Hello Yellowstone!

On Monday, I promised to write more about Yellowstone National Park. There is no way to properly convey the vastness and other-worldliness of this enchanted place. Whole books have been written about it that still do not capture it all. Faced with the impossibility of covering everything, I will instead tell about our experience in the park in hopes that it will convince you to visit yourself. Yellowstone really should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Up until three weeks ago, I believed that Yellowstone National Park was in the center of Montana. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the majority of the park is in the Northwest corner of Wyoming. Four of the entrances of the protected area are located in Montana, which could be why I had heard of people going to Montana in order to visit Yellowstone. It shames me to think that I could have held such an erroneous belief when I had always considered myself knowledgeable in geography. Please, tell me you have had a similar experience!

We left the 320 Ranch at 6:00 a.m. and arrived in the town of West Yellowstone just before 7:00 a.m. Those of you who know us, are aware of how difficult that was for us. Neither of us are morning people, but we were conscious of the fact that we only had one day to cover as much territory as possible in the second largest park in the continental United States. There are two main loops to drive. Our plan was to start South along the Southern loop and attempt to cover as much land as possible.

We entered through the West Entrance and traveled along the Madison River. The sun had just risen over the mountains and the view was breathtaking. Our first stop was to visit the site of the infamous bear spraying. Alright, you probably have not heard about the bear spraying, but it is a story that will live on in our family legends. Last Tuesday, August 06, 2013, my uncle Jay sprayed us with bear spray. I will tell you the story on Friday. Check back in; it will be memorable. (Update: you can read about it here.)

I would have liked to spend more time by the Madison River, but we were anxious to get to Old Faithful before the crowds and I wanted to stop at the Firehole River on the way there.

The Firehole is a beautiful area. I could easily spend an entire day there. Waterfalls have always been my favorite form of water and the Firehole River has several gorgeous ones.

Besides the waterfalls, the Firehole is one area of the park where swimming is allowed. The water was about seventy degrees Fahrenheit and the air was even cooler than that. However, I was determined not to miss out on the experience. Douglas was not as brave. In fact, there was only one other person in the water while we were there. I quickly adjusted to the water temperature and thoroughly enjoyed my swim.

Upon leaving Firehole Canyon Drive, we continued South on the Lower Loop only a short time before we pulled the car over in awe of our surroundings. It was our first view of the geysers, or more specifically, our first view of the smoke from the geysers.

We went down Fountain Flat Drive to further appreciate the view. I do not think that I will ever forget our first view of the geyser basin. Nothing can prepare you for it.

Continuing along our way, we had our first buffalo sighting. Douglas was beside himself with joy. See how his mouth slightly turns up at the corner? No? Well, trust me. He was as excited as I was, but he just does not know how to jump up and down with a grin on his face to demonstrate his joy.

Anxious to be on our way, we could not help but stop at Biscuit Basin. I would have liked to spend more time and possibly done some hiking, but alas, we knew that we would not be able to do everything. I am glad that we stopped there. The scenery looked straight out of a Sci-Fi movie there.

The scenery beyond Biscuit Basin was just as awe-inspiring.

We arrived at Old Faithful at 10:40, twenty minutes after the previous eruption. We knew that the trustworthy geyser erupts every 90 minutes or so, or rather, we found that out there. So, we had some time to explore the area before the next “performance.” People watching was almost as fun as observing the topography.

If you are headed to Old Faithful, I recommend that you stand to the Northwest of the geyser while it is erupting. There are bleachers along the sidewalk to the South and East; they can get rather crowded. On the opposite side, there was next to nobody, and we were able to enjoy the experience almost in private.

The pre-flow fooled us several times. Just when it seemed that the eruption was about to begin, the spurting would cease. When, it finally went, it was awe-inspiring. I had to back up several times to keep the fountain in frame. I could never tire of watching eruptions; it was so fascinating.

Our next stop was at the Continental Divide, which actually crosses the main road twice. We missed the first time at Craig Pass, but I was glad that we did not stop there. More people stopped there than stopped at the second crossing. The second one also has a higher elevation.

Coming up to West Thumb, we saw Yellowstone Lake for the first time. The lake is enormous, covering 132 square miles, and we would be alongside it for the next several hours.

The geyser basin at West Thumb is another must-see in my book. It is like being on another planet; it looks that strange. The colors are hard to believe. The pools look so inviting, but a swim in one of them would cause certain death.

We stopped several times on the drive North between West Thumb and Lake Village. At one point it began to pour, and we decided to take a quick nap while we waited for the storm to abate. One good thing about the tempest was that there were fewer cars on the road afterward. I believe that many people left the park hoping to return in better weather.

In Lake Village we turned right to cross the Fishing Bridge and look for grizzlies. We saw evidence of bears in the area but were not lucky enough to see one live. I did measure my foot against this moose hoof print. We drove to Steamboat Point and then turned around.

Hayden Valley was probably my favorite part of the trip. We had to drive slowly and were stopped in some of the worst traffic I have ever experienced, but I could hardly complain. The backups along the road were caused by wildlife in the way, and I have never been less bothered by delay in my life. I was happy to sit and watch the elk and buffalo.

It was in Hayden Valley that we were rewarded for our patience with a grizzly bear sighting. It was far in the distance but still awesome to view in person. I can die happy now that I have seen a grizzly in its natural habitat!

Our next stop was at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. More waterfalls. We stopped at both the Upper and Lower Falls.

At that point we had to make a decision. It was about 6:15 p.m. and three hours from sunset. We could either turn West and visit Virginia Cascade before leaving the park or we could continue along the upper loop. I left the decision up to Douglas since he was driving, and he chose to go North. We were not able to stop much along the way, but I am glad that we were able to see what we could.

When we came across the road that led to the Petrified Tree, Douglas wanted to skip it. Since I have been to the Petrified Forests of Arizona and Mississippi, I was in favor of stopping. Douglas humored me. As we were walking down the road, I made the comment that we should be rewarded for stopping with moose. We had not seen any at that point. As we turned the corner, I almost fell over when I spotted two of them ahead of us. Talk about coincidence! After that I tried asking for wolves, but unfortunately, we did not see any of those. Look at the smile of my face as I stand in front of those moose, though. I was in heaven!

As we continued West from the Petrified Tree, we were greeted by a spectacular sunset.

The last big site that we were able to view before dark was Mammoth Hot Springs. Look at how creepy the land looks in the twilight. I have a feeling that it always looks unnatural, but in the semi-darkness, it was especially strange.

After that things became very dark, and it started to rain. I was hoping that we would be able to enjoy the stars in the park that night, but the cloud cover cancelled my plans. Someday, I hope to return. Overall, we spent about fifteen hours in the park and cannot complain about the experience. We were not able to do everything we would have liked, but we covered a good amount of ground.

I hope you have enjoyed my virtual tour of Yellowstone. You can read more about our vacation here or check back on Friday. Like the Cape of Dreams page on Facebook to see all of the pictures.

Happy Homemaking!