Day Seventeen: Yellowstone Part 2

Day 17 had a bit of a late start.... We were absolutely wiped out today fro the 5 mile hike we did yesterday... Our plan was to get up early thinking we may see some wildlife, but when the alarm went off at 6, the only person awake in our room was Jesus.... We slept!!!!!

Finally about 10ish we got going... Today's plan was to tour the geyser, hot spring, and geothermal pool area... I must admit I thought it was gonna bore me to death, but these things turned out to be some of the most unique and amazing things I have seen so far....

Below you will see various pics of some geothermal pools.... They all have names but after seeing about 100 of them today I cannot remember which is which.... They are really cool because there are these fissures in the ground that just ooze hot water from deep in the earth... Different microbes and microorganisms that can live in the boiling water grow in these pools and around them thus the various colors. The smell around these things is reminiscent of an easter egg that didn't get found 4 weeks after it was hidden!!! GROSS!!!!!

All around the pools are signs warning you that the ground is weak and not to cross the boundaries due to the risk of falling into a boiling cauldron of water.... Unlike the Grand Canyon, I obeyed the rules!!!! I like my skin!!!

This one was a bit different than the others... It was a boiling mud pit.... The ranger said this one often fools the bison and moose... There were some bison bones behind it that showed what happens when you get to close. This thing made me feel like I was in the Flintstones!!

One of the most fascinating things for me was this apple tree. Apple trees are not native to this area and it wasn't planted by the park, yet it was growing and blooming just a few feet from the boiling mud pit... The ranger explained that years ago before conservation projects in the park that a road came right beside the boiling mud... It is believed that someone must have thrown out an apple core and the core was left undisturbed thus the seeds inside grew into an apple tree... I wonder what person threw it out... Pretty cool huh... the road was closed in 1963.... Whoever it was must have went before then.

This geyser here is called Spasm Geyser... it was going nuts when we passed so we got a pic in front of it... The plume was about 20 feet high!

As we traveled from one thermal area to another we were really wanting to see some elk when I noticed something along the side of the road.... It WAS an elk.... only a dead one... Apparently a bear of wolf had their way with this one and 2 more that we saw right in the same area... Matt was all nervous here because he was afraid the bear of wolf may be watching from a far protecting its kill.... 

More thermal area shots! Don't go too fast... there is a video of geyser going off!

This one reminded me of a volcano only no lava... just water, but because of the microbes that were growing in the water it looked orange like lava.

This one was named Beach Spring.... Matt liked this one as it was named after his school!

This one was called Anemone Geyser... It erupts about every 10 minutes right on schedule.. each eruption varies in size.... the hole was completely empty of water when we walked up.... But that changed VERY quickly.... it's really cool how these things work.... Check out the video below the pic!!

Finally after lots of geyser watching, we got to the big daddy... While this is not the highest geyser in the park, it is the most "faithful." When we arrived at Old Faithful this is how it looked... Just barely a bit of steam.... The sign said it would erupt near 1:33 so we walked around and waited ... It was 12:30

You can see this is a big attraction... Hundreds of people gathered as the time grew near... We waited and waited!!!!!!!!!

Finally out of no where it erupted... it was the craziest thing... Not one thing coming out and then all of a sudden WHOOOOOOOOSH.... the water and steam just rush out... You cannot really tell it here but the steam and water went over 100 ft. high... Matt did a video... Click over to his blog and check it out!

Right past Old Faithful we saw a field of deer "mowing the lawn."

After spending a good portion of our day watching the geysers and hot springs we headed over to Lake Yellowstone to rent a canoe and sail out on the lake... It was raining when we got there and you couldn't get the boats... So we continued on around the park loop and entered the area where the falls were from yesterday... Since we entered from the southern entrance we saw a different trail to offer a different view, and I am glad we did... It was still raining here but it didn't stop anyone from walking and enjoying the area...

On the way up here we passed a huge field of Bison.... must have been a 100 or so... We tried a pic but they just looked like little specks on the camera.... it was VERY cool!!!

This area is called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Here we are posing in the rain with the falls... PLEASE notice the attire.... remember I said it was raining... I haven't mentioned the temp yet... When we were at the geysers it was in the upper 70's to 80.... Here it had dropped big time!!!!

This is what the car said at the falls..... That didn't count the wind... IT WAS FREEZING!!!!!!!

On the way home this evening we had 2 bits of excitement.... Matt and I were talking about how badly we wanted to see a wolf when out of no where one came running right in front of our car... He ran across the street and sat right beside us.... I was fumbling to get the camera out and when I rolled down the window he ran off... It was so exciting to see.... Mainly because we were literally just talking about.... About a mile down the road we noticed every one slamming on the brakes and pulling over... Of course this lets you know some wildlife has been spotted..... This time it was a hug bald eagle off in the distance... Matt zoomed in as close as he could to get a pic... check out his blog to see.

Day 17 Stats:

Mileage: 126 miles

Drive Time: 10 this morning 'til 6

Gas: No gas today.... We will fill back up tomorrow before heading 

                                             towards Denver...via Casper, WY