Oct 2, 2012 - Artist Paint Pots...Yellowstone

Our final day of touring Yellowstone finds us at the Artists Paint Pots, a group of over 50 springs, geysers, vents and especially mud pots. They exhibited varying shades of blue, grey and brown, and have a range of different textures. Our literature told us the behavior changes during the year depending on the amount of subterranean water. We took the easy 0.6 mile loop trail through partly wooded land, mostly level apart from a short climb and descent across the hillside overlooking the basin. The boardwalk path crosses bushy flats to the...

Oct 1, 2012 - Gibbon Falls & Beryl Spring...

Today we visited the 84 foot high Gibbon Falls located on the Gibbon River about midway between Norris Geyser Basin and Madison Junction. The falls are situated where the Gibbon River falls off the Northern escarpment into the Yellowstone Caldera. There is a small parking area near the top of the falls which offers a great viewpoint and then we walked around the curve for an even better view. Gibbon Falls is named for Colonel John Gibbon, U.S. Army who participated in the 1872 Hayden Geological Survey of Yellowstone. After hanging out for...

Sep 30, 2012 - Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces, Yellowstone...

Today's post covers Mammoth Hot Springs, a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the spring cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas. At Mammoth Hot Springs, a rarer kind of...

Sep 29, 2012 - Yellowstone 'Critters'...

Ok, so I'm going to jump back & forth in my next few posts. I still have a few areas of Yellowstone to share with you & I think you will find them quite interesting & beautiful. I've put a few of the 'Yellowstone critters' in one folder so I am going to start there today. Hope you enjoy them. Then I have a few nice pics taken between Island Park, Idaho & Missoula, Montana to share. Did I mention that I've been trying to share some of the driving with Larry on these long out-of-the way roads? It's been awhile since I pulled the rig & I...

Sep 28, 2012 - Yellowstone Falls...

Today's post visits Yellowstone Falls, which consists of two major waterfalls on the Yellowstone River. As the Yellowstone river flows north from Yellowstone Lake, it leaves the Hayden Valley and plunges first over Upper Yellowstone Falls and then a quarter mile downstream over Lower Yellowstone Falls, at which point it then enters the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is roughly 30 miles long, 800 to 1,200 feet deep and 1500 to 4,000 feet wide. The Yellowstone River is the force that created the canyon and the falls. It begins on the...

Sep 27, 2012 - Johnny Sack Cabin & Big Springs...

Located just 28 miles outside the West Entrance of Yellowstone is the Johnny Sack Cabin and Big Springs. We visit this little gem every time we are in this area. It's located just up the road a bit from Mesa Falls (I covered the Falls in an earlier post) and visiting both of these locations would be a great way to spend part of a day. The spring is beautiful & interesting, as is the story of Johnny Sack. In 1929, Johnny Sack leased a small tract of land from the United States Forest Service and began building his log cabin at Big Springs....

Sep 26, 2012 - Midway Geyser Basin plus...

Today's post picks up the second part of day one spent in Yellowstone at the Midway Geyser Basin. The wind had kicked up and the temperature dropped enough for a long sleeved shirt as we walked the boardwalk past the enormous Excelsior Geyser Crater and the park's largest hot spring, Grand Prismatic. And oh man, can you feel the heat rising from it. And the steam to boot, don't know why I bothered to try and curl my hair! Excelsior Geyser isn't really a geyser anymore. Until about 1890 Excelsior erupted as high as 300 feet. In 1985 it...

Sep 25, 2012 - Yellowstone National Park...

Today's post is full of information on Yellowstone National Park for those of you that have never visited. Or for those, like us, that visited several years ago and forgot everything we knew about it except that it was amazingly diversified and beautiful! I promise in future posts I'll share a small amount of info with a large amount of pics! Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. State of Wyoming. Widely...

Sep 24, 2012 - Henry's Lake, Idaho...

Yesterday we made our first trip into Yellowstone Park. I took 490 pics, oh my!!! So, it will be a few days before I post any of those as I have to narrow them down significantly, resize & label them. It's a job! In the meantime I'll share a few pics taken here at our RV park & a few taken this afternoon across the highway at Henry's Lake. As I mentioned earlier, we have friends that have a seasonal home on the lake. It's actually 3 sisters that share the family home that was inherited when both parents passed. We weren't sure if any of...

Sep 23, 2012 - Upper & Lower Mesa Falls....

After setting up camp yesterday we drove about 35 miles to view the Upper & Lower Mesa Falls. Larry & I were first here in 2006 and Mom, Joyce & I visited the falls in 2010. Other than Niagara, these are my favorite Falls. I love how close you can get on the boardwalks & viewing platforms at the Upper Falls. You can hear & feel the thunder and power below your feet, almost makes you want to jump in and try to ride it to the beautiful river below. Well, almost! Upper Mesa Falls is roughly 114 feet high and 200 feet wide. The average volume...

Sep 22, 2012 - Reed Point, MT to Island Park, ID....

Pulled out of the Deer Park Campground in Buffalo about 12:30pm Friday & headed west on I-90, destination Reed Point, Montana. It seemed like a good stopping point for the night before heading to Island Park, Idaho today. We arrived at our Passport America Park about 5:30pm & got checked in quickly. This is a small (19 sites) park but a very friendly place. Clark directed us to a western saloon at the end of town for a light dinner of wings, onion straws & stuffed mushrooms. Very tasty & I didn't have to cook! There is a train track not far...

Sep 7, 2012 - cleaning up after road construction

Donald washed the trailer today and I cleaned inside He really had a big job after that horrible road construction. He did a great job. That took most of the day. We decided to go back over to West Yellowstone to get some post cards and our McDonald's fix. Can you believe they don't have a dollar menu. I see this as gouging tourist. Came home and Donald study his map and campground books and I set outside and read. We have crossed Continent Divide three times in three different states. We need to get moving south because Donald talked to...