Yellowstone-Its more than just one Geyser!

The scenery on the boardwalk at the Old Faithful visitor center was just as beautiful and inspiring as the main attraction itself. The trail goes past Castle Geyser, Beehive Geyser, Daisy Geyser, Grand Geyser, among others that erupt just as impressively as the big one although at many different intervals. 

Remember our stop just yesterday at Thermopolis? (really, a couple of posts ago) Does any of this hot pot, natural spring landscape look familiar? Similar underground activity at work here. 

There is a long boardwalk over delicate natural features.  Some of the surfaces cannot support the weight of people. Some are gooey, some are deep holes!

Imagine this: my great Uncle Andy worked here around the time of the depression at what he called a “dude ranch.” He and my grandfather and the whole family grew up in the west (Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Arizona). They were very much cowboys. One summer Andy, who at the time was probably late teen or early twenty-something, got the job of bear wrangler. Back then everyone around, including the park service, would feed the bears in order to bring them in close for the ‘dudes’ and tourists. Can you imagine that being done now?

At that same time, early in the history of Yellowstone, visitors walked all over the hot spring and geyser areas. How many people burned themselves? Or drowned? Or how many uneducated ‘dudes’ drank the sulfur strong water? Can you imagine walking on these features today? Not really, although somewhere else on the earth someone probably has a feature like this on their property that they and the animals traverse without a second thought. I personally don’t think that would cause any damage on a private scale. However, reserving the broad landscape here considering the throngs that visit during the summer does make sense. 

Sadly, we did not go to Mammoth on this trip. Just leaves a reason to stop in again on our way back to Kansas to retrieve more of our belongings. 

Look closely at the main stream on this geyser, you can see the water swirl as it is ejected!

Old Faithful

What is the one destination everyone has to see when visiting Yellowstone Park? There could be a few answers out there, but in the top three would be Old Faithful. That would be our fist destination. After a leisurely morning drive in, we arrived at the brand new Old Faithful Visitor’s center at about 11:30 am. Right in the middle of the rotunda is the sign that posts the next estimated eruption time: 11:55! How perfect could that be. I made a beeline for the viewing area. The layout of the visitor center includes a huge picture window on an axis looking straight out to the geyser. No question of where to go. 

Ken and I walked briskly to the seating area. A long, wide boardwalk makes a semi-circle around the geyser. There were a few other visitors today, but not a crowd, again, think about a fall visit! There was plenty of seating if anyone required it, and plenty of shoulder space. As the boiling action started, everyone stood still and watched. Shutters clicking, oohs and ahhs, cheering as if the geyser could respond! It was really amazing to stand there and think, we are on top of a giant old volcano! There is still some tremendous activity underground. We humans should never forget that we cannot totally control nature. 

Old Faithful spews up water and steam up to a height of 184 feet.

Once this eruption died down, Ken and I refocused on our lack of coffee this morning. I felt for sure there would be a snack bar of some sort available. We had stopped at the old visitor center and snack bar, yet it was shuttered for the season. We inquired at the visitor center desk about refreshments and they directed us to a new catered facility across the parking lot. Now I know the parks need to make money however they can, and I know they contract out most hospitality products, but they really need to require these places to match the quality of product to price. We went in for lunch: a cold sandwich, cup of chili, two coffees, and hot dog with chili. It was over $25!!!! The food was barely cafeteria quality. As such, we filled our coffee cups twice. I complained because I had food in the car that would have been better-namely a peanut butter and black cherry jelly sandwich would have been better. So, just a tip for you future travelers. 

After lunch we went back to the trails that wind around Old Faithful, through the forest, and across many other smaller geysers, mud pots, mineral pools, and streams. There are a good many photos from this walk so move along to the next post. 

Thermopolis, World’s Largest Mineral Hot Springs, a Great Rest Stop on the Road

The scenic byway of the Wind River continues a little past Thermopolis, however, I was determined to stop for a soak in the mineral springs. There are three bath house opportunities for soaking, two are mini-theme parks garishly colored and filled with cooky rides and slides, the third middle house is the state park http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=9 . I like to say its the one instance where the U.S. government kept its agreement with the Native Americans. The agreement with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Indian tribes when the U.S. absconded with their land, was that the hot springs remain free to the people in perpetuity. And today it is. 

In a theme that has been and will be with us throughout this trip, we got there in the nick of time. The free park closed at 5:30 and we arrived at 4:30. There is a limit on soak time of 15 minutes and we were stymied by the outdoor pool being closed for cleaning but had the backup opportunity for the indoor pool. With such beautiful weather out, it would have been nice to soak it all up outside. Regardless, the healthful benefits of a mineral soak were not to be missed. 

The bath spring water is maintained at 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Minerals found in the water include sulfur, calcium sulfate, magnesium, sodium, hydrogen carbonate, and many more. Very considerate of nature to put these ingredients all in a blend that is habitable to humans! 

As mentioned, Ken and I arrived in time to relax and enjoy a soak in the bath house. The building has a wonderful picture window view of the nearby mountains seen from the pool. I cannot fault the park service for putting a limit on the spring soak, 15 minutes was just about right. There were a few other folks soaking in the time we were there and everyone was calm and happy! Thank you to the geothermal processes!

After our soak, we took a nice stroll on the boardwalk over the mineral pools to the historic suspension bridge that crosses the Rocky Mountain Big Horn River (the Wind River changes names when leaving the canyon). 

The dissolved and deposited limestone in the form of calcium gives the overflow edge along the river the big cascade effect. Just the right temperature and mineral combination also makes the water home to numerous algae which decorate parts of the surface pools with vibrant colors. For a DOE technical analysis of the geographical formation, see this pdf site http://www.osti.gov/bridge/purl.cover.jsp?purl=/6053845-rsRTid/native/ 

I am not a scientist, but I could not help thinking when looking at old photos, and even my own memory of 10 years ago, that there seemed to be less flow of spring water today than in the past. It could have just been the season, or day, or cycle. I hope these springs continue to flow for generations to enjoy. We did have a pleasant evening.