Slideshow Other Albums

2019-09-04_16.17.34_YellowstoneRooseveltArch.jpg
Plan for Day 1: Enter park, check into a lodge, and drive along the north of the Grand Loop Road to Tower Falls and Lamar Valley, aiming to hit Lamar Valley at dusk for a "bison jam".
This is Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone


2019-09-04_16.19.48_YellowstoneNorthEntranceSign.jpg
Sign at the north entrance to Yellowstone

2019-09-04_16.20.40_GardinerMT.jpg
Kids are back in school, so the park's less crowded, but 95% senior citizens, so there are free rooms in the park lodges, but none with grab bars for handicapped accessibility.  Also, very expensive -- $290-540/night.  Instead, we checked into the Super 8 in Gardiner, just outside the park.  2 nights, room w/grab bars, for only $179/night.  Now, back into the park...

2019-09-04_16.53.44_UndineFalls.jpg
Undine Falls on Lava Creek, between Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower Junction
Video


2019-09-04_17.59.27_YellowstoneRiver1.jpg
Yellowstone River north of Tower Falls
Video


2019-09-04_18.03.37_YellowstoneRiver2.jpg


2019-09-04_18.05.19_YellowstoneRiverValleyWall.jpg
Vertical layers of stone at top above funky eroded shapes in wall of Yellowstone River valley near Calcite Springs north of Tower Falls

2019-09-04_18.09.15_CalciteSpringsOverlook.jpg


2019-09-04_18.41.07_YellowstoneRiver3.jpg


2019-09-04_18.41.30_VerticalCliffAboveTheRoad.jpg
How did they build this road on such a sheer cliff?

2019-09-04_18.42.00_VerticalCliffCloseUp.jpg
Doesn't look like they blasted away the cliff.  Tuff looks mostly undisturbed.  Must have built up from below.

2019-09-04_18.42.54_CliffEroding1.jpg
Once the tuff layer is broken, the stone falls off in chunks

2019-09-04_18.43.00_CliffEroding2.jpg


2019-09-04_18.46.16_DownhillFromTheRoad.jpg
All the stone tumbles across the road and down the hill.  Watch for rocks in the roadway.

2019-09-04_19.08.01_HerdOfBisonInLamarValley.jpg
Herd of buffalo grazing in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley.  Getting here at dusk was smart.  Lots of wildlife active at dusk and dawn.
Video


2019-09-04_19.14.10_MountainsAroundLamarValley.jpg
Mountains on the far side of Lamar Valley.  We'll be driving through those in 2 days, when we leave Yellowstone.
See pics from 2018:
2018 album: Bison, Antelope and Bear in Lamar Valley


2019-09-04_19.46.19_BisonAndCalf.jpg
At first, we didn't know this calf was here.  Watch videos below to see bison warning us off, then moving to reveal the calf.
Video of herd of bison about to cross road
Video of herd of bison crossing road
Video of bison grunting
Video 1 of bison bellowing
Video 2 of bison bellowing
Video of bison turning
Video of bison and calf


2019-09-05_11.52.51_HotSprings.jpg
Plan for Day 2: Do a quick drive around the entire 180-mile Grand Loop Road.  Last year we had more time and Jerry was more mobile, so we hiked some and stopped longer at various sites.  This year is more of a driving tour of Yellowstone, on our way home from the Canadian Rockies and Glacier National Park, so we'll skip many things that we saw last year.
Blew past Mammoth Hot Springs pretty quick.  Spent a lot of time there last year.  See:
2018 album: Mammoth Hot Springs


2019-09-05_12.48.51_FireholeSwimmingAreaSign.jpg
Stopped briefly at the Firehole River Swimming Area, but didn't have time to climb down for a swim.  Jerry wasn't very steady on his feet.

