Incredible Yellowstone

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Sun and warm winds greeted us this morning for our 1st day in Yellowstone. Well almost - Beartooth Pass was closed because of snow, ice and heavy fog - so no 3 billion year old rocks for Richard to collect today.. Instead we visited two amazing sights: Mammoth Hot Springs and the Yellowstone River Canyon at Artists Point.

First we had to get past the park gates and a grumpy park warden taking his 1,000,000 entry fee for the season. The Golden Age Pass that I got while in Alaska in 2004 did not fool this warden. He was wise to the disconnect between the USA pass and the Canadian driver license. Full fee of $25 for 7 days was his final word.

Mammoth is just a few km from our base camp at Gardiner. Banff could learn from Mammoth. Elk rule here and park custodians stand protecting them from close up photo ops. A large bull and 10 females rest on the lawn in front of the post office - and its rutting season so the bull attacks any car trying to copulate with his harem. Unfortunately my video camera wasn't handy when a jeep took a hit in the grill from his huge rack.

We did a walking tour of the hot springs on the board walk. It climbs around and over the cascading water falls which constantly steam and deposit white lime in ever growing layers. There were just a few hundred like us and we could only image a summer weekend on this boardwalk - like waiting for a ride at Disney Land.

Then we drove around the north east side of the park, through beautiful alpine meadows and over a 2,500 metre pass to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This unbelievable spot is in the middle of the 50 km diameter ancient volcano caldera. Yellowstone Lake in the caldera drains into a large river which has cut a 200 metre canyon thru the volcanic debris. The side walls are streaked ribbons of pink, orange, green, brown and snow white. The large crowds jockey for the best spots to do their digital pics and videos of the amazing site. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery - even after seeing many rivers, canyons, falls and trails, this spot ranks among the very best.

Tomorrow Richard collects his 3 billion year old rocks from Beartooth pass north east of the park.

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Photos

Gardiner Montana
Our home for three days to explore Northern Yellowstone.

Bison
We saw lots of buffalo, but this one was nice and close - but not too close.

Yellowstone Canyon from Artist Point
This one was my favourite.

Big Sky Country
Anyone for a hike beyond the sign?

More Big Sky Country
Late afternoon wildlife spotting. Mostly buffalo this time.

Comments

[Joyce]

sign
What did the sign say? The photo is too small or my eyes are too old to make out the fine print.

[KaylaRichard]

What did the sign say?
Area beyond this sign closed. Bear management area. It was prime grizzly territory.