Yellowstone: Nature's Art Museum
Yellowstone National Park
Best Time to Go: The first week they open after months of closures due to a global pandemic. Why this? Well I was fortunate enough to experience a really toned-down version of the crowds of Yellowstone. During usual seasons, the lines on the road are jam packed with cars and traffic. There are many wait-lines and it feels like a congested version of Disney-Land inside the vast territories of Wyoming’s wilderness.
Prior to going, I had recently suffered from a not-so-minor back injury. I found Yellowstone to be the perfect place for not a lot of exercise and low-risk hiking if you want it to be that way. There were no shortage of maximal views, entertaining wildlife right from your car door, and aesthetic pleasure of the outdoors that is quite resembling to a National Geographic Magazine cover.
My family traveled in from the South-side entrance and spent three days there, sleeping at a campsite each night. We found it easy to use the campsite as our 12’ clock starting point and travel halfway around the Yellowstone map loop one day, and the other half the next. The only road sections I did not get to see was the East side past the Fishing Bridge towards the East entrance. At the time it was closed off for wildlife restoration purposes.
When traveling to our campsite near Canyon Village, we pulled toward Sour Lake & Sulfur Springs to see the Mudpot Volcano. Woof, the smell of sulfur dioxide hits you like opening a pressurized pickled egg jar. Continuing with our drive as the sun was setting and the clouds began to match the colors of the prismatic bacteria, we came across our first of many road stoppings. The bison herd was quite leisurely taking their time to cross the roads to get to the other side for the night. The massively thick bodied animal had the look of easily crushing a car if it so desired to. But these ones were very friendly and calm. Calm. My family sat there in silence. The whole world had gone mute to peacefully give thanks towards the Bison for strolling off the road. There was just a miraculous energy in the air of Yellowstone's open space. Beauty yes, but positive energy sedated into a peaceful “one-with- nature” kind of feeling was everywhere.
Day 1:
We woke up at 5AM for our first full day in the park. My preference with these types of trips is to maximize every moment for site-seeing and hiking. I am not one to leisurely sleep in, spend time having a relaxing lunch in the middle of the day as a break kind of traveler. If that is your style, no shame, I would just recommend staying an extra day or a few. If your goal is to see all of the park in thorough detail.
We headed west towards Norris, stopping to see elk, mule deer, and pronghorn along the Yellowstone River of Hayden Valley. Our objective for today was to see the areas surrounding Mammoth Hotsprings and head East beyond Towers Roosevelt. It is common to find bears, wolves, and other wildlife in this area this time of year. And since it is on the outskirts of the busier areas of the park, we felt the chances of spotting something good were high. As we approached specimen ridge and slough creek, we were right. Our eyes quickly flashed to the left side of the road, a park ranger was holding his hand out to give us the “Go” sign to slowly continue driving. Other tourists were scrambling out of their cars like their pants were on fire, running up and over the grassy shrubs to the hilltop to get a closer look. On the opposing side of the road was a teenage black bear. He strutted along. Enjoying his day ignoring all the humans getting giddy about him. I whipped out my binoculars joining the crowd on the hill side. Placing my iphone camera on the inside lens of my binoculars to capture the memory.
We continued East towards Lamar River valley, to do a quick hike nearby the Junction Butte. Walking through the dirt path sideline by a series of alpine bushes and scarlet gilia wildflowers, you come across various geological features; hydrothermal vents and beaver dens all overlooking a gorge with the river underneath. There are beautiful landscapes to the north of the Montana glacial mountains which can only be seen on this side of the park.
Later that morning we doubled back to Mammoth Hotsprings to see the classic thermophilic attractions of Canary Spring, Orange Spring, & the Terraces (Mound, Minerva, and Jupiter). Navigating through the maze of ramps you come to see the outdoor golden empire of thermophilic bacteria that is THE hotspring of the park. The colors of these bacteria are created from their extremely hot temperatures. Most bacteria die at boiling point in water, but these special species thrive in the intense climate. The bacteria's colors are also from the pH of the water. The bubbling action in the springs is caused by carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gas mixing together.
On the way back from Mammoth Hotsprings we headed south to briefly stop for the Golden Gate Canyon, Obsidian Cliffs, and Roaring Mountain which is known for its solfatara (sulfuric steaming vents) and fumaroles.
A hidden gem we found, which was NOT on any trail maps or guides we looked at previously was the Twins Lake and Nyph Lake site.
**Tip: If there is a sign on the road for an attraction that is not noted on any other maps, pull over and take a peak. It's likely worth it.
The site had many hydrothermal outgassing vents, called the Frying pan bowl, and an abundance of thermophilic colorful hotspots.
As we continued southward our last stop for the day before heading back to camp was the Norris Geyser Region. By 4pm this area was fairly busy but jam-packed with hydrothermal vents, and hotspots for geysers. There are multiple basins that are guided through a boardwalk taking you through the porcelain basin, Norris, and back basin. You step out onto the boardwalk that sits just over a giant bed of dried limestone and calcium deposits where three plate boundaries meet. Meaning there’s a lot of volcanic activity underground producing an abundance of energy systems to fuel the powerful geysers. In fact the Steamboat Geyser is the world's tallest geyser and can eject up to 40ft of water even when not active. Past the porcelain basin, the small hydrothermal vents bubble up like a witch’s brew underneath your feet. The aqua colored bacteria combined with the calcium crystals give you a vague sense of being on a mini Bora Bora island.
