We left our little cabin at 6:55 am and headed to Yellowstone. We stopped just outside of Cody to see Old Trail Town (it wasn't open yet, too early) and Colter's Hell.
Cody, Wyoming
Cody, Wyoming
Old Trail Town
Old Trail Town - Pile of antlers
Old Trail Town
Colter's Hell is an area of fumaroles and hot springs on the Shoshone River near Cody. Its thermal activity has declined ever since its description by mountain man John Colter, who parted from the Lewis and Clark Expedition prior to its conclusion and passed through the region in the winter of 1807-08. Colter's account of the features on what was then called the Stinkingwater River has subsequently been confused with the much more extensive and powerful geysers in Yellowstone.
Colter's Hell
Colter's Hell
Colter's Hell
Shoshone Canyon is a gorge cut through Rattlesnake Mountain by the wearing action of the Shoshone River. It was a beautiful drive through here and we took lots of pictures. Granite exposed at the west end of the canyon at Buffalo Bill Dam is two billions years old!
The Shoshone Canyon area was beautiful. Again, we took a bunch of pictures!
Road leading to Buffalo Bill Dam
Tunnel leading to Buffalo Bill Dam.
There were 2 or 3 tunnels we drove through on our way.
Once we passed through the tunnels, we were at the dam area. We couldn't see it because it was down below the rock and the area was fenced off. Being Sunday, the area to the dam didn't open until 9:00 am so we didn't get to see it. The Buffalo Bill Dam was the first concrete arch dam and at its completion it was the tallest dam in the world. The dam is 70 feet wide at the base and 200 feet wide at the crest, with an original height of 325 feet. It was built between 1905 and 1910.
Buffalo Bill Dam
Below the dam
Below the dam
The rest of the way to Yellowstone was full of non-stop beauty. I can't say much more than that so will just show pictures!
We also saw this "house" along the road. We didn't really know about it until after we were home and just happened to find some information on it. The rambling log structure with its undulating staircases, umpteen balconies and fun-house warren of half-finished rooms, has for nearly 30 years loomed over the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway has inspired lots of stories. A clerk at a nearby shop that sells elk-antlers chandeliers says that the house appeared to a man in a vision and that he built it as a monument to the town. At a filling station, a motorist who had stopped for ice cream said that the house was meant to be a lookout tower if an underground volcano in Yellowstone ever erupted. None of them are fact. The builder, Mr Smith, was an engineer and labored single handedly for more than a dozen years on the house. There were no blueprints. The only electricity came from a bulb connected to an extension cord, hooked up to a generator. The family lived in the house for several years and the wife finally left because her husband was obsessed with the house and worked on it every spare minute he wasn't at his real job. The only heat came from a wood stove in one of the rooms.
The 1st national park, Yellowstone was established by an act of Congress in 1872. The region took its name from the dramatic gold-hued cliffs lining the river canyon, known by the Minnetaree Native Americans as mi tse a-de-zi (Yellow Rock River). Though its mountain forests and meadows are beautiful in their own right, Yellowstone is unique for its geysers, hot springs, mud pools and fumaroles - the largest concentration of geothermal features in the world. The park sits atop one of the largest active volcanoes on earth, a "hot spot" that last erupted some 640,000 years ago, carving out a caldera 30 miles wide and 45 miles long. Heated by this vast subterranean magma chamber, the Yellowstone valley continues to steam and vent.
Fountains of scalding water burst high into the air from some geysers, while others bubble and spit in murky depths. Hot springs gleam in shades of emerald green and blue. Algae and bacteria create these vivid colors, vigorous steam vents emit uncanny sounds and smells.
We arrived at Yellowstone at 8:50 am and the temperature was 49*. We saw some buffalo before we ever got inside the park. We had a car with two women ahead of us who kept stopping to take pictures, taking turns hanging out the windows. Then you'd see them get their heads together to look at the picture and if it didn't pass their standards, did it again. I thought we'd never get around them!
These sheep were just inside the gate. All animals
have the right of way in the park.
The snow varied from place to place.
Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Lake
The 1st steam vent we saw was pretty exciting!
Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Lake
We stopped for awhile at LeHardy's Rapids on the Yellowstone River. The rapids were named for Paul LeHardy, a civilian topographer with the Jones Expedition in 1873. Jones and a partner started off on a raft with the intent of surveying the river, planning to meet the rest of their party at the Lower Falls. Upon hitting the rapids, the raft capsized, and many of the supplies were lost, including guns, bedding and food. LeHardy and his partner saved what they could an continued their journey to the falls on foot.
The water was pretty wild with the spring snow melt. It was mesmerizing to just stand and watch!
LeHardy Rapids
LeHardy Rapids
LeHardy Rapids
We continued north towards Canyon Village. The land flattened out and we saw lots of buffalo.
We figured out that the circles you see in this picture
are places the buffalo make their beds.
Buffalo were everywhere
Yellowstone River
Near Canyon Village we went to the Lower Falls and Upper Falls. The Lower Falls were so impressive and, once again, lots of snow melt coming down the falls. At 308', the Lower Falls is the tallest waterfall in the park. In terms of height alone, it's more than twice the size of Niagara Falls. The Upper Falls drop 109'.
Lower Falls
Lower Falls
Lower Falls
We had several views of the Lower Falls and the water was really gushing! It was so loud, it was hard to even talk to each other.
Upper Falls
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was formed over thousands of years of erosion caused by wind, water and other natural forces. The canyon stretches approximately 20 miles long and about half a mile wide. Just as remarkable as the canyon's terra-cotta hued cliff walls is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, which is nearly 1,000 feet deep, and earns the title of longest undammed river in the country, meandering for more than 600 miles through Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. It was a dreary day and our pictures don't show the color very well. But, it was beautiful!
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River
As we drove through the park, the snowfall along the road went from deep to non-existent. The next two pictures were taken just 16 minutes apart!
Deep snow along the plowed road
and 16 minutes later...no signs of snow!
Tower Fall was our next stop. It was named in 1870 for the towers and pinnacles that frame it. Tower Creek plunges over 132' Tower Fall before joining the Yellowstone River.
Tower Fall
Next stop was the Mud Volcano area. One of the park's most geologically volatile regions, this area contains an assortment of mud pots and other gurgling sulfurous pits. The nearby Sour Creek resurgent dome is the fuel that superheats the mud volcanoes, while the high acidity breaks down rock into mud pots rather than creating the pressurized geyser plumbing more characteristic of alkaline thermal features. Mud Volcano has not erupted since an 1871 expedition team first encountered it. A crater is all that remains of the original cone.
Mud Volcano area
Dragon's Mouth Spring gets its name from the deep thumping and crashing that emanates from a hidden lair that looks like it guards the gateway to the underworld. In 1999 the pool cooled and its color changed from green to white and now gray.
Dragon's Mouth Spring
Mud Geyser - you can see the bubbles
On our way to our hotel, Old Faithful Inn, we crossed the Continental Divide.
After a sandwich from the little deli in the hotel we were going to go out to wait for Old Faithful to perform. We stepped out on the big front porch and she was doing her thing in the pouring down rain! We went back to our room and decided to call it an early night. We wanted to get an early start the next morning.
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