Next up the southern loop. This was Geyser Day.
We headed west to Norris where we parked and walked a small
distance before descending into the back basin. It’s a flat depression with one
and a half miles of boardwalk taking you across the basin ground and saltwater
flats. Steam spouts were everywhere and there was a fair amount of shallow
standing waters. Here and there big sinkholes were visible where the thin crust
had collapsed. A little patience rewarded us to see the eruption of one of the
geysers: a bubbling steaming hot fountain that spurted fifteen feet into the
air for a minute or so before subsiding and repeating ten minutes later. Norris
basin is the hottest and oldest of the Yellowstone thermal areas and most of
its surface features are in excess of 200 degrees F. We missed out on Steamboat
geyser, even though it is one of the tallest, it is not nearly as regular and
predictable as Old Faithful.
We turned south to get to the big guns. Our first stop was
at the Fountain Paint Pot. Blue, some orange and rusted brown colors on the
bottoms of gurgling water ponds and their runoffs awaited us in between white
barren surroundings. Onto the Grand Prismatic Spring where a footbridge took us
over the Firehole River. We passed the Turquoise Pool and Opal Pool to get to
the Grand Prismatic
Spring. Blue! Yellow! Red! Green! And everything in
between. It is totally amazing. At the edge of the parking lot there was a
Bison calmly grazing away in the grass less than 20 yards from the passersby. He
seemed totally docile, like something in a petting zoo. A couple of weeks later
I saw a YouTube incident where in a similar situation the Bison took offence to
a young girl walking past. He charged her without warning, tossed her in the
air and then casually strolled away.
Time for the big one! Old Faithful. The area around is well
developed with big parking areas, lodges, hotels and other amenities. There is
also an elaborate boardwalk and path system. We hanged around and low and
behold within a minute of the predicted eruption time the geyser came alive and
with a big hiss it built up to a rushing fountain, shooting boiling water and
steam more than 100 feet into the air.
On our way back we had one more stop from where we walked to
the Mud Volcano, the Dragon Mouth Spring and the Sulphur Caldron. They were all
true to their names, the sites were intimidating, and the smell was really
BAD!
Last but not least was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. A two-tier
waterfall that tumbles into a giant canyon with yellow colored rocks. Green
pine forest surrounds it. I do not have words to describe the beauty and
splendor of this site. It’s simply spectacular from any of the vantage points. So
pretty, so very pretty.
Next morning, we had an early start back so we could make it
in time for our flight but not before we could observe a big Elk ambling across
the front patio of our neighboring cabin.
I believe Yellowstone was the very first National Park. What
a stunning idea!
