Having completed our obligatory stop at Old Faithful, we were off again, traveling east across the south end of the lower loop.  This took us to Yellowstone Lake and the source of the famous Yellowstone river which we were camped on some 60 miles to the north.  This is a huge lake visible on many globes.  This is a fishing Mecca for anglers, even though it depth reaches over 400 feet at some places.  With time running short, we continued on turning north as we traveled up the east side of the lower loop.  We were now following the Yellowstone River through a valley of pristine beauty.  It was along the route that we ran into our final "Natural roadblock".  As timing would have it we had come in contact with a crossing Buffalo herd  There is nothing we could do but sit back and watch the show.  With Buffalo in front of us and behind, we watched in amazement as several bulls took up a position in front of the on-coming cars blocking any ability they might have had to continue.  The giant beasts turned head into traffic and stood like fixed statues while cow and calf lazily wandered from one side of the road to the other.  The poor guy in front of us was on a motorcycle and obviously feeling quite vulnerable. Bison came to North America during the Pleistocene Epoch via the Bering land bridge. Eventually they ranged from Canada’s Great Slave Lake to Mexico and from eastern Oregon almost to the Atlantic. They especially thrived on the Great Plains where some 30 million formed the biggest mass of large mammals ever to tread the globe. Early French settlers who saw herds living near the East Coast called them bison because they looked like a European cousin. A later English naturalist described them as buffalo which name stuck, By 1890, hunting and random killing for sport had reduced the herds to around 1000 animals. Only a strong protection policy has insured their continued existence, with herds now reaching around 80,000 animals.  Eventually the herd parted and the motorist were back on their way.  Continuing North we passed through Canyon Village.  This is known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It is believed that lava flowing some 600,000 years ago started the canyon. A thermal basin developed in this lava flow, altering and weakening the rhyolite lava by action of the hot steam and gases. Steam rises from vents in the canyon today and the multi-hued rocks of the canyon walls are also evidence of hydro thermally altered rhyolite. Much later other lava flows blocked rivers and streams forming lakes that overflowed and cut through the various hard and soft rhyolite, creating the canyon. The present appearance of the canyon dates from about 10,000 years ago when the last glaciers melted.  At its deepest, it sinks some 900 feet and stretches out over a half mile wide. It runs about 23 miles long.  We stopped for a while at a pullout which afforded us a view of the canyon. Many of the pull offs have boardwalks built out to a particularly nice vantage point.  A little climbing will get you some very interesting photos.  Soon we were back on the road and the final leg of our long journey.  As we entered the east side of the upper loop road, we came to Mt. Washburn.  The summit is 10,243 feet and not much fun for anybody who has chosen to bring their motor coach.  The Jeep Liberty which we were driving sped right along without difficulty.  This area had some of the most devastated landscapes to be seen in the park. Lodgepole Pines represent about 60 percent of the trees in Yellowstone.  The name as you might conclude comes from its use by native Indians in the making of Teepee lodges.  Straight and limber they make excellent supports for that type of structure.  However, what should be a beautiful sight of thick pine forest often ends up looking more like a nuclear disaster.  This is the result of a combination of forest fires and a veracious pine beetle. The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, is a member of a group of beetles known as bark beetles. Except when adults emerge and attack new trees, the mountain pine beetle completes its life cycle under the bark. Unfortunately  this is a death toll for the lodgepole pine.  For several miles leading up to and over the top of the mountain, this destruction was evident everywhere.  It gave the park a tired, old look.  As for the forest fires, although just as destructive in the beginning, the lodgepole pine has a unique reproduction method.  The tree produces a pine cone which does not germinate. It simply lays on the ground waiting for the right time.  It will take a forest fire to cause the seeds to grow, so, right after a fire, lodgepole pine seedlings pop up everywhere.  Unfortunately, no such event occurs when the pine beetle attacks, and the land is simply destroyed.  With nothing to burn, fire cannot open the awaiting cones.  As we came down on the north side of Mt. Washburn we turned west and headed back to the north entrance to the park.  This had been quite a trip and a absolute must for anybody traveling this way.

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