Yellowstone National Park
Nature's Wonderland
Yellowstone, WY
(also in MT & ID)
July 22nd, 2006
So
much
has been written about Yellowstone National Park that I hesitated to even
try to create something new and interesting. After a week spent wandering
from top to bottom and from side to side I was sure there could be much more
said about this unique point on earth, where nature has done some very strange
things. This story is based in ancient history. History starting some 2
million years ago when volcanoes were common, and eruptions were going on
everywhere. Magma from under the earth was being spewed out on top of the
earth, while mountains were being pushed up all around. Nature settled down for
a while then did it again, then 640,000 years ago it really blew up and dumped
an estimated 240 cubic miles of debris about the place. This left a large
open area far underground while substantially increasing the weight of earth
above. What 
happened next was really terrific. In what may be
the largest
sink-hole on earth, 30 to 45 miles in the center of the mountains collapsed into
the hole below. This created the Yellowstone basin and the conditions
which make this area so unique. That is, it has water or steam
geysers. Not just one, or two, but bunches. I'm not sure anybody
knows exactly how many geysers are actually active inside Yellowstone NP, but
there are almost 100 different ones listed on various internet sites. This
doesn't count the number of hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots that seem to be
everywhere. To say the park is big is an understatement. Every trip we
took into the park took all day and over 100 miles in driving. The are 4
way into the park, North, through Livingston MT. South, coming up through the
Grand Teton National Park, WY. East, through Cody, WY. and West from Ashton, ID.
These 4 roads join one of two loop roads, one on top of the other, which make up
the major roads in the
park. As we had been traveling west along I-90 through Bozeman, MT, we took
the north entrance. At Livingston we turned south for about 25 miles and
camped in an RV park, on the banks of the Yellowstone River. This is a fast moving river,
framed by majestic mountains, which 
has
its headwaters at Yellowstone Lake, in
the middle of the park. It is a fisherman's paradise with some 13
different fish dominated by cutthroat and rainbow trout. Fly fishing is
very popular. Another 30 miles south of the RV park lies Gardiner, MT, and the
North entrance to the park. Just past the town at a sharp turn in the road
stands the Roosevelt Arch. Built back in 1903 when access was by train to
Gardiner then stagecoach rides through the park, this 50 foot entrance was
considered a grand approach for those arriving. It is inscribed with the
words "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People" which personified
the National Park Service attitude. Just a quarter mile in from that
monolith so inscribed, you get the Park Service's other attitude. A
whopping 25 dollar a car entrance fee for those not so privileged as to have a
pass. With this unpleasantry out of the way, it was off to our
first glimpse at
Nature's diverse and powerful attractions. We didn't have long to wait.
Five miles down the road we passed through Hot Springs Village where the Park
Headquarters is located. Yellowstone Park has its own post office.
A formidable looking structure with large stone letters carved into its upper
face declaring it to be the Yellowstone Park Post office. It's easy
to find in the complex, just look for the tourists poising in front of it, but
watch out for the wandering moose that frequent the same area. 
A few 100 yards
out of the Village are the
Mammoth Hot springs, and what a sight they are! The best of the openings
is the one closest to the Village. There is a short boardwalk to a point
just below the opening. The water actually runs under the boardwalk and I
scooped up some to see what it tasted like. To my surprise it was quite
delightful, with no mineral test in it. It was about body temperature. The
sight from the closest point is captivating. Water flowing out of the top has
not been constricted so it has had time to cool. The minerals suspended in
it form a white to orange crust on everything it passes over. When dried it
brakes into a fine powder. It has formed terraces as it has flowed down
over the centuries. The various minerals have created a paint pallet like
design of red, orange and white. Here and there are pools of crystal clear
water just waiting for the bathers who will never come. There are mineral baths
available in other places but none with such a spectacular view. Soon we are
back in the car and continuing our trip south down the west side of the upper
loop road. Just a few miles down the road and we hit our first "natural" roadblock. That is, a bear came out to eat some of the
vegetation along side of the road and all the cars just stopped right where they
were. There
was no getting by. We simply sat there until the people in the car in front of
us had had their fill of bear pictures and had moved on. This scenario was
to be repeated over and over again for each Elk, Buffalo and Mule Deer that we
came upon.