thermal areas are hot and don’t step in them or they will burn and maim you, they show a picture of a teenage boy getting blown away by geyser steam as his camera flies up into the air. And when they say not to approach the buffalo because they will gore you, they show a picture of a tourist grabbing his behind after getting rammed by a bison as his camera flies up in the air. Yeah, everyone here has a camera...

Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest and most dynamic of Yellow’s hydrothermal areas. It lies at the intersection of three major faults: one running to the north, one running to the west and the third being the ring of the Yellowstone Caldera. One of the best decisions we made was to splurge and spend the 50 cents it costs to purchase the area trail guides. They’re available throughout the park at certain trailheads, but we found it to be a gamble to wait until we arrived to purchase them so we picked one up at the park bookstore. They detail most of the hydrothermal features in the area and definitely allowed us to learn about the processes and geologic significance of what we were seeing, rather than passively looking and taking pictures. After only 10 minutes on the boardwalk we saw our first eruption at Constant Geyser. It hard to describe the sound; it’s almost like a rumbling, roaring thunder followed by a splash and gurgle as the water drains back. It took us by surprise, but cemented the fact that we were actually here—this wasn’t just another documentary or photograph, we’re really seeing this first hand! Hearing the pressure release from underground and feeling the spray of water waft downwind…what a thrill!

Further down the boardwalk we moved into an area full of brilliant greens, oranges and yellow colors expressed thanks to the work of thermophilic bacteria and algaes. This is the perfect area for a biology field trip. In the cooler waters, below 133F (56C) thrive the emerald-green mats of cholophyll containing Cyanidium. In the slightly warmer waters at 140F (60C) live the chemotrophic bacteria and archaea that can metabolize and deposit iron. Finally in the hottest areas (140-180F, 60-82C) thrive the bacteria which converts hydrogen sulfide to sulfuric acid, probably a Sulfolobus bacteria, also responsible for the high acidity of the pools. Tons of research has been conducted on these microbes recently, and we can thank them for allowing us to process DNA at speeds immensely faster than before due in part to their ability to function at higher temperatures. Yep. It’s confirmed. We’re science geeks. There are a dozen or so other geysers and pools features at Norris Basin all having their own unique history and “personality.” Black Growler puffs bursts of steams continuously like an angry steam engine while Congress Pools silently reflects a turquoise hue. The world’s tallest active geyser, Steamboat, wasn’t up to the task of throwing water 300 feet high into the air, but it was spouting water nearly 30 feet at one point. Although many of the geysers can be predicted with some degree of accuracy, Steamboat remains entirely unpredictable.

The smell of sulfur eventually overpowered our desire to see these incredible features, so we took a quick break back at camp before driving to one of the more popular, and therefore crowded, areas of the park, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This is the first national park we've visited where we've had to drive a considerable distance to see all the sites. This is not helped by the fact that we arrived during the beginning of peak-season so traffic and parking are quickly becoming a nuisance on the 150 mile loop road which connects all the areas of the park. When we finally do get to the canyon we find that the trail we'd wanted to take to the viewpoint was closed. We'll do everything we can to avoid parking at the lookout points, and have found that the closer you get to the viewpoints the worse the congestion gets, again exacerbated by the sheer number of RV's and tourists jostling to get "the shot" before retreating back to their air-conditioned vehicles. We're hoping to avoid most of this by getting on the trails and walking as much as we can, but in a park so large, there's only so much we can do. The trail along the canyon rim is paved and relatively level giving visitors of all ages and physical abilities the opportunity to see the waterfall. I'm not complaining that this section of the park enables the disabled to see such beauty, but it does mean that people are everywhere, with their strollers and their canes and their stopping-in-the-middle-of-the-trail-suddenly-so-you-run-into-them slow moving-ness and to be honest it is rather irritating. It's very, very difficult to enjoy a masterpiece of nature with kids yelling and babies crying and elbows bumping you this way and that. We were therefore very excited when we came across a trail with the warning that "This trail is NOT recommended for people with heart conditions or other health conditions." With 300 steps down over a 500 ft drop, Uncle Tom's Trail offers a great vantage point of Lower Falls and, because of it's relatively strenuous nature, guarantees there won't be as many people at the lookout. Going down wasn't so bad, but going up we decided to challenge ourselves not to stop and take a break at one of the numerous occupied benches, but instead pace ourselves and train for our upcoming trek into Grand Canyon later this summer. I am proud to say we accomplished this feat! Although our quads and calves were burning, we did it and received many jealous weary smiles and nods from the people we passed on the way out! The view from the bottom was beautiful, and the sunlight caused rainbows to dance over the river below. The canyon itself has slowly been formed as the hydrothermically altered Rhyolite wears under the constant beating of the Yellowstone river. The original lava deposits are resistant to the weathering, creating both the upper and lower falls we see today. From Uncle Tom's Trail we walked up the road to Artist's Point, which is the spot from where the canyon is most frequently photographed. We can't necessarily agree that's it's the best vantage point, but it is incredibly easy to access. Ranger talks are also held on the platform and we listened in on one with mild interest--they would be great for children and adults with little geologic or science background but for us it was a little bland.

Everything up to this point had been going well, and then we hit a snag. How should we get back to the car? I wanted to take the Lily Pad Lake Trail and connect to the Clear Lake Trail back to the parking lot. We didn't have a very good map of the trail into the backcountry, so I didn't know how long it would be but I (incorrectly) guessed about 4 miles. Andras didn't want to venture into bear-country without some bear spray and thought it would be getting dark if the trail was that long. After standing on the trail and "discussing" which way to go, the clocked ticked away the very minutes we were arguing about. In the end, we took the Lily Pad Trail but it wasn't exactly what I would call a compromise. He was worried that we didn't have any protection from bears. I argued that if we just spoke to each other as we walked we'd scare all the bears away anyhow. Either there weren't any bears in the area to begin with, or our voices had scared them off because we didn't run into one. We did run up across a geothermal mudpot along-side the trail which Andras eagerly approached to look into. I warned him that we weren't supposed to get that close, and he countered that technically we weren't supposed to take backcountry trails without good maps either. Touché. With him worried about bears, and me worried he was going to fall into a mudpot it's a good thing the trail ended up being only 2 miles long, thereabouts. And, after all the discussion we had about our lack of preparation, we come across a man trying to push a baby stroller up the rut through the meadow in the direction we'd just come from. What are these people thinking!? Apparently we need to suggest a new sign to the Yellowstone Foundation that they can interpret creatively with a fancy warning about pushing strollers into areas where strollers clearly don't belong.

It's been an incredibly long day, but definitely worth it. Hopefully we'll sleep as well tonight.

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Photos

Thermophillic Bacterial Mats
The cooler run-off from Pinwheel geyser supports the green algae while the hotter run-off from Whirligig geyser provides a habitat for rust colored thermophiles.

Norris Geyser Basin
Beautiful colors thanks to thermophillic bacteria.

Congress Pond
It looks peaceful, but it's actually got a great deal of sulfuric acid inside.

Andras at Uncle Tom's Lookout
Lower-Falls in the background

Squirrel in Yellowstone
Yep, these little critters are here too.

Getting Ready
Another early morning at Norris Campground

Norris Geyser Basin
With the Gallatin Range in the backgroud

Andras and the Buffalo
This buffalo wandered into camp and sat down right beside our tent while we were relaxing after a long day. We left him alone, but there were soon dozens of other campers trying to get close and take his photo.