2019-09-05_12.49.41_FireholeSwimmingAreaRestrooms.jpg
They now have permanent restroom buildings at the Firehole Swimming Area in Yellowstone.  In July 1977, when I first discovered this spot with my grandfather, there was nothing here but a steep slippery slope down to the river.  In July 2004, there were porta-potties.  In June 2015, there were permanent buildings and a wooden staircase down the hill, but the swimming area was closed due to high water levels as the snow melted.  In May 2018, the entire Firehole River Canyon road was closed to keep people far away from the flooding river.  Better to go in July or August. See pics from 2004:
2004 pic: Warning sign
2004 pic: About to jump in the rapids
2004 pic: Swept away by the rapids
2004 pic: Cliff diving 1
2004 pic: Cliff diving 2
2004 pic: Steep hillside to get there
2004 pic: Shallows for wading and swimming


2019-09-05_12.51.51_FireholeSwimmingAreaRapids.jpg
Video


2019-09-05_12.52.03_FireholeSwimmingAreaCliffDiving.jpg
Video of rapids, deep area, and shallows


2019-09-05_12.52.14_FireholeSwimmingAreaShallows.jpg
Rocks for sunbathing and shallows for wading and swimming

2019-09-05_13.05.14_Fumeroles.jpg
Blew past most of the Yellowstone geysers and fumeroles that we saw last year.
See pics from 2018:
2018 album: South Entrance and Old Faithful
2018 album: Hot Springs, Geysers, Fumeroles, Pools, and Mud Volcanoes


2019-09-05_13.05.21_FumerolesCloseUp.jpg


2019-09-05_13.15.55_JerryWalkingOnBoardwalk.jpg
Stopped to see a few hot springs that we'd missed last year.  Especially those close to the road.
This is "Surprise Pool".
Video


2019-09-05_13.16.29_SurprisePool.jpg
Video


2019-09-05_13.20.00_FireholeLakeDriveSign.jpg
Firehole Lake is near the Firehole River, but easily seen from the car

2019-09-05_13.21.22_WhiteDomeGeyserOnFireholeLakeDrive.jpg
The White Dome Geyser on Firehole Lake Drive

2019-09-05_13.24.54_FireholeLakeGeysers.jpg
Geysers at Firehole Lake
Video


2019-09-05_13.54.21_8FootTallSnowStakes.jpg
The snow gets REALLY deep here.  The stakes to mark the edge of the road for snow plows are 8 feet tall.

2019-09-05_14.06.07_ContinentalDivide8391Feet.jpg
The western Continental Divide runs through Yellowstone.  8391 feet is more than 1.5 miles high.  The snowy season is long.  This is what it looks like in September.  By October the snow starts, and lasts for 8 months.
2018 pic: Here's what this sign looked like at the end of May 2018


2019-09-05_17.26.46_YellowstoneCalderaSign.jpg
Yellowstone is a massive caldera (volcano crater)

2019-09-05_17.26.58_YellowstoneCaldera1.jpg
We drove around Yellowstone taking in the massive caldera without many stops as we circled east and then north on the Grand Loop Road.
See pics from 2018:
2018 album: Snowy Dunraven Pass
2018 album: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
2018 album: Waterfalls and Yellowstone Lake
2018 album: Yellowstone Lake and out the East Exit to Cody


2019-09-05_17.27.07_YellowstoneCaldera2.jpg


2019-09-05_17.45.30.jpg


2019-09-05_17.45.42.jpg


2019-09-05_17.54.44.jpg


2019-09-05_17.55.19.jpg


2019-09-05_18.17.33_TowerFalls.jpg
Tower Falls
Video


2019-09-05_18.20.59.jpg


2019-09-05_18.24.00_JerryAndFredAtTowerFalls.jpg


2019-09-05_18.24.14_JerryAndFredAtTowerFallsCloseUp.jpg


2019-09-05_18.26.10_JerryWalking.jpg
Video


2019-09-05_18.52.00_PetrifiedTreeSign.jpg
Yellowstone has a few petrified redwood trees, buried and preserved by a volcanic eruption 50 million yers ago

2019-09-05_18.54.43_PetrifiedTree.jpg
Have to fence in the trees to keep souvenir hunters away

2019-09-05_20.06.19_ElkGrazing.jpg
Elk grazing near Mammoth Springs
Video


2019-09-05_20.10.46_ElkGrazingAtDusk.jpg
Lots of elk come out at dusk at Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs
Video of Elk w/Antlers Crossing Driveway at Night
Video of Elk Bugling at Night