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| Betty enjoying her visit |
Our nation’s (and most likely the world’s)
first National Park, Yellowstone is located in Wyoming, with small portions in Montana
and Idaho.
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| Grand Prismatic Hot Springs |
It was established by Congress and signed into law by President
Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone is known for its wildlife and
its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most
popular features in the Park.
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| From the Old Faithful webcam |
It has many types of ecosystems, but the
subalpine forest is most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies
forests ecoregion.
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| A beautiful vista |
Yellowstone National Park spans an area of
3,468.4 square miles comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges.
Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and
is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest super volcano on the
continent.
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| Kayaking in a volcanic crater |
Still considered active, the volcano has erupted with tremendous
force several times in the last two million years, covering the area with lava
flows and volcanic rocks. Half of the world's geothermal features are in
Yellowstone.
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| Superheated water and mineral deposits |
The Park’s name comes from the yellow rock visible throughout, but
most noticeably in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.
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| The famous yellow stone |
Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish
and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered
or threatened. Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, Coyotes, Foxes, Martens, Wolves, Deer, Pronghorn and free-ranging herds of Bison and Elk
live in the park.
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| American Bison |
Forest fires occur in the Park each year; in the large forest
fires of 1988, nearly one third of Yellowstone was burned.
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| 1988 fire; Photo: NPS |
The human history of the Park begins at least
11,000 years ago when aboriginal Americans first began to hunt and fish in the
region. These Paleo-Indians of the Clovis culture used obsidian found in the Park to make cutting tools and weapons. Arrowheads made of Yellowstone obsidian
have been found as far away as the Mississippi Valley, indicating that a
regular obsidian trade existed between local tribes and tribes farther east.
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| The Park has a wide variety of minerals |
By
the time white explorers first entered the region during the Lewis and Clark
Expedition in 1805, they encountered the Nez Perce, Crow and Shoshone tribes.
While passing through present day Montana, the expedition members were informed
of the Yellowstone region to the south, but did not investigate.
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| Beautiful country |
In 1807-08,
John Colter, a former member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, passed through
a portion of what later became the Park where he observed at least one
geothermal area in the northeastern section of the park, near Tower Fall. After
surviving wounds he suffered in a battle with members of the Crow and Blackfoot
tribes in 1809, he described a place of "fire and brimstone" that
most people dismissed as delirium.
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| Bubbling cauldron |
Over the next 40 years, numerous reports
from mountain men and trappers told of boiling mud, steaming rivers and
petrified trees, yet most of these reports were believed at the time to be
myth. After an 1856 exploration, mountain man Jim Bridger reported observing boiling
springs, spouting water and a mountain of glass and yellow rock. These reports
were largely ignored because Bridger was known for being a "spinner of
yarns."
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| The geothermal features are abundant |
The first detailed expeditions to the Yellowstone area were the
Cook-Folsom-Peterson Expedition of 1869 and the Washburn-Langford-Doane
Expedition in 1870.
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| Passport stamps |
Montana writer and lawyer Cornelius Hedges, a member of the
Washburn expedition, proposed that the region should be set aside and protected
as a national park; he wrote a number of detailed articles about his
observations for the Helena Herald newspaper between 1870 and 1871.
With
government sponsorship, Ferdinand Hayden led the Hayden Geological Survey of
1871, from which he compiled a comprehensive report on Yellowstone, which
included large-format photographs by William Henry Jackson, as well as
paintings by Thomas Moran.
His report helped to convince the U.S. Congress to
withdraw this region from public auction and create Yellowstone National Park. Fort
Yellowstone, formerly a U.S. Army post, now serves as park headquarters.
We stopped a Lewis Falls (named for Meriwether
Lewis) ...
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| Lewis Falls is just north of Yellowstone's south entrance |
... and then the West Thumb Geyser Basin, where Lindsay saw her first
Yellowstone thermal features.
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| The water color is amazing |
We were amazed at how high the water was – a
theme that repeated multiple times during the trip.
We saw Tree swallows in
trees killed by the high temperatures of the boiling springs ...
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| The dead trees are ideal for nests |
... kayakers
exploring the bubbling springs on the edge of Yellowstone Lake ...
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| You can see a hot spring underwater |
... and steaming
aquamarine pools surrounded by brilliant wildflowers.
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| Spring's edge |
As we traveled on to
Fishing Bridge, we saw our first close-up Bison, resting on the top of a hill.
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| Big guy |
As we passed Hayden, we stopped upon a jam
just outside of Canyon where a Bison had died. We briefly saw a Coyote that ran
away and talked to people who had seen a Wolf and a Bear earlier. We waited
awhile, but didn’t see anything. We also learned that the Hayden Wolf Pack
routinely travels under the power lines.
