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Showing posts with label Yellowstone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yellowstone. Show all posts

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Yellowstone Waterfalls


Yellowstone has 45 named waterfalls over 15 feet.
In addtion to the popular Upper & Lower Falls, we visited many others.
Moose Falls
One & a half miles from the south park entrance, is Moose Falls on Crawfish Creek.
Thirty foot Lewis Falls on the Lewis River.
Kepler Cascades fall 150 feet along the Firehole River.
Firehole Falls drop 40 feet.
Along the Gibbon River, Virginia Cascades drop 60 feet.
Rustic Falls are on Glen Creek falling 47 feet.
Upper Undine Falls along Lava Creek fall 60 feet.
Tower Fall (spelled with no s) tumbles 132 feet down Tower Creek just before joining the Yellowstone River.

Critters spotted in Yellowstone

These tiny chipmunks are the smallest in the squirrel family.
These guys are everywhere!
A Mammoth doe elk & bunny
Bull elk near our Canyon Lodge cabin.
Small bison herd with calves near Norris Geyser Basin.
This huge bull was sleeping outside the Museum of the National Park Ranger.
Another bison, running down the road.
He tipped his horns at our car as he passed.

This black bear & cub were spotted on the Blacktail plateau between Mammoth & Roosevelt.

Tower - Roosevelt Area

Our final night in Yellowstone was spent in a Roosevelt cabin.

 
It was heated by a wood stove which we needed that August night.
Bathrooms & showers were a chilly trek down the row of cabins.

 
We drove out to Lamar Valley.
  A storm was rolling in over the bison in the valley.

We checked out the backcountry at Slough Creek.  
Lots of fly fishermen in the streams fishing.

 
Back at Roosevelt Lodge, we were supposed to ride horseback to the chuckwagon dinner, 
but due to a storm, we rode in wagons instead.

 l
The horses waited patiently while we feasted on 
steak, Roosevelt beans, potato salad, slaw, cornbread & apple crisp all prepared in the backcountry.
The chuckwagon cookout was awesome.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Next stop is Mammoth Hot Springs.
This is Orange Mound Spring on the Highland Terrace.

 
The Liberty cap, an extinct hot spring cone, with New Palette Springs behind.
 
 
Mammoth is different from the park's other thermal features.
Instead of sitting on igneous rock which was once molten, it sits on limestone which dissolves in the hot water and precipitates on the surface as travertine.


 
Active springs are colorful and constantly growing, forming terraces and mounds.

 
Inactive springs are white.



 
There is a nice hotel with cabins near the Fort Yellowstone area.

 
Mammoth is the year round home of a resident elk herd.
They rest on lawns & terraces.

Canyon Village

From Old Faithful, we traveled to the Canyon Village area
where we saw the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River which drop 109 feet.

The rushing water creates rainbows.
The Lower Falls are higher at 308 feet.
 
Lower Falls from Artist's Point

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is 800-1200 feet deep, 1500-4000 feet wide and 20 miles long from Upper Falls to Tower Junction.

Paint Pots

Paint pots must be seen & heard in real life to be appreciated.

They bubble & pop and are mesmerizing to watch.

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Geysers, geysers, everywhere

Castle was just finishing erupting as we approached.

This is Daisy Geyser blowing at an angle.
Geysers are erupting, blowing or shooting steam everywhere.

White Dome along Firehole Lake Drive blew early on our second morning.


Spasm Geyser was belching and spitting.

Pink Cone was my favorite since I got to experience it all by myself.
A tip for geyser viewing:  Get up early & beat the crowd.

Of course, no geyser post is complete without this most famous geyser.
Geyser touring is mostly unpredictable but always interesting. 
Each trip yields new surprises.


Old Faithful Inn

We arrived at Old Faithful Inn for our first night's stay.

The inn has wonderful log details everywhere.
 
Our Room on the third floor.

 
A shot of the drive and the nearby thermal activity.

The Upper Geyser Basin is right outside the hotel.
This area contains 20% of all the geysers in the world.

Lake Yellowstone Hotel

Lake Hotel 
The central Portion was built in 1891 with additions added in 1902, 1904 & 1923

One of Yellowstone's tour buses

The lobby