Today's plan: see as many geysers, fumaroles, thermal pools and mud pots as we possibly can. I know that some people will sit and watch a geyser for hours, hoping it will go off while they are sitting there, but we had limited time and a lot to see. We got a very early start and were nearly to Old Faithful area as the sky was beginning to turn light. We stopped on the way because the sun coming up was very red due to the wildfire smoke in the area, so it made for a very cool photo. We also had to stop for a group of bison that decided to cross the road in front of us. These beasts are huge, by the way, and unpredictable. I stayed in the car and was satisfied with taking photos standing up in the sunroof!
The morning was cool so the steam vents all over the valley were really visible and made the whole area look other-worldly. When we arrived at Old Faithful it wasn't due to erupt yet, so we took a stroll around the geyser field while we waited. None of them were going off, but it was interesting to look into the different thermal pools around the area. It was also interesting to see bison in the geyser fields, apparently they hang out there because it's warm. We eventually settled down on the benches and it wasn't too much longer before Old Faithful erupted. It went on for quite a bit longer than I thought it might, I expected just 10 seconds or so, but it went on for a good minute or more. A man behind complained "that's it?!" as though he was expecting some big explosion or something.
We then visited the Artist Paint Pots area which has some cool mud pots. Many of these areas are quite stinky by the way, smelling of hydrogen sulfide gas. We took the short hike up to the Grand Prismatic Spring overlook. It really shows the vibrant colors of the water contrasted with the bright orange ring of heat-adapted bacteria that live on the edges. Next up was Mammoth Hot Springs where the cooling thermal waters form travertine terraces on the hillside. I love the different colors and shapes here. There's an easy boardwalk trail here as well.
We headed to Gardner, just outside the north park entrance to pick up a spotting scope I had rented. Our plan was to try to see wolves and grizzles the next day in Lamar Valley. The wolves stay pretty far away from the road so a spotting scope is really necessary to see them well.
We decided to give the scope a trial run and go to Tom Miner's where I had read you could sometimes find grizzlies outside the park. Were packed up the scope and camera and took off.
First Grizzly encounter of the trip did not go as planned! We were driving along a gravel road heading toward the ranch where people say you might see grizzlies if you're patient and lucky, when we came up alongside a small access road and there was a mama grizzly with two cubs just about twenty feet away from us! I think she was as shocked as we were cuz she stood up on her hind feet to look at us before disappearing into the brush with her cubs. We were so surprised that we never even had a chance to pull out a camera or phone or anything!
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| Grand Prismatic Spring |
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| Wolf at sanctuary |
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