As we headed towards the Hayden Valley
(famous for wildlife), we stopped at my favorite thermal, the Dragon’s Mouth.
This thermal is a cave where pressure builds up creating steam and a roar that
sounds as if a monster is deep in the cave roaring.
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| The spring huffs and puffs |
Then, into Hayden looking for Bears, Wolves
and Bison. The valley is always populated with the “Wolf people” who park
themselves at overlooks with spotting scopes to search for Wolves. We saw some
with something in their sights and were surprised that it was a Bald Eagle and
not a Wolf.
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| Bald Eagle |
A couple of stops later, however, we were
rewarded with a fairly close view of a Wolf – still pretty far, but much closer
than any I have ever seen in the Park. He moved quickly down the valley before
turning and heading up into the hills.
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| A Wolf by the road |
We also stopped to photograph the
glorious wildflowers growing on the mountainsides – the prettiest I have ever
seen in Yellowstone.
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| Colorful wildflowers |
We did the short walk to the overlook. This was probably the
hottest temperature of the trip, but the 132-foot fall is worth the walk.
Afterwards, we had ice cream at the Tower Fall store ( a very, very popular activity - it was quite crowded).
As we left, we saw a Yellow-bellied Marmot posing on the wall by the basalt cliffs.
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| This looks like a juvenile Marmot |
Then, on to the Petrified Trees turnout just
north of the Tower junction where I had seen “Scarface,” an old Grizzly with
some nasty head scars, last October with Mark.
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| Scarface in 2013 |
He wasn’t there, but a Black Bear was.
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| Apparently a popular area for Bears |
The ranger on duty kept pulling the crowd back and then getting
engaged in conversations with tourists, so we got some good shoots – as well as
lots of mosquito bites (the downside of all the high creeks and lakes).
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| We had a good time watching the Bear take a long walk |
The
ranger said that a momma and cubs also frequented the area, but we never saw
her.
Just down the road, we saw a large male
moose. As driver, I didn’t get pictures because I had to drop Caty and Lindsay
off and turn around to park. By the time I got back, the Moose was gone. It
was, sadly, our ONLY moose of the trip. At least there was one.
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| Photo: Caty Stevens |
Then, the long drive back to our cabins just
outside the Park’s East Entrance.
The next morning, we headed out to visit
Yellowstone Falls.
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| A great spot for photos |
The Yellowstone river flows north from Yellowstone Lake, it
leaves the Hayden Valley and plunges 109 feet over Upper Yellowstone Falls ...
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| Upper Falls |
... and
then a quarter mile downstream 308 feet over Lower Yellowstone Falls ...
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| Lower Falls |
... at which
point it then enters the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is up to 1,000
feet deep.
It's such a pretty view, that we had to take lots of photos.
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| Who knew we'd end up with portraits? |
Lots of beautiful views, a few big Elk and some approaching
thunderstorms that made us limit the stops on the north rim (metal platforms
and lightning don’t mix).
Then, onto the major thermal area, stopping
first at Artists Paintpots (where I had never been before), a group of over 50
springs, geysers, vents and especially mud pots that exhibit varying shades of
blue, grey and brown and have a range of different textures, with the behavior
changing during the year depending on the amount of subterranean water.
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| Artists Paintpots |
Then, we moved on to Grand Prismatic Spring
and its accompanying Excelsior Geyser Crater, Opal Pool and Sapphire Pool.
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| Opal Pool |
All
were quite steamy, which makes photography difficult. We had hoped the
temperature would be high as projected because when it is hot, the steam
abates. But, the cooler temps did make the walk more pleasant. A trade-off. The
Geyser Crater is a gorgeous turquoise pool with bubbling vents (and an active
geyser) in it.
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| Geyser Pool |
Grand Prismatic is the largest hot spring in the United States,
and the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and
Boiling Lake in Dominica. Its striking coloration (red, orange, yellow and
green) is the result of pigmented bacteria in the microbial mats that grow
around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The blue center of the pool is
sterile due to extreme heat.
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| Paw print in the algae; Grand Prismatic |
And, finally, to Old Faithful – Yellowstone’s
famous geyser that erupts about every 91 minutes. It was a little late, but a
pretty good eruption.
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| Another first for Lindsay |
Then, a walk through the lovely Old Faithful Inn.
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| Natural elements comprise the decor |
On the way back, we stopped by the dead bison
and we saw a coyote hunting in the area.
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| Hunting Coyote |
It was fun to watch him stalk, pounce
and catch.
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| Success!!! |
On the way back to our cabin that night, we
saw another coyote and then an adorable little pine marten bouncing by the side
of the road.
And, we still had another day!
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| Lindsay's backpack reflected her sentiments |
Trip date: July 8-16, 2014
