Snowy Yellowstone
Posted: October 22nd, 2009 by Scott
Tuesday we woke up warm and toasty in our hotel room in West Yellowstone, got our continental breakfast then hit the road. The heavy storm that was passing through on Monday overnight blanketed much of the park with a couple inches of snow. The wildlife didn’t seem to mind as they were out and active in the morning when we were heading into the park. We saw several elk on our drive in including some braving the frigid waters of the Snake River.
Elk Crossing
Our first stop for the morning was the Lower Geyser Basin. We were lucky enough to be the first to make it to this set of geysers and springs.
We didn't have our snowboards, but we still got our first tracks
We saw a number of cool springs and geysers unfortunately it seemed that all the geysers were still sleepy too and weren’t going off.
Sleepy Volcano Geyser
We found another sleepy creature that morning too.
Sleepy Bison
Then just as we were planning to leave we heard a rumbling. At first I thought it might be my tummy, but it was really the geyser waking up and saying “Hello”.
Happy geyser makes a happy Courtney
After the excitement of our first geyser eruption we moved on to Biscuit Basin where we saw an awesomely blue “Sapphire Pool” and a second less spectacular geyser blast. It was nice having so few visitors to the park, we were able to take our time, park where we wished and see unobstructed views of all the features.
Sapphire Pool. Don't you want to jump in?
We then moved on to the main attraction, Old Faithful. We got there in time to stand in the freezing cold with occasional light snow flurries for 20 min or so. It was pretty cool to see and even better after realizing that there were so few people compared to the summer. We were joined by maybe 15 other visitors.
Old Faithful in action
After making a quick lunch in the parking lot, we moseyed our way over to Mammoth in the north part of the park where we planned to camp for the following two nights. We were held up a few minutes due to some traffic congestion.
Wildlife Jam
On the way we stopped to take a look at the Canyon (The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone) and the Lower Yellowstone falls.
Lower Yellowstone Falls
The drive took a few hours due to distance and numerous stops along the way, but for some reason it didn’t seem that bad.
Miles of two lane highway lined with pine trees dusted with snow, a rough view
We finally made it to the town of Mammoth and were surprised to see some more wildlife waiting for our arrival.
The Welcoming Party for Vistors to Mammoth
After getting camp setup, getting dinner ready and an ordeal getting a fire started, we were pooped and ready for bed again. 10pm may be the latest we’ve stayed up this trip so far. Its tiring being unemployed and homeless.