Driving through the Gallatin National Forest on the Westside
of Yellowstone National Park was spectacular.
The road we took to West Yellowstone provided scenery of rolling hills
and valleys, mountains, streams, and Earthquake Lake.
There were outfitters that provided fishing trips on the
Madison River located near the Canyon Earthquake Area. This area was very enjoyable drive.
We learned more about this area at
the Earthquake Lake Geologic Area. The
dead trees located near the sides of the lake partially submerged in water are
there as a result of the 1959 earthquake that caused them to slide down the
hillside along with massive crashing boulders.
This area is still considered unstable and continues to have tremors.
The road continued to provide
beautiful surprises as we approached West Yellowstone. We saw a Moose grazing next to a stream we
crossed.
After entering the West Gate of
Yellowstone National Park, we stopped at the visitor center on the Grand
Loop. The view out the back of the
visitor center was one of the prettier vistas.
Much of Yellowstone was recently damaged by fire.
On our way to Old Faithful, we
stopped at Geyser Basin to view the steam arising from the vents in the ground.
We stopped in at the Old Faithful Visitor
Center that is located in front of Old Faithful and walked through the Old
Faithful Inn. Joe and I believe
Yellowstone copied Fort Wilderness Lodge at Disney World. It is amazing how familiar the Inn seemed
after visiting Fort Wilderness Lodge on numerous occasions.
Old Faithful erupted as promised
at the designated hour (+/- 10 minutes).
We watched the event with about 2000 other spectators (mostly senior
citizens) in the viewing area which consisted of a double row of benches on a
wide concrete sidewalk. The Old Faithful
Geyser area seemed to be more commercialized than any other National Park we
have visited. National Parks have always
been a place of escape, to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation surrounded by
quiet sounds and peaceful settings. This
is not what we experienced at Yellowstone National Park.
We did see a few buffalo in the
park, but not as many as we saw in Canada.
On our way back to the campground,
we stopped at one of the many pullouts along the way to look at the river and a
small waterfall.
The next morning, we toured the
northern part of the Grand Loop Road.
This is the area that has several geyser basins, the mud volcano, waterfalls,
and other geological anomalies. At the
Norris Geyser Basin, several steam vents were close to the road.
We stopped at the Lower Falls. There is a nice paved trail leading down to
the falls allowing a close look. Dogs
aren’t allowed on any of the trails and can only be walked in the parking
lot. Needless to say, our dogs weren’t
too happy on this part of the trip.
The northeastern part of the Grand Loop of Yellowstone had
some interesting sites. Sulphur Cauldron
and the Mud Volcano were of particular interest.
Sulphur Cauldron
It appears our truck was having engine problems….it just
happened to be a steam vent next to where we were parked.
Then we came to the Dragon’s Mouth Spring and Mud Volcano
which is located almost across the street from the Sulphur Cauldron. There was a boardwalk allowing you to take a
closer look. The first geyser we came
upon was Dragon’s Mouth Spring. An
unknown park visitor named this feature around 1912, perhaps due to the water
that frequently surged from the cave like the lashing of a dragon’s
tongue. Until 1994, this dramatic
waver-like action often splashed water as far as the boardwalk. The rumbling sounds are caused by steam and
other gasses exploding through the water causing it to crash against the walls
of the hidden caverns.
Mud Volcano was located along the boardwalk. In 1870, explorers stood in awe as Mud
Volcano spewed mud into the treetops, shaking the ground with each
eruption. Two years later it was a pool
of bubbling, muddy water. Mud Volcano
had blown itself apart! Hydrogen sulfide
gas rising from Yellowstone’s magma chamber causes a rotten-egg smell. Microorganisms
use this gas as a source of energy, and then help turn the gas into sulfuric
acid. Sulfuric acid breaks down the rock
and soil into mud.
As we were walking toward the parking lot, we noticed
bubbles (boiling water) in the collection pond next to the boardwalk. The heat of the soil and water is the reasons
the walkways have to be elevated in this area.
Near the parking lot area you can view the Mud Cauldron which is a
steamy basin of mud.
Yellowstone was in interesting park from a geological point of view. This park seemed to be over commercialized in places (i.e. Old Faithful area). We headed out the east part of the park toward the Big Horn Mountains.
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