Many Faces of Yellowstone

We wasted no time getting on the road yesterday and heading to Yellowstone.  We hadn’t been able to secure a campsite reservation so we were on a mission to get to our desired campground in time to score a “first come first serve” site.  Entering the park, it was hard to bypass the famed attractions but we had a task to accomplish.

Our determination paid off.  Despite being told no sites were available, our new friend Sandy worked through the system and pulled off the perfect site!  With a place to stay secure, we headed back the way we came and went to see all Yellowstone had to offer.

Geysers were the order of the day.  The southwest quadrant of Yellowstone is laden with multitudes of colorful, steaming, spouting geysers.  Everywhere we went, the ground and water had clouds of steam rising from it.  Stopping at one after another, we saw magnificently colored pools, bubbling cauldrons of mud in all colors of the rainbow, spewing geysers shooting their spray to all heights. 

The geology and chemistry behind it all is so fascinating.  The colors are created by bacteria, algae and chemical reactions of various sorts.  The orange, red and brown tones are usually chemical while the blues and greens are bacteria.  We saw blue, pink, bright orange and deep rusty red.  Pools of water were crystal clear or thick as mud and some were deeper than you could see while others showed a maze of holes, nooks and crannies throughout.  Rivers of algae in different colors moved with the water and the water moved in countless ways from bubbling to spraying to oozing to flowing.

Parking with the RV proved to be a challenge in the Memorial Day week traffic but we made it work.  When we found a backcountry bike path that led from one geyser basin to Old Faithful, we happily jumped on our bikes and experienced the steaming country on wheels of a different kind. 

Old Faithful was everything I remember from my childhood and more.  Still as predictable and magnificent as ever, we arrived with over an hour to kill before the scheduled eruption.  We were able to check out the beautiful lodge and wander the countless other geysers in the area before viewing the spectacle of Old Faithful before a thunderstorm had us riding hard to get back to the RV.

When we arrived back at the campsite and started to get settled, a neighbor came by to see what Holy City was all about.  Low and behold, he was a close friend to our great friend Steve Thompson who bought Moonshadow, our sailboat!!!  He has been touring the country this year as a stay at home (well, stay on the road) dad with his two beautiful daughters.  His wife was in for a visit and we all ended up spending a great night together.  Dinner, cards and a walk kept us occupied and by the end of the night, we had great new friends to connect with when returning home in the fall!

Day two had us back on the road to see the more northern area of the park.  The first stop was the Norris Geyser Basin which is the hottest spot of the park with ground temps in many areas exceeding 200 degrees!  With steam rising literally from just about everywhere, it was a magical and actually a pretty spooky landscape.  It is very clear that the earth is active and in control as you walk through the seething grounds. 

With highway work being done on the road, we ended up waiting for our turn to go for half an hour and were entertained by two buffalo that were on a grazing mission within feet of our RV.  Thankful for the distraction, we joined the others out of their vehicles with cameras in hand to get some up close shots.

Back on the road, we headed for Mammoth Springs another mainstay of the Yellowstone legacy.  A landscape I remember from a childhood visit, the multi terraced flowing hot springs did not disappoint.  We wandered and climbed and hiked the springs and the town, visited the visitor center and dodged some elk to get to the post office.  Crazy, this wild wild place!

Before getting back on the road to take in the northern and eastern areas of the park on our way to our next campsite, I decided the bright sun and warm temps were the perfect excuse for an ice cream (not to mention trying huckleberry, the local favorite!).   As fate – and the magic of this trip - would have it, our new friends showed up at the same time!  I had the treat of sharing my ice cream with Elsa and Josie, the two delightful daughters, and we shared a few more laughs.

Tearing ourselves apart again, we all went our separate ways and Rob and I got on the “high road”.  Known for wildlife viewing, the northern route was more remote and so beautiful.  We stopped at waterfalls and other sights along the road.  

People stop in their tracks when they see wildlife so we had lots of opportunities to be distracted.  The count for the day – a baby owl, a baby black bear playing, a momma black bear and 3 babies sleeping, countless buffalo (including one that was not pleased with the sound of a passing motorcycle!) and some elk.  Not a bad showing for a single day!

We made our way over the pass at over 8900 feet still buried in snow and finally arrived at Canyon campground and our home for the night.  A side benefit of a night in this campsite is an untimed hot shower which was fully appreciated and completely taken advantage of!  Now we’re sitting and watching people walking by the RV and handing out beer to those that stare (grin).  We’ve met couples from Holland, South Carolina and Tennessee and it’s another perfect end to a perfect day!