Family Trip to Yellowstone Day 6

August 23, 2009
Canyon Campground

We had oatmeal for breakfast - a campsite favorite, but we ate quickly and headed for a real treat - the showers! How nice it is to get clean after a few days of grubbing it with only hand and face washing and teeth brushing.

While we were in the laundry/shower complex, the proprietors showed us pictures of a grizzly vs. wolf encounter in the Heyden Valley where a dominant female wolf aggravated the bear until he surrendered his kill and then the wolf pack came in to feed. Pretty amazing stuff!

We drove to the Roosevelt area for a traditional stagecoach ride along the old roads that used to take vacationers from lodge to lodge around the park. Our team of horses included Deacon and Preacher. The girls enjoyed the ride immensely, but it seemed like it was over too soon.





Pets for Preacher and Deacon...


We continued on towards Mammoth Hot Springs, stopping to see a petrified tree, and what one excited motorist exclaimed to be a wolverine. I too was excited to see a wolverine, because they are nocturnal I think so to see one in the daylight is a treat. Turned out, it was a marmot, but cute nonetheless.

Petrified Tree...


Marmot...


After all the excitement, we stopped to have lunch overlooking Hellroaring Creek and the Buffalo Plateau Trail that I would hike into the backcountry with Tom Crabbs a few days later.



Onward to Mammoth Hot Springs!The girls loved seeing all the elk who had come to bed down and graze on the superior tasting, well kept lawn grass prior to the mating season.



It was an overcast day, but even so, the hot springs and all the travertine formations were pretty cool to see. We walked around the boardwalks and listened in on the park ranger talks, took pictures and took other people's pictures.







Hailey and Kathi with Liberty Cap sticking out of their heads....


Me and the girls...


Someone told us about a hot spring, the Boiling River, near the N entrance of the park where you could wade in the river to feet the volcanic heat! We decided to check it out.

We walked down the long path and you could see the hot spring coming out of the ground. Down in the stream people had piled up rocks to make small pools and many people were soaking in the pools. Away from the hot spring, the stream was cold, but in the seams with the hot water, it was very pleasant. I guess we'd make poor trout!

The Boiling River...


Kathi and Dana taking a soak....


We pressed on and set up the tripod to get our picture at the N entrance, the famous Roosevelt Arch.



We took a quick drive-by look at Gardner, stopped in a few shops, and visited the Yellowstone Association HQ.

On the way home, we took the 7-mile Blacktail Plateau (one-way) gravel drive and stopped to take pictures of the beautiful mountains and rock formations, and juxtapositions of stands of trees.

Just east of Mammoth....


Blacktail Plateau drive...






We stopped for a free re-fill cup of coffee at Roosevelt and then stopped again at Calcite Springs Overlook - the narrowest point int he Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Columns of basalt are sandwiched between thick deposits of sedimentary gravel for a very dramatic effect as you can see here...



We made another stop at Tower Falls and walked the short path to see the falls. Very nice.



As we drove south along Antelope Creek we scanned for bears but did not see any. It started to rain (which always makes Hailey happy, but it did not make her mother happy with the road being high steep and windy and me driving and looking for bears!

Due to the rain, we decided to treat ourselves and instead of cooking outside, we splurged on dinner at the Canyon gift shop restaurant counter. Burgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheese all around.

Even with overcast skies and the rain at the end, it was a good day.

Family Trip to Yellowstone Day 5

August 22, 2009
Canyon Campground

Kathi made french toast and BACON for breakfast - yum! We were going to need sustainanace becase today we were hiking around the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We started by parking the car at Inspiration Point of the North Rim.

The view from Inspiration Point...





The family hiled along the north rim trail and was bowled over by the vivid colors of the canyon and the beautiful scenery. In my mind, this was way better than Old Faithful. We stopped at Grand View and Lookout Point.

On the way to Lookout Point....





Lower Falls...



Not wanting to hike back to the car, Kathi and the girls stayed put and I offered to hitchhike back to the car - be back soon I said. Well, between the full cars and the retirees giving me dubios and steely eyes of distrust, I ended up hoofing it all the way back to the car at Inspiration Point.

Pickup up la familia and drove to the Brink of the Lower Falls. We hiked down the steep and switchbacking trail to the bottom. It seemed pretty trecherous so we were careful as we picked out way down. We were amazed that there were kids working baby strollers down that steep trail. A ranger told us people go over the falls every year! Yikes!

Pictures from the Brink!





