Yellowstone NP - Old Faithful Area - July 2013

Here is Old Faithful Geyser. I just saved you a trip. Just kidding. The area around Old Faithful has dozens of other geysers and is quite surreal to be surrounded by such unique "thermal features" as they are often called. Yellowstone is in the middle of an old volcano which means the region accumulates a lot of water underground with hot magma very close to the surface. This creates a lot of these features including half of the world's geysers.

I stayed at the Old Faithful Inn which is right next to its namesake. It's not the oldest lodge in the park, but it is beautiful looking like a massive log cabin. The interior has lots of gnarled pine and extreme character, not to mention a prime rib buffet. The room was small with a shared bathroom, but fortunately a break in the weather made the non air conditioned room a little easier to bear. Ice cream helps too.

This pool is part of the extensive thermal features surrounding Old Faithful. The colors come from the minerals dissolved in the spring water coming to the surface. The smell is quite repulsive, although early advertisements encouraged tourists to wash their laundry in the pools. After many people fell into the scalding water, park officials stopped this activity.

As you can see, there are also many bears in Yellowstone including grizzlies. I highly recommend taking ranger led tours while in the national parks; I took several during my trip. They are a great way to meet fellow visitors and get free insight from the rangers about the area. It adds a fun dimension to your trip if you can accommodate the schedules.

This picture was just too cool to not include. You can easily see the number of thermal features steaming along the river surrounding the Old Faithful area. It was one of the most impressive parts of the park, especially since the features are constantly changing and may erupt at any time! Below are the rest of my photos from Old Faithful.

Yellowstone NP - Mammoth Hot Springs - July 2013

I entered Yellowstone National Park from the northwestern entrance near Gardiner, MT. This is a much less used entrance, but it was the best way to get from Glacier National Park. This was one of the original arch entrances to the park and still serves its purpose.

The Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone has an impressive set of mineral springs that created the mineral deposits shown above. The area also includes Fort Yellowstone and the elk population that just wanders around the village and roads. Wandering wildlife is a common theme in Yellowstone. The hot springs smell strongly like sulfur and are way too hot to touch. The park has wooden boardwalks to use to access the springs, although you may need to hold your breath often.

Over many years, the springs develop crystals which are very beautiful. You can easily see the structure of the crystals formed in the harsh environments of the area. It would be fun to see the first reactions of those that discovered the area which is very different than any other area in the world.

Yes Virginia, there are bison in Yellowstone. Lots of them. They cause major traffic jams. Fortunately, they also taste good! This picture also shows the impacts of fire on the lodgepole pines in the park and the area typical of the northwestern part of Yellowstone. Unfortunately, most people only drive the main loop and never leave the parking lot, missing most of the beauty. This road leads to the Old Faithful area geysers which will be my next post. Enjoy the rest of Mammoth below.

Glacier National Park - July 2013

After two long days of driving, I finally arrived at the Glacier Park Lodge just outside of Glacier National Park. The lodge was built by the Great Northern Railway to attract passengers on their railroad to explore this area. The lodgepole pine was used extensively to build the lodge, including the rather impressive timber in the lobby. My room was basic, and unfortunately not air conditioned during the rare heat wave in Montana. However, the beer and swimming pool were cold enough to prepare me for the park.

The first major stop in the park was Lake McDonald which is a large, clear lake in the middle of the glacier valley. The guides make sure to clarify that the park was named after the glacial activity that carved the valley, not for the presence of glaciers - although some are still around. Unfortunately, global climate change is affecting this park severely so even those may not be around much longer. The lake was gorgeous as you can see.

The red buses used for tours are the original buses used in the 1930's for tourists on the Going-to-the-Sun Road which was carved out of the valley walls to provide an excellent view of the park and easier access to other areas. The park restored the buses and still uses them to bring the next generation of tourists the same vistas our grandparents experienced.

Logan Pass is the summit of the Going-to-the-Sun Road at 6,640 feet. The area just opened the week before I arrived and was still covered in snow. It was a welcome cool breeze from the hot valley floor including refilling my water bottle with fresh mountain spring water - much better than Arrowhead! Visitors from Canada and the East Coast abounded all enjoying the incredible place.

On the way back, the roof was open but the ice cream lines were too long. We passed through the Blackfoot Indian Reservation and learned about the history of the region. After another long day of driving, it was back to the lodge for dinner and another hot night in the lodge. Below are the rest of the pictures.

Driving to Montana - June 2013

Over the 4th of July holiday, I drove to Montana to visit Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. After a long week of driving almost 3,000 miles and taking over 700 pictures, the SD card in my camera failed as I was downloading my pictures. Fortunately, I found an excellent place online that will recover your files from any failed media device. If you need help, please contact them at  http://www.recovermyflashdrive.com/. In the words of Tony the Tiger... they're GREAT!!!

Unfortunately, the drive to some of the most spectacular spots on the planet was very long and somewhat boring. My Prius was great with satellite radio, leather seats, and 50 MPG over the whole trip! Listening to Stephen King's Under the Dome was also a nice companion on the drive. My route took me through Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. The first day included a stop in the middle of Idaho potato country as pictured above. The Fairfield Inn in Burley, ID is a great place to stop on the way to Yellowstone and even has a great Mexican restaurant next door.

If you time your drive right, you can usually hit Costco at lunch during a road trip. It's a great place to fill up the tank and buy a $1.50 hot dog & soda. The Costco in Helena, MT was also a great excuse to stop by the Montana State Capitol and stretch my legs. Helena is a nice little town with a nice capitol.

Montana is big sky country indeed. The place is very, very rural with hundreds of miles of open range and few people. You really need to keep an eye on the fuel gauge since the nearest pump may be far away! The long drive was made nicer by the amazing wildflowers and impressive cloud formations. There was even an honest old rodeo going on in one small town along the way.

Glacier National Park is about 1,200 miles from Sacramento and took two complete days of driving. Another tip - truck stops have great deals on soda including flavorings, at least the nice ones like Love's and Pilot. Unfortunately, getting to this part of the country involved a lot of driving, even with a flight, so just enjoy it. Below are two other road pictures for your enjoyment.