Livin' the dream: A Quick trip to Yellowstone

8 Jul 2010--Went into Yellowstone National Park for the 1st time this past Monday (the 5th). Having been stationed in Montana for several years, we have been to Yellowstone about 5 times, but have never entered from the east side before. The park is basically a "figure 8", so we are entering from Cody WY, which is right about in the middle of the eight as you come in from the east.

From the east entrance you have a fairly lengthy ride before you get to any of the geysers and such, but most of it is along Yellowstone Lake, the largest high altitude lake in the country. The lake alone takes up an area of 132 square miles, has 141 miles of shoreline, and is 20 miles in length. The average summer temperature is only 45 degrees. Yellowstone itself is 2.2 million acres!!!

This is the Mary's Bay area of the lake.

As we entered at the middle of the "8", we went south, to a part of the park we have never been to before. Most of the stuff you are used to seeing on TV, like Old Faithful, is on the west side of the park. Here are some signs that basically tell us that we are standing on top of a volcano, and that the pools of water are so hot you can and will die if you fall in. I read another sign, not posted here, that said the pool we were looking at was 200 degrees!!! The video shows the Basin from the parking lot.

This one, called Black Pool, was indeed black looking water until 1991, when the water temperature suddenly got hotter and killed the organisms that were living in it that made it look black. Look how beautifully blue it looks now.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but "Fishing Cone" is actually several feet into the lake. During the spring and early summer lake levels rise due to the melting snow in the mountains and cover the vent. When exposed the rest of the year, the temperature of the cone's water averages just above boiling...199 degrees!!!

This is another one that is in the lake, but permanently. In winter, the lake freezes over, except where these geysers are, and the wildlife use these areas for fishing, etc.

I posted these pictures so you could see all the white colored stuff surrounding these pools of water. It is dried out sulphur, which you don't have to read about...you can smell it strongly as soon as you get out of your car! Not a very pleasant smell. haha

This is called Thermal Gardens, followed by Surging Spring.

And this is what is called a Mud Pot. Right now it is just roiling, muddy water, but at other times, depending on the weather, it would be the consistency of clay...boiling and popping. I am hoping on the west side of the park to see some that are really muddy...they are my favorite sites in the park.

When we were almost at the exit to the park, we saw this 10 point buck. Cathy's father will love it! We saw some buffalo too, but didn't take any pictures.

The picture on the left is still in the park, while on the right is a picture on the ride home.

When we got home we drove into Cody to meet Carol and John, who had just arrived from a few days in Sheridan. We went to the Irma Hotel, the most famous hotel/restaurant here in Cody. And why was it famous, you ask? Well, it was built and owned by Buffalo Bill Cody himself.

For those that don't know, Buffalo Bill was the most famous American in the world during his lifetime. He was involved in many of the events that shaped the West, and had an arena show that toured the US and Europe for 30 years. He helped found the town of Cody in 1895, and built this hotel 1902. He planned to have travellers stay at his hotel on their way to Yellowstone, which was founded in 1872. Quite the businessman it seems! Cathy is sitting at the bar, the original cherry wood bar from back in the day.