We we got to the bottom, the scene was amazing! As the trail name says, you're at the brink of the falls. The force of the water going over the falls makes a loud roar while the river leading up to the edge looks so serene. We couldn't believe there were tourists climbing up the cliff face above the safety of the brink platform so that they could have their picture taen - kids too! Yuo, people go over the falls every year. Apparently, some people commit suicide there too.

We took in the beautiful falls, the beautiful canyon, the rainbows, everything. Best, must-see, #1 attraction in Yellowstone!

Kathi took the car to find out about horseback riding and I hiked the south rim trail and we agreed to meet up at the Brink of the Upper Falls trail. It was an easy and pleasant trail with waterfalls at the Cascade Creek crossing and reoccuring vistas of the canyon and river. I think I may have seen 20 people out of the thousands that were at the automobile stopping points.

We rendezvoused at Artist Point.

On the way back, we enjoyed seeing a herd of mule deer. Dana and I tried to get closer for a photo, but as we got closer, they kept their distance. Back and Canyon, dad went to check out the backcountry office and then we all did a little shopping. Dinner was sausage and peppers and garlic bread. Yum! We did laundry and Hailey took a shower. Dana's feet were black and filthy, but she refused to take a shower. Yellowstone does not lend itself to angst so instead of fighting, we went to bed.

Family Trip to Yellowstone Day 4

August 21, 2009
Madison Campground

Got up at around 5:30 am to make coffee ane enjoy the rising sun. Took my first cup for a walk through the woods. Walked only a couple hundred feet and made it to a clearing where the MAdison River streched out before me. It was so beautiful, I had to go get Kathi and we whispered to one another as the sun rose.

Madison morning....



As the girls slept, Kathi rustled up some pancakes for breakfast. When the girls got up they were cold! Kathi figured out that after she was finished making breakfast on the grittle the girls could flip it upside down and warm their bottoms as they ate.

Here's Hailey demonstrating the technique....



We left Madison for out trip to the Old Faithful (OF) area of the Upper Geyser Basin. But before OF, we took the Firehole Lake drive loop across from Fountain Paint Pots and enjoyed seeing Great Fountain Geyser.



I had read that you could get a better psespective of Old Faithful AND avoid the crowds if you hiked up Geyser Hill.

Geyser Hill Trail...



Kathi was still suffering from her brochitis so we took it easy up the trail, but found ourselves in position with about a half hour to spare. We rested, drank water and had a snack as a few other people drifted in. It seemed like a long wait, and OF was a little late.

Old Faithful as seen from Geyser Hill....



I have to say, maybe becaue of all the hype, the blow was a little disappointing, especially after dragging everyone up the trail. One side benefit of climbing Geyser Hill was seeing Solitary Geyser - very beautiful, and there was a shady spot to rest before continuing on down the trail.

Solitary Geyser...



Getting back to the geyser boardwalk near OF was an easy downhill stroll.

One the way down...



Kathi's bronchitis had left her winded and Dana was tired so Hailey and I continued on to look at more geysers. I'm not sure how much Hailey wanted to see more geysers, but she took great pleasure that she was doing something Dana wasn't and in calling Dana a "ditcher" That still enters into the conversaiton from time to time today!

On our loop, Hailey and I particularly enjoyed Grand Geyser, Chromatic Pool, Beauty Pool, and Grotto Geyser.

defunct geyser...



trees with "bobby socks" near Grand Geyser...



Chromatic Pool....



Grotto Geyser....



We made it back for lunch and an ice cream and then got in the car and headed towards Canyon Village where we would camp for the rest of our stay. We had heard that Canyon was not the best campground - that it was the Disneyland of campgrounds (and not in a good way). However, it was much nicer than I imagined. Besides, we weren't spening a whole lot of time in the campgrounds.

We saw male elk on out way to the Mud Volcano area and made a stop to cool off by dipping our toes into the Yellowstone River.





We saw numerous boiling mud springs along the Mud Volcano trail.



We also drove through the Hayden Valley and marvelled at the herds of buffalo. We saw a few males squaring off and butting heads in some late mating season rivalry. One buffalo, with apprently bad eyesight, almost rammed an Austim Mini Cooper.



We checked in at Canyon campsite C-69. Kathi made spagetti for supper. We washed dishes, brushed teeth and hit the hay. Long, but oh so rewarding days!

Family Trip to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Day 3

August 20, 2009

Spent the night in the Colter Bay tent cabins. The sagging steel spring frames and thin mattresses are not the best for those of us with back issues. For me a flat wooden platform would have been better. At least I could have used my inflatable sleeping pad on a level surface. Ah well....

The inside of the tent cabins looks like this....



Woke the clan up pre-dawn and drove to the top of Signal Mountain. Lots of grumbling, but once in the car everyone cheered up. We made it to the top and were joined by maybe half a dozen other sunrise revelers. Watching the sun rise over the Tetons was amazing! We stayed for about an hour watching different parts of the valley flood with light as the sun rose higher and higher.

Pictures from sunrise at Signal Mountain...









Finally decided to head down and get some grub. On the way down, Hailey pipes up and says, matter-of-factly, "I just saw something big, black, and furry" I check the rear view mirror and come to a stop on the winding mountain road and put the car in reverse. We back up and there, maybe 100 feet from the road is a mother black bear and her cub gorging themselves on blueberries. They were very intent on stuffing themselves and barely took notice of us.

Momma and baby bear......







We contineued down Signal Mountain and spotted a moose out in the middle of a pond having her breakfast. More pictures....



Back at the tent cabins, we had a hearty breakfast and commenced packing up our stuff to head to Yellowstone. We kepy oohing and aahing at all the mountain and lake views as we drove north and put the Teotns in the rear view. Near the south entrance of Yellowstone, we hit a stretch of dirt road where there was major road reconstruciton going on. We had been warned that this would be a big delay in travel and I mentally logged the time to cover the 10 or 20 miles for the return trip to the airport.

Past the dirt road section and into Yellowstone, we drove along Lewis Canyon. I have to say, after the beauty and magesty of the Grand Tetons, we were disappointed with the sights along the south entrance road. Since this was our first trip to Yellowstone, we didn't know what to expect from the park, but were comparing everything to the Tetons and Yellowstone's south entrance area wasn't sizing up.

The dirt road....



South entrance scenery blahs...



We stopped at a few turnouts to look at the Lewis Canyon gorge and Lewis Falls. There were some pretty meadows along the Lewis River where I thought I could hear trout urging me to move along...



The scenery was improving. At Lewis Lake, we entered into the Yellowstone caldera - we're in geyserland baby! We coaxed the car up over the continental divide at 7,988 feet and dropped down into West Thumb on the Yellowstone Lake where we parked to have lunch and stretch our legs. After a few quicky sandwiches, we headed towards the lake and our first geyser experience.

At last, geysers!



Geysers overlooking Yellowstone Lake's West Thumb...



The colors!...





We continued west towrds Old Faithful, crossed the continental divide two more times (at 8,391' and 8262' at Craig Pass) and made a stop at the Kepler Cascades. It was a very beautiful spot, but also vert crowded. Careful aiming with the camera erases the crowd.

Kepler Cascades...



We continued up the road into the Upper Geyser Basin and made a stop at the Mystic Falls trailhead in the Biscuit Basin. We looked at more geysers and made the short 3.2 mile hike along the Littel Firehole River to Mystic Falls
I (we?) wanted to see them all!

Geysers in the Biscuit Basin...





Sapphire Pool....



mini geysers...



bigger geysers...



Mystic Falls....



Just up the road was the Midway Geyser Basin and the famed Grand Prismatic Spring. We stopped to admire the geysers, but only Hailey and I took the walk up to Grand Prismatic Spring. The perspective is not the samd as all the aerial shots you see, but the colors from the critters in the outlet channels were nontheless spectacular.

Excelsior Geysor streaming into the Firehole River....



Grand Prismatic Spring...



Midway Geyser Basin...



We pressed on to the Madison campground, set up camp, and made dinner.

Our campsite... The Kelty Mantra 7 rocks!



After dinner we went for a drive and found some elk along the Firehole River. Dana ignored all the rules about wildlife engagement stating that the animals were her friends and would not hurt her. Hell, I was going to hurt her!

Dana at one with her peeps...





We snapped some picks and drove along the Firehole Canyon Drive and stopped to admire the Firehole Falls.



We stopped at Fountain Paint Pots to check out all the gurgling mud pots and assorted geysers while the sun set.

Geysers in the setting sun...



The calcium deposits from erupting geysers and mineral springs that forms on the bottom of the trees are called "bobby socks"....



Mudpots...



The girls hamming it up...



We drove down Fountain Flat Drive where we saw rising trout in the setting sun along the Fairy Creek.

Rising trout at dusk...



I tried to help Dana catch one with a fly attached to a casting bubble, but I couldn't reach the far bank where the fish were. We stayed until dark, and then headed back to Madiosn to hit the hay by 9 pm.

WOW, WHAT A DAY !!!!!!!!