Vacation Day 5 – Geothermal

Today we went into Yellowstone for the first time. We traveled from the west entrance all the way up to Mammoth Hot Springs and saw the major sites as well as quite a few smaller, hidden trails and attractions.

We got to the park entrance about 9:30am and waited in line to get our weekly pass. After finally getting into the park, we only drove for a few miles before getting to our first stop: Two Ribbons trail. This was a short, easy trail that took us through one of the areas burned by the 1988 fire. It was fascinating to see the old burned trees, some on the ground and some still standing, right along side the massive amount of new growth. We had the trail entirely to ourselves; the rest of the traffic either didn’t notice it or had other plans.

Our next detour was a barely marked side road (appropriately names Riverside Drive) that ran parallel to the main entrance road but was right along the bank of the river. Again, we barely had to leave the beaten path to find some solitude and beautiful scenery.

After a few more minutes we arrived at our next stop: Harlequin Lake trail. This hike took us through thick, young lodgepole pines up to the shore of Harlequin Lake. It was another short, pleasant hike where we were virtually alone. The trees were shoulder to head high and so thick the trail almost felt claustrophobic at times.

A short way down the road again we were stopped by a massive traffic jam. After finally making it to the front we could see why: there was a small herd of elk in a meadow off to the side. Being Colorado natives and having seen more elk than we can count, both in RMNP as well as in our front yard, we decided not to stop.

As we were driving, I saw what appeared to be a small pond with boiling water at one end of it. We took the next turnout to an unnamed collection of hot springs. There were two pools uphill from the larger pond with hot water welling up out of the ground. Near one of the pools we saw a number of large, colored dragonflies, ranging from the normal black to bright red and blue.

Back on the road again, we drive for a while longer before we started to see steam coming from somewhere up ahead and started smelling sulfur. We had found Beryl Spring, named for its blue-green coloring. The water from the spring ran right under the road and joined the Gibbon River on the opposite side.

Right after this we ran into the road construction along this stretch of the loop road. There is a several mile section that is being rerouted and id restricted to one lane only during the day and closed completely from 10pm to 8am. We were lucky this time, though, and only had to wait for about ten minutes before it was our turn to go. At the end of the construction zone, I used my odometer to measure the line of cars waiting to go the other way. There was an even mile of cars built up waiting for their turn to pass. Most of them had their engines turned off any many people were out of there cars standing or walking on the side of the road.

Once we cleared the construction, it was clear sailing on to Norris Junction and one of the most amazing geothermal areas of Yellowstone, the Norris Geyser Basin. This area is a collection of geysers, vents, fumaroles, hot springs, and other geothermal features. The accessible area is divided into the Back Basin and the Porcelain Basin, and there is a system of trails looping through each to showcase dozens of named features. We spent several hours here walking all of the trails and being amazed. Not only was it a visual experience, but completely multisensory. You could hear the steam rumbling and hissing, listen to the water bubbling, walk through the hot, damp clouds of steam, and constantly smell the sulfur in the air.

After the Norris Geyser Basin, we were getting deep into the afternoon so we headed straight up to Mammoth Hot Springs. We parked at the top of the terraces and walked to the bottom on foot. The terraces are yet another amazing geothermal feature of Yellowstone.  Calcium carbonate is carried up by the water and deposited out on the ground, Over many years huge formations have been build up, and they are in the shape of huge terraces stepping down the mountainside.

Leaving Mammoth, we continued north on an old stagecoach route that used to be the north entrance to the park and the route from Gardiner, MT to Mammoth. The entrance to the road was hidden back behind the hotel. It was a narrow, rough, winding dirt road with absolutely no other cars on it. It is much higher up on the mountainside than the modern road below it, so we enjoyed a much better view of the scenery. Once we got to the end of the road, just inside the north boundary of the park, we turned back and started the long drive back to West Yellowstone and our camper.

Along the way back, we ran into Yellowstone traffic: a bison strolling down the road with no fear of the cars. After a few minutes he wandered by us and we were finally able to get back to camp.