Eight years ago, my husband and I visited Yellowstone National Park for one day. We, along with eight others, toured the park for about 12 hours. It was exhausting. But after that experienced I vowed to go back and spend at least two nights in the park. (See blog below.). I exceeded my desires, as we spent four nights and five days exploring Yellowstone National Park on a Road Scholar educational adventure. Along with 21 others we learned so much more about the Park and its wonderous sights, sounds, smells, wildlife and natural beauty.
Everyone talks about the geysers of Yellowstone. The one most people see exploding upwards is Old Faithful, one of dozens of geysers that are part of the Geyser Basins, along with fumaroles (steam vents) and very hot springs and other hydrothermal features. The first time I saw this area we only had time to see Old Faithful expel its heated waters and steam and eat lunch at the Old Faithful Inn, an experience in itself. We could see other geysers in the distance erupting water and steam. But we did not have the time to walk around and explore. This trip we had more than enough time.
We spent two nights at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, one of three hotels that are in the geyser basin area. The Snow Lodge is the only one that is open throughout the winter, as it has heat and is built for the cold weather. The Old Faithful Inn and the Old Faithful Lodge, two historic buildings from the early days of the Park, are only open until late October. The Visitor’s Center and the Tribal Culture Lodge, as well as the General Store were open when we visited.
Since we had lots of time to explore while at Old Faithful, I visited the Visitor Center and spent time reading the information and watching the two movies. I also checked out the beautiful historic hotels, Old Faithful Inn and Old Faithful Lodge. At the Tribal Culture Center I watched two native American artists work, one carving an arrowhead, while the