YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

When we first decided to come back over here we hadn’t really intended to go as far as Yellowstone but boy are we glad we made the effort. Our morning began with suiting up. The snowmobile hire group provide all the gear you need for $15 including suit, shoes, helmet etc. so it was good not to have had to go and spend lots of money on gear we might never need again. Next was the briefing with Gaylon, our guide from Texas. He explained how the machines worked and what to expect and it turned out he did a good job as we all got back in one piece – although one of the girls had a minor mishap when she ran off the road.

 

John and I were both rather excited as we headed out of West Yellowstone and into the west entrance to the park. We made a brief stop at the park entrance for photos and Gaylon to show all our park passes – these cost an additional $35 per couple. We had bought an annual pass in 2008 for about $100 which is more economical if you are here for an extended time and intend to visit 3 or more National Parks. Entry to State Parks is not covered by this one though so you have to pay for entry to them separately.

In winter, most of the roads in Yellowstone are closed, but they do keep a few open on the northern and western sides of the park and only licensed operators are allowed to use them and they must stay on the roads. However, outside the park in Idaho and Montana there are miles of trails both groomed and ungroomed, which can be used by the public for snowmobiling and Nordic skiing etc.

 

The first leg of our trip followed the Madison River and it wasn’t long before Gaylon stopped for us to see a coyote stalking a bobcat would you believe. The bobcat was up in a pine tree and the coyote was sitting at the foot of the tree just waiting and hoping Mr Bobcat would come down. It was a real hoot to see them both at one spot. We continued along the Madison and it wasn’t long until we spotted some elk nestled down in the snow beside the river, getting out of the wind and enjoying the intermittent sunshine.

A little further along, we encountered our first buffalo and we were stoked to see them quite close to the road but on the other side of the river.

The tiny little black dot you can see on the opposite bank right at the top left of the picture is a coyote we spotted.

 

After a brief comfort stop, where we caught up with one of the many snow buses which frequent the park, we continued to Madison Junction where the Madison meets the Gibben River.

 

Here we turned south and followed the Firehole River through some quite spectacular gorge country. Highlight of this leg of the journey was Firehole Falls, although the whole of the gorge is really impressive.

Firehole River

 


Firehole Falls

Next it was full on to the Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful so we would get there on time to see the next eruption of the geyser. In 2008 John and I had just ridden in when it went up so we had only seen it from a distance. We didn’t want to hang around for another 90 minutes so we missed out then. It certainly was a thrill to see it this time.

Old Faithful at ease.

Then up it goes!

 

We then had a nice lunch at the local café before heading back the way we had come as this was as far as the road was open.



One of the more vintage style snow buses.



This is one of the older buildings at the Upper Geyser Basin.
Looks really interesting but appeared to be all closed up.

Of course you have to expect to share a place as awesome as Yellowstone.

We passed back through the Midway Geyser Basin where we saw lots more bison taking advantage of the warmth provided by the hot springs etc.

 

Even the Canada geese like the thermal areas.

We took our time and visited a diverse thermal spot in the Lower Geyser Basin which has several different volcanic features as explained to us by Gaylon as we went. Here we viewed the four types of hydrothermal features: geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. It was quite awe-inspiring to learn of the size and potential power of the volcanic caldera which forms Yellowstone. The most striking feature for me here was Silex Spring which is a beautiful turquoise thermal pool of surrounded by various colours formed by different mineral interactions. The sun wasn’t out while we were there so our photos didn’t do it justice but there are lots of photos available which show its true beauty. You can learn more about this area at: http://www.everytrail.com/guide/fountain-paint-pot-yellowstone-national-park

 

Silex Spring

 

 


Yes that's bison poo under that snow. They frequent this area as well.

 

 

They even named a pool after Chris' family - (Leather is her maiden name)

 

 

I was pleased to see a few bird species in the park including Canada geese, mallards, golden eyed ducks, a mute swan and a magnificent bald eagle.

Everywhere you look there are beautiful scenes to photograph.

 

Further on we encountered more bison, coyotes and elk wandering beside the river. Gaylon explained that there are some people who claim the tourism activities in the park are detrimental to the wildlife but from what we saw, the animals couldn’t have cared less about us. They just went about their business as though we weren’t there.

 

This was especially evident when, at the same place where we had seen him on the way out, we were treated to a wonderful sighting of Mr Bobcat, who had obviously outlasted the coyote, and was lounging on a log beside the river, before getting up and sauntering along the bank in full view of at least 100 tourists who were watching from across the river.

 

What a wonderful way to end a wonderful day!!!!! All up we had covered about 60 miles/100km but with such beauty around us we wouldn’t have had a clue how far we had gone.

If you want to learn more about this amazing place called Yellowstone National Park go to:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm