Twenty-first Stop - Yellowstone National Park - Fishing Bridge Campground - Aug. 12-18, 2018
We took two days to drive from Banff to Yellowstone - first night at Great Falls, Montana, and second night at Gardiner, Montana, which is next to the north entrance to Yellowstone. Another beautiful drive.
We arrived at our private campground in Gardiner, and then went into the park to visit the Visitor Center and get our plans in place. Discovered that a main attraction - Mammoth Hot Springs - was right near the visitor center. Bonus! Pretty amazing introduction to the thermal features of Yellowstone.
Next stop was Fishing Bridge Campground in the park. Centrally located within the park. The sites themselves are jammed together, but who spends time at the campsite when you are in Yellowstone? The bonus here was that Karl's satellite internet received a signal. Good thing because otherwise signals were quite weak.
Next day we headed to Old Faithful. It was faithfully erupting every 90 minutes or so. The first time, watched it from the viewing area in front of the Visitor Center. Then started hiking around to Observation Point and other geysers and fumaroles and such in the Lower Geyser Basin, and saw it a second time from a distance. After completing our walk, saw it a third time on the way back. Amazing! Learned the earth's magma is only a few miles underground in Yellowstone, the site of a huge caldera formed when a mountain range basically volcanically blew up some 700,000 years ago. Makes one feel very insignificant when looking at all this thermal activity. The different colors in the hot springs are living organisms - different color organisms thrive at different temperatures - and scientists are studying this to learn more of the origins of life.
Next day - to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Wow! Checked out the south rim and the north rim, taking a short hike down to the "brim" of both the Lower waterfall and the Upper waterfall. Absolutely breathtaking. The falls were SO powerful.
Of course, Yellowstone is well-known for wildlife. Thankfully we saw no grizzly bears up close. But we did see a bison herd! It was a peaceful scene.
Our last day, we took a hike on Storm Point Trail. Through meadow, forest, to Lake Yellowstone. I had no idea about this lake before we came here. It is HUGE. at some 7,000 feet elevation. Loved this hike. very few people and gorgeous views.
We arrived at our private campground in Gardiner, and then went into the park to visit the Visitor Center and get our plans in place. Discovered that a main attraction - Mammoth Hot Springs - was right near the visitor center. Bonus! Pretty amazing introduction to the thermal features of Yellowstone.
Next stop was Fishing Bridge Campground in the park. Centrally located within the park. The sites themselves are jammed together, but who spends time at the campsite when you are in Yellowstone? The bonus here was that Karl's satellite internet received a signal. Good thing because otherwise signals were quite weak.
Next day we headed to Old Faithful. It was faithfully erupting every 90 minutes or so. The first time, watched it from the viewing area in front of the Visitor Center. Then started hiking around to Observation Point and other geysers and fumaroles and such in the Lower Geyser Basin, and saw it a second time from a distance. After completing our walk, saw it a third time on the way back. Amazing! Learned the earth's magma is only a few miles underground in Yellowstone, the site of a huge caldera formed when a mountain range basically volcanically blew up some 700,000 years ago. Makes one feel very insignificant when looking at all this thermal activity. The different colors in the hot springs are living organisms - different color organisms thrive at different temperatures - and scientists are studying this to learn more of the origins of life.
We need food! Went to historic Yellowstone Lodge for a late lunch while taking in the detailed wood carvings, etc.
Next day, went to Lewis Lake for a nice paddle and peace and quiet. Said hello to an eagle.
Driving back to the campground from Lewis Lake, stopped at the West Thumb thermal area, where hot springs and steam vents are right next to Yellowstone Lake. Again, the colors were amazing. The bottom of Yellowstone Lake has a lot of volcanic activity.
Of course, Yellowstone is well-known for wildlife. Thankfully we saw no grizzly bears up close. But we did see a bison herd! It was a peaceful scene.
Our last day, we took a hike on Storm Point Trail. Through meadow, forest, to Lake Yellowstone. I had no idea about this lake before we came here. It is HUGE. at some 7,000 feet elevation. Loved this hike. very few people and gorgeous views.
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