After resting our tired bodies from our 11+ mile hike yesterday, we attempted to get up fairly early (7am doesn’t feel so bad when you’re programmed on east coast time). We packed the car (aka our traveling locker room), bid Carl (our super cool Air BnB host) farewell, stopped at a local bakery for a really delicious cinnamon bun, then hit the road to check out the rest of Grand Teton NP.
Unfortunately, mother nature didn’t feel like granting us a view of the grand mountains; 42 and rainy meant zero chance of seeing the mountains, as they were shrouded in clouds. We stopped at the visitor’s center and watched an informative video on the Park and made our way up the highway hoping for a break in the rain and perhaps a glimpse of sunshine. Oh well, at least our sweet rental car has seat warmers, which is totally making me want a Subaru again.
By about noon time we had entered Yellowstone NP. We were immediately greeted by views of a canyon off the side of the road as we made our way from the south entrance to West Thumb. We checked out the boardwalk and thermal features, listened to a ranger talk about the super volcano that last erupted in the park 640,000 years ago and how it could go again sometime soon (keeping in mind that soon by geologic years means we probably still have several thousand to go). I think the most unsettling fact was the the magma chamber underneath Yellowstone is only 3-8 miles under the surface (vs. 20 miles most other places and even 50 miles under the Himalayas)!
We carried on to the mots famous site in Yellowstone – Old Faithful. As we pulled up, we saw other people running, so we decided to run too (mass hysteria, yay!), only to discover that we had missed the eruption by 2 minutes. Luckily, as the name implies, we only had to wait another hour for the next eruption. JD set up camp so he’d have a clear shot for photographs, and during this time, the sun managed to peak out. The eruption was cool, not as high as you’d imagine (but they say every eruption is different from the last), but lasted longer than we would have thought (about 3 minutes).
After the big show, we headed inside the Old Faithful Inn to check out the cool timbering. The lodge was built over 100 years ago and is very impressive. Too bad booking 7 months in advance isn’t enough to snag a room there.
We then spent the next few hours walking the extensive boardwalk system that highlights the incredible number of thermal features in the park.
[gfycat data_id="ThirstyInconsequentialIchidna" data_autoplay=true data_controls=false]We especially liked the names of some of the features…”Old Tardy Geyser” and “Spasmodic Geyer” were our favorite names, while “Sawmill Geyser” and “Grotto Geyser” were our favorite features to look at.
[gfycat data_id="PessimisticPepperyHerring" data_autoplay=true data_controls=false] [gfycat data_id="SlimyFarflungHochstettersfrog" data_autoplay=true data_controls=false]Grotto was totally unique in shape and almost looked like a man’s face with a long nose, two eyes, and a hand clawing his way out of the mud puddle, while Sawmill bubbled so vigorously and periodically shot so high in the air that it sprayed the passersby on the boardwalk.
As we were making our way back to the car on the boardwalk, we saw a bison RIGHT next to the boardwalk.
[gfycat data_id="ImpeccableWeeklyAfricanclawedfrog" data_autoplay=true data_controls=false]Signs all over the park warn of getting too close to these magnificent creatures (that look incredible docile but could certainly trample you in an instant), but were also warned to NEVER get off the boardwalk, risking burns or falling into a steam vent. We stuck to the boardwalk and attempted to be as still and quiet as possible while Mr. Buffalo had his fill of grass. It was very cool to be that up close and personal with a bison.
Our walk back to the car got a little brisk as the rain returned for the day. Thank goodness for the warm car seats! We stopped as fast as we could at Grand Prismatic Pool; it was hard to get a shot due to the massive amounts of steam rolling off the boiling water (198 F at this elevation). It was surreal walking through what felt like a sauna.
We had to hustle as best we could, realizing that we would have to drive to our destination of Gardiner, MT in the dark. As our B&B host reminded us “buffalo blend in really well with the road”…eek! Thankfully, no buffalo on the roadway, but we did encounter a TON of elk in Mammoth Springs – they literally were just hanging out in the traffic circle in town – totally not caring about the cars all about them. Too bad it was getting dark and we missed some beautiful sights on the drive to our B&B, but we’ll be backtracking that way tomorrow. We’re planning on a full day in the Northern parts of the park tomorrow!
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