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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 |
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2019-09-04_16.19.48_YellowstoneNorthEntranceSign.jpg |
Sign at the north entrance to Yellowstone
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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...
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2019-09-04_16.53.44_UndineFalls.jpg |
Undine Falls on Lava Creek, between Mammoth Hot Springs and Tower
Junction
Video |
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2019-09-04_17.59.27_YellowstoneRiver1.jpg |
Yellowstone River north of Tower Falls
Video |
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2019-09-04_18.03.37_YellowstoneRiver2.jpg |
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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
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2019-09-04_18.09.15_CalciteSpringsOverlook.jpg |
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2019-09-04_18.41.07_YellowstoneRiver3.jpg |
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2019-09-04_18.41.30_VerticalCliffAboveTheRoad.jpg |
How did they build this road on such a sheer cliff?
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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.
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2019-09-04_18.42.54_CliffEroding1.jpg |
Once the tuff layer is broken, the stone falls off in chunks
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2019-09-04_18.43.00_CliffEroding2.jpg |
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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.
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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.
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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 |
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2019-09-05_12.51.51_FireholeSwimmingAreaRapids.jpg |
Video
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2019-09-05_12.52.03_FireholeSwimmingAreaCliffDiving.jpg |
Video of rapids, deep area, and shallows
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2019-09-05_12.52.14_FireholeSwimmingAreaShallows.jpg |
Rocks for sunbathing and shallows for wading and swimming
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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 |
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2019-09-05_13.05.21_FumerolesCloseUp.jpg |
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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 |
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2019-09-05_13.16.29_SurprisePool.jpg |
Video
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2019-09-05_13.20.00_FireholeLakeDriveSign.jpg |
Firehole Lake is near the Firehole River, but easily seen from the car
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2019-09-05_13.21.22_WhiteDomeGeyserOnFireholeLakeDrive.jpg |
The White Dome Geyser on Firehole Lake Drive
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2019-09-05_13.24.54_FireholeLakeGeysers.jpg |
Geysers at Firehole Lake
Video |
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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.
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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 |
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2019-09-05_17.26.46_YellowstoneCalderaSign.jpg |
Yellowstone is a massive caldera (volcano crater)
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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 |
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2019-09-05_17.27.07_YellowstoneCaldera2.jpg |
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2019-09-05_17.45.30.jpg |
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2019-09-05_17.45.42.jpg |
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2019-09-05_17.54.44.jpg |
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2019-09-05_17.55.19.jpg |
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2019-09-05_18.17.33_TowerFalls.jpg |
Tower Falls
Video |
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2019-09-05_18.20.59.jpg |
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2019-09-05_18.24.00_JerryAndFredAtTowerFalls.jpg |
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2019-09-05_18.24.14_JerryAndFredAtTowerFallsCloseUp.jpg |
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2019-09-05_18.26.10_JerryWalking.jpg |
Video
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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
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2019-09-05_18.54.43_PetrifiedTree.jpg |
Have to fence in the trees to keep souvenir hunters away
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2019-09-05_20.06.19_ElkGrazing.jpg |
Elk grazing near Mammoth Springs
Video |
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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 |