Yellowstone National Park

It was about 5° outside, and the water coming out can be upwards of 150°.

November 21st, 2013

I didn't leave Riverside until after lunch, so I only had a few hours of driving before it started to get dark. I made it through Idaho and into Montana just after it got dark. I spent the night in Butte, determined to get an early start and make it to Yellowstone the next day.

It was such a dark night that I completely missed the fact that my hotel was surrounded by mountains when I woke up. It is hard to imagine giant mountains being anything remotely close to "sneaky", and yet they nearly took my breath away when I started the car.

I did indeed get my early start, but as I had come to expect not everything in my journey was going to go as smooth as planned. There has been a lot of talk this year about the "Arctic Vortex", caused by the jetstream being pushed south. I happened to be on I-90, west of Bozeman, MT when this happened back in November. The skies went from clear to less than 15 feet of visibility. Traffic nearly came to a complete hault. I limped along on the road to Livingston, where I would need to turn and head south to get to Yellowstone.

Not wanting to push my luck with the storm, I stayed at the Super 8. If you are ever in Livingston, I highly recommend staying there. Great rooms, low price, nice staff, plenty of coffee. By the next morning, the storm had cleared and I was able to make my way south.

Yellowstone is a BIG park. So big, in fact, that they are not able to keep the entire park's road system open all year round. When I was there, only the northernmost road was open, while the rest was limited to the rangers. This means that if I wanted to go see Old Faithful I would have a 60 mile round trip hike from the closest place I could park. I will let that wonder wait until I come back to visit in the summer months...

Approximately parallel with Traverse City, MI!

One of the first sights upon entering the park was a river that ran next to the road. It was a super cold day due to the jetstream, so it was a little odd not seeing any ice flowing down the river. There were signs posted next to the river warning people not to go in (not that I was tempted at all). Upstream the river met with a hot spring, so the water temperature was upwards of 150°. Not something you wanted to use for a quick dip.

The river is partially fed by a hot spring, so you could see green vegetation in the river with snow on the bank!

One of the areas still accessible was the Mammoth Hot Springs. Most of the businesses up there (gas station, hotel, general store) were closed, but you could still walk on the platforms surrounding the springs.

Liberty Cap: dormant hot spring cone

 There were many formations, like the cone above, to go and see. They are formed by minerals brought up from the springs and deposited on the surface. The springs aren't fixed, and some of the paths up to the surface can become dormant for years before flowing again. The whole area is pretty volatile and reminds you that Yellowstone is still a very active volcano.

Some of the walkways took you almost down to water level. The steam rising up from these smelled just like the hot springs that I was able to lounge in back at Olympic. With the day being as cold as it was, I was wishing for a nice relaxing soak.

The deposits formed little plateaus. 

View from the upper springs

Waterfall hidden at the end of the trail.

After exploring the springs and taking a nice hike, I made my way east. Since only the northern road was opened, I tried to see everything that was available to me in a single day. After I left the hot spring area, I started to see some wildlife. There were lots of buffalo, a few foxes, a wolf, and lots of deer. I didn't see any elk, but I think they prefer a different area during the colder months.

Buffalo!

The road east changed elevation quite a few times. The environment was also different, between heavily forested areas and wide open plains. There were a few hidden lakes and watering holes, as well as evidence from the last eruption of Yellowstone. It was absolutely stunning.

Everywhere I looked there were great panorama shots!

Taken from a bridge crossing the Yellowstone River

I made it as far as I could east before turning around. The roads were beginning to get really icy as the trees got closer to the road. Since I was going to need to head west to continue my journey, I backtracked to Livingston. I was able to enjoy the sun setting over the mountains and changing the scenery the entire way back.

The last picture I was able to snap before it really got dark.

Again, this is an area of the country that pictures just do not do it justice. I can see why people spend weeks out here during the summer. I intend on coming back to visit and seeing everything I can.

Take a look at the pictures linked below, I have about 95 from the area.

Pictures of Yellowstone National Park