Yellowstone National Park
Today was our first day in Yellowstone National Park. We ate a simple breakfast at Cody Cowboy Village in Cody, WY, and then drove an hour and a half to the park entrance gate. The previous day, Drew and I researched cool hikes to do and one, the Avalanche Peak Trail, caught my eye. We asked the park ranger at the gate if he would recommend this hike, but the response we got was a stern "Do you have bear spray?" At first we thought he was joking, but he was completely serious, so we decided to pass on that trail, as we did not have the mace-like bear deterrent. Instead, we drove to the information station and asked a ranger which hikes he recommended. He was not the most knowledgeable ranger when it came to trails off the beaten path, but he did recommend the Elephant Back Trail. We also bought some bear spray just in case.
Today was our first day in Yellowstone National Park. We ate a simple breakfast at Cody Cowboy Village in Cody, WY, and then drove an hour and a half to the park entrance gate. The previous day, Drew and I researched cool hikes to do and one, the Avalanche Peak Trail, caught my eye. We asked the park ranger at the gate if he would recommend this hike, but the response we got was a stern "Do you have bear spray?" At first we thought he was joking, but he was completely serious, so we decided to pass on that trail, as we did not have the mace-like bear deterrent. Instead, we drove to the information station and asked a ranger which hikes he recommended. He was not the most knowledgeable ranger when it came to trails off the beaten path, but he did recommend the Elephant Back Trail. We also bought some bear spray just in case.
After a quick lunch at a park restaurant, we
pulled on our hiking boots and headed over to the Elephant Back Trail. We quickly
felt the effects of the high altitude as we were panting heavily during a 3/4-mile
stretch, climbing 800 feet up in that short span. After this trek we were close
to the top of the trail, where we had great views of Yellowstone Lake. We took
in the scenery for a few minutes then headed back down the steep incline. We
made it to the bottom, hopped back in the car, and drove north towards our campsite
near Canyon Lodge.
On this drive saw multiple Bison just walking leisurely in the street. The Bison are everywhere here. We saw even more at the Mud Volcano Area, which was our first glimpse of Yellowstone's 10,000 hydrothermal processes. Steam spewed from the ground and it smelled awful. Worse than just sulfur; it's hard to explain. Apparently we could not get enough of the stench, because after returning to the car, we stopped almost immediately at a place called the Sulfur Cauldron, which contained more hydrothermal features. This time there were mud pots, which are basically boiling globs of thick muddy glop. There was also a Bison basking in the warmth right on the edge, which we thought was funny.
Yellowstone Lake from top of Elephant Back Trail
On this drive saw multiple Bison just walking leisurely in the street. The Bison are everywhere here. We saw even more at the Mud Volcano Area, which was our first glimpse of Yellowstone's 10,000 hydrothermal processes. Steam spewed from the ground and it smelled awful. Worse than just sulfur; it's hard to explain. Apparently we could not get enough of the stench, because after returning to the car, we stopped almost immediately at a place called the Sulfur Cauldron, which contained more hydrothermal features. This time there were mud pots, which are basically boiling globs of thick muddy glop. There was also a Bison basking in the warmth right on the edge, which we thought was funny.
Hydrothermal Mud Pots
Drew in front of Bison next to Hydrothermal feature
While the sights were neat, the smell got the
best of us, and we set up camp in Canyon Campground. We showered, got dinner at
the cafeteria, which was not all that great, and then drove to see the
Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River in the Grand Canyon of
Yellowstone. The Lower falls were awesome. The water drops over 300 feet before
splashing into the continuing river below. Sunset was approaching, which
allowed us to get some really nice pictures. We stopped at a couple more
viewpoints of the waterfall, and then called it an early night as we passed out
in our tent around 10 p.m.
Carl and Drew with Lower Falls behind
No comments:
Post a Comment