Towards the campsite we saw our second bear of the trip off the roadside. My first time seeing a “cinnamon” bear. This bear is not the same as a brown Grizzly bear but does resemble it in color.
Day 2: Since we traveled the top half of the figure 8 loop of the park yesterday, we drove West towards Norris and headed south for the day. Our first sighting for the day was the Artists Paint Pots. Since it was the morning there were no people, but many singing mountain bluebirds to fill the silence of the morning. Among the mini geysers and mud-pots of the site (Blood Geyser, and Flash Spring) there were many fungi (actually throughout the entire park). If discovering the golden nuggets inside the soils and decomposed logs is your thing, there is no shortage in Yellowstone.
Continuing our trip we stopped for Beryl spring, Monument Geyser Basin, Gibbon Falls, and Paintpot hill. All unique artistic pieces within the museum of Yellowstone that are not as well known, but very much worth the fame.
Past Madison Junction we continued south towards Terrace Springs trailhead that contained many iron oxide filled hydro-vents and algae covered water pools. Along the list of stops for the day a favorite of mine was the Lower Geyser Basin and Fountain Paint Pots. There was the Leather pool, Red Spouter, Old Cone Geyser, Morning Geyser and Spasm Geyser among others. Such fun names!
As we tip toed on the walkway, a firecracker sounded and the Clepsydra Geyser went off as if on cue to entertain us. A precursor to tell us there was more to come.
Along the Midway Geyser Basin we approached from both the upper and lower touring sites the grand, Great Prismatic Spring. That was the moment when I realized I had seen this before, in a copious amount of National Geographic Magazine’s and Travel ads. The aerial shot of this water body is not one to forget as it is Yellowstone’s largest hot spring!
The trailhead for the overlook is slightly south of the midway geyser basin, but has a trailhead that wraps around to fairy falls. Many families will park at the lot, walk to the overlook of the Great Prismatic Spring, and then go for a bike ride to Fairy Falls and Sentinel meadows trail. My family opted to commute by foot, for a leisurely hour hike. Along the way we saw many birds, pika scrambling along rocks, and lush mosses on the fallen pine trees. Coming to the falls it is surrounded by forests in a shallow cave. The slender waterfall shoots down and floods a pool 200ft below its source.
After the hike we continued to Biscuit Basin. Crossing over Firehole River you capture the views of the Wall pool and Sapphire pool. There is a short half mile hike to another spring pool. But my favorite was the Sapphire pool as it distinctly splits in half: one side filled with iron and sulfur components, cut off from a white limestone line into an aqua colored, algae crested pool.
Near this attraction that is worth checking out is: Jewel Geyser, Avoca Spring, Shell Spring, West Mustard Springs, East Mustard Springs. After the Biscuit Basin we went south to the Black Sand Basin. This is yet another underrated attraction. This area included Opalescent Pool, Cliff Geyser, Rainbow Pool, Sunset Lake, and Emerald Pool. Each spot had their own Picasso like beauty. The Emerald Pool closely mimicked a watermelon of green lichen and sulfur eating bacteria producing pink colored hues.
Scrambling back into the car to check off the iconic Old Faithful, we pulled off to appreciate the single lone Bison on the side of the road. I personally found the Bison posing next to the field of wildflowers to be better than the glorified Old Faithful attraction. But don’t take my opinion to heart because once this sucker goes off, pressurized water expels up to 8,000 gallons of liquid in mere moments.
By midafternoon we still proceeded south to see the Lonestar overlook near the Kepler Cascades. A trailhead that also has many hiking options in the park. Our crew ate our packed lunches in a picnic grove by Isa Lake along Craig Pass, before completing our counterclockwise trip of the day.
Day 3: Our final point of exploration, West Thumb. We had passed the area a few times during our commute to the campground but waited until our day of departure to stick our noses in the sulfur smelling steam one last time.
We toured the abyss pool, black pool, West Thumb paint pots, Lake shore Geyser, Seismograph Pool, Big Cone, and Twin Geysers. This area was unique as the body of water largely resembled that salt-water ocean feel, with views of the Grand Tetons in the distance. The view was of Yellowstone lake towards the East and West thumb lake towards the west clenched between an inlet of white pine and spruce trees. A postcard view to end the trip!
Specific Trailhead names mentioned for hikes:
Soda Butte Creek trail
Lamar River overlook
Yellowstone River Overlook Trail (At the Junction River Picnic and Trailhead lot)
Fairy Falls hike from Prismatic Spring lot
Mystic Falls to Ferry Creek Loop starting at the Midway Basin Geyser lot
Things I found were a necessity for having the optimal experience for the trip:
Binoculars. I had my previous trips and Wildlife courses taken, but these work great for spotting wildlife from far away, and ironically for pictures.
Yellowstone’s mobile app: This ideally needs to be downloaded and looked at prior to losing cell service on your trip. It can download specific features; such as updates on when a Geyser goes off and predictions of its next burst, where you are most likely to see specific wildlife, and crowd volume.
Camping Equipment: tent, sleeping bag, camping stove, propane gas, camping chairs, headlamps, batteries, Camel Back’s waterpack, Multi-use pocket knife, camping utensils.
***Just a disclaimer: You do NOT have to follow my recommendations in order to have a good time. GO by bike if you prefer, stay in a hotel, spend hours watching Old Faithful. My recommendations were catering to my family’s preferences and lifestyle, so do as you please.
What a great overview of the park with some excellent photos. I really enjoyed your article
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