A colorful one-sided canyon. The Wind River runs at the base of the wall.
Page 1: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mud Volcano, and Yellowstone Lake.
Page 2: The north loop, Tower Falls, and Mammoth Hot Springs
Page 3: Geyser basins and Firehole Canyon
Page 4: Grand Teton
Kathy and I spent the week of Labor Day 2003 camping, biking, and hiking in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We had never been there before, but we've been wanting to visit for a while. The text below and on following pages is from a journal that I wrote in each night before going to bed.
Saturday, August 30
Kathy and I spent most of today driving northwest to Yellowstone National Park. Our car was stuffed very full. Kathy packed all the food that we need for the week, and we tried to pack hiking and biking clothes for every type of weather, since Yellowstone can be unpredictable in the fall. We drove much of the 600+ miles in the rain. In a few places highway 287 was a dirt road due to construction, so we splashed through the mud - not great for our bike, which was mounted on a trunk rack. Western Wyoming has very little development. The land is hilly and covered with sagebrush. It would be a good place to film a Western. In many places the walls of hills have been eroded away by rivers, creating what looks like a one-sided canyon.
A colorful one-sided canyon. The Wind River runs at the base of the wall.
By the time we reached Grand Teton the rain had stopped, but clouds mostly blocked our view of the park's tall, jagged mountains. We could perceive that the mountains are well worth seeing, so we'll try to visit this park on a clear day later this week. When we reached Yellowstone the sky was beginning to clear. We saw several highlights of the park even though we were driving. We passed several steam vents around the edge of the huge Yellowstone Lake, and saw a geyser spouting from far away. We passed a bull moose, white pelicans and many bison. One bison was at the edge of the road, about 20 feet from our car.
Tonight we're camping at Canyon Village near Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The sky is nearly clear tonight. On our drive here we began to remember the items that we forgot to pack. I forgot my rain gear and we both forgot our helmets, among other things. We've decided to bike anyway, even though we hate to be without our helmets. I hope we don't get any more rain.
Unloading our packed car at the Canyon Campground.
Kathy and I at the campground before dinner.
Sunday, August 31
This morning we dressed in our bike clothes, ready for a full day of biking, but when we got out of our tent we were immediately disappointed. The sky was overcast, the roads were damp, and a thick fog made visibility poor. The poor visibility made it too dangerous to begin biking, so we decided to hike Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone instead. That worked out well. Shortly after we began our hike the clouds and fog suddenly disappeared, and we had excellent weather for the rest of the day. Early in our hike we came to the "Lower Falls," a waterfall on the Yellowstone River 109 feet tall. Farther along we came to overlooks and looked down into the deepening canyon. We ate lunch on a rock at the edge of the canyon. The view was great, but I felt as though a slight loss of balance would send me falling into the canyon even though I was sitting several feet from the edge.
A bison walking along the road.
A small herd of bison.
Upper Falls, the smaller of two major waterfalls on the Yellowstone River.
Lower Falls.
Looking downstream at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The canyon is about 1000 feet deep. It's believed that most of the canyon was cut by glacial runoff at the end of the Ice Age, and that very little downcutting continues today.
Another view of Lower Falls.
Eating lunch on a rock overhanging the canyon.
A more distant view of Lower Falls. We could always hear the waterfall as long as we stood by the edge of the canyon.
After lunch we hiked back down and drove to the Mud Volcano area. At this place several ponds and muddy pools boil constantly, releasing steam and a bad sulfur odor. One pond vented steam with a constant loud roar. Due to minerals and bacteria in the water these pools contain sulfuric acid, which dissolves the soil and makes the water muddy. After Mud Volcano we drove to Yellowstone Lake, the largest mountain lake in North America. The lake water is cold, though not as cold as many of the mountain lakes in Colorado. After relaxing at the beach for a while we returned to camp for dinner.
There are plenty of bison in Yellowstone. They move in herds across the wide valleys of the upper Yellowstone River, and occaisionally groups of bison walk across the road, causing traffic delays. Some bison walk right up to the cars while blocking traffic. All bison have horns, but the bulls can be recognized by their great size. I've read that a bull bison can weigh 2000 pounds.
A boiling pool at Mud Volcano.
Another boiling pool. This one produced a foul sulfur odor.
Black Dragon's Cauldron. I thought it had an interesting story.
Yellowstone Lake
Page 1: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mud Volcano, and Yellowstone Lake.
Page 2: The north loop, Tower Falls, and Mammoth Hot Springs
Page 3: Geyser basins and Firehole Canyon
Page 4: Grand Teton