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| From Dobbs Trek: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons 2009 |
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| From Dobbs Trek: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons 2009 |
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| From Dobbs Trek: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons 2009 |
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| From Dobbs Trek: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons 2009 |
Norris Geyser Basin
The Norris Geyser area is the hottest and most active area of the park. The geysers, thermal pools, and fumeroles here all behave very erratically since there is so much pressure and heat beneath them. New features are formed and existing ones change form frequently (geyser to fumeroles to pool). A few years ago part of the basin had to be closed to tourists since the temperature on the walkways was high enough to melt tennies! While hiking the 2.5 miles of walkways here we also saw a Pine Marten (of the weasel family). The Porkchop geyser in this area exploded in 2005, hurling rocks and debris 200 feet into the air – you can still see the mess it made. Eight tourists happened to be there at the time but were unhurt. When you hear the sound of the pressurized steam in that area, you have no problem believing the whole area could just blow at any time – no matter what the ranger says.
Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign
Yellowstone is big on signs. They have a caution sign for almost everything. The most frequent sign we have seen warns guests to stay on the trail or boardwalk to avoid falling through the thin crust of the thermal areas and being boiled (as baby buffalo are from time to time - smells like beef stew for a while, they said). All of these signs include a graphic of a boy falling into a geyser while a girl covers her mouth in horror and points at him. This is a serious matter, really it is. But these signs make me laugh every time. They strongly imply that boys are silly, reckless beings (possibly true) and that girls are totally useless in a crisis (absolutely not true!). I’ll add a photo of the sign to the slide show.
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| From Dobbs Trek: Yellowstone & Grand Tetons 2009 |
Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River
We hiked down a horrendous, steep trail today to the edge of the Lower Falls – 10 switchbacks at about a 35-40 degree angle. Ugh. But once there we stood feet above the spot where the river plummets 308 feet to the rocks below. Standing right above it was heart stopping. Walking back up the switchbacks was also almost heart stopping!
Our Cabin!
Our next three nights will be spent in Gardiner, Montana. The town is right outside the Roosevelt Arch at the North entrance to the park. It’s a little wild west gaggle of buildings and businesses perched along the raging Yellowstone River. Our cabin is in a kind of back alley location and from the outside looks about as big as a postage stamp. It has a loft bedroom (accessed with a ladder) and two other bedrooms. One has ship like bunks built in and the other has a queen bed that literally takes up the entire room. The kitchen is more properly a galley and the living room is cozy. The absolute best part of the cabin is the view. The back porch and living room have a full view of the river and the mountains beyond. The river is so loud! I keep thinking it’s pouring rain outside, but it’s just the river. When we arrived it was storming a bit so the photos we’ve taken so far don’t do it justice. More to come tomorrow. We ran out to the local store and picked up some steaks to grill and had a wonderful dinner, cozy in our cabin. It appears we’re only the fourth guests to stay in the cabin – it’s brand new. Pictures coming soon.
*A sad note. After writing this entry, I saw on Fox news that a young man committed suicide yesterday by throwing himself into the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone. We were there yesterday, as well, and had no idea. Today we saw rangers with high powered binoculars in areas of the river and falls that are normally closed, and had no idea they were actually looking for his body. Very, very sad.
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