Day Eleven - Southern Yellowstone

Today was our last riding day through Yellowstone Park, our itinerary focusing on the southern portion of the Grand Loop Rd. It was colder than yesterday at a chilly 38 degrees when we woke up. We slept in a bit today and got to breakfast at 9:30am. We were on the road around 10:30am.

Our first stop was the Sulphur Caldron. It would take awhile to get there, as we encountered buffalo. Little did we know how much buffalo we’d see today! They were blocking the road in several areas of our morning journey with people in cars stopping to gawk and take pictures. At the first “buffalo jam” the park ranger finally got over to us and scurried them off the road. As we cruised along, we came across a very large herd of at least 50 crossing the street to get over to a stream along a lush grassy area. There were several baby bison in the herd, a much lighter chestnut brown color than the mature adults. We noticed that several of the male bison were protecting the females quite aggressively. Some were very close to us and afforded great video and pictures. We discovered the sound that bison make is like a very deep grunting, and they seem to stick out their tongues when they did this.

After all of that excitement we were finally on our way to see the geothermal structures. Reading some of the park’s informational pamphlets told us that Yellowstone holds half of the entire planet’s geothermal structures in the park alone, at 10,000.

Our first stop was a sulphur caldron. We could smell it before we saw it. There was boiling acidic liquid and a great deal of white steam, which really makes one think about how alive the park is beneath its pretty surface. One of the placards at the caldron described the pH levels in comparison to other liquids/compounds. In comparison, battery acid has a pH of zero, and the sulphur caldron has a pH of one! With that information, Michele decided that she will not be testing the waters by sticking her fingers into anything anymore.

The next stop was another area of caldrons and a volcanic mud pots. One of the areas was called the Dragon’s Mouth. It made an amazing noise as the gases echoed off the cavern from which it bubbled out. Later, Michele and Julie were getting ready to go into the restroom when a male buffalo came walking down the parking lot and casually strolled by them. He must have been no more than 10 feet from them. They were both ready to run into the restroom and barricade the door should the buffalo decide to charge them!

Rob walked up the ½ mile trail to see more structures and was also greeted by a bison that snuck up on him. For such a large animal they move exceptionally quiet.

 We enjoyed an hour drive along Yellowstone Lake. It was placid and had gorgeous mountain views in the distance. Along the ride we encountered a few spells of very light rain. Not enough to get us wet but enough to be noticeable and dampen the roads. It was during one of these little rain spells when we encountered a new weather occurrence for the trip--sleet. We didn’t want to believe it when Tom first came on the CB and said that it was sleeting. Perhaps we’ll get some snow tonight. Short of tornados and hurricanes, it’s all that is left for us to experience on this trip. LOL

We crossed the continental divide three times on our ride around the southern portion of the park. We stopped at the second one for some pictures.

 

Our next destination was Old Faithful and lunch at the Old Faithful Inn. This Inn is the original structure of the park and was built in 1903-1904.

 The interior is the result of a brilliant architect, using timbers to create a gorgeous 5-story effect unlike anything we had ever seen. We enjoyed a very good lunch (the roasted red pepper gouda soup was, according to Michele, probably the best soup she’s ever had). Rob said the gouda soup was some “good-a soup.”

Afterwards Julie and Michele shopped in the gift shop while Tom and Rob went up to the second story observation area just in time to catch the very tail end of Old Faithful’s 3pm eruption.

That day the eruptions were spaced 90 minutes apart so we decided to move on with our itinerary, hoping to catch at least one geyser later. As we were taking pictures next to the steaming Old Faithful, another one close by erupted (we think it might be the Bee Hive Geyser). It was spectacular and erupted with a good amount of force for about ten minutes. We lucked out seeing that one.

Next we headed 16 miles up the road to find the Prismatic Springs, which is the blue and yellow pool that is always featured in photos of Yellowstone. The Midway Basin actually held several of these pools and had a boardwalk around the entire area that allowed for close-up pictures. The colors varied from light turquoise to deeper blues, most of which had yellowish rings around the edges. The microbes are very active here, forming bacterial “mats” which in one square inch create their own ecosystem. Fascinating! Although seemingly very powerful with boiling, steaming water, the area does look very fragile.

The last item on the itinerary for the day was the canyon very close to our lodge. Along the way we took three diversion scenic drives: Firehole Canyon drive had spectacular high canyon walls and a fast-moving river; Fountain Flats drive was a large meadow with a meandering stream, some geothermal vents, and a few bison enjoying the waters; lastly, we took the Virginia Cascades drive with its road clinging to the edge of a deep canyon featuring a raging river with waterfalls and rapids. Michele actually told Rob to drive closer to the edge so she could get good pictures.

 We arrived at the canyon area and went to the lower falls first. The lower falls took all of us by surprise—deep, yellow and orange canyon walls led to a white and green waterfall and river. We were lucky that at 6pm we still had decent light to take pictures with beautiful cloud patterns in the blue sky.

Tom and Julie headed back to the lodge to warm up (it only got to 55 today and windy—brrr!) and Rob and Michele went to check out the upper falls. Although not as spectacular as the lower falls, the actual waterfall was impressive and had a strong current to it. Originally, water seeped through lava rock and the softer sandstone underneath eventually gave way allowing the waterfall to occur.

Rob realized that we may not get a chance to do laundry for several days, so he and Michele headed over to the laundromat before dinner. As we got off the bike to head into the laundromat, a male elk came strolling into the woods only 20 feet from us! Unfortunately, we had left both cameras back as the cabin. Rob took some video using the GoPro. We’ll see how that comes out.

As we finished up the laundry, Rob had been looking at our routes for the next two days on his laptop, and a man asked him “who is the one to hold the laptop on the bike while riding?” He was a nice guy from Minnesota and gave us good tips for our Teddy Roosevelt National Park visit during our return trip.

Today’s mileage was 105 miles with many cool sights. Yellowstone is an amazing place. We have only been able to barely scratch the surface in the last two days. We’ll just have to return here for an extended stay in the future!

Tomorrow we will wake up early and head south towards the Grand Tetons. We hope the weather is clear so we can see the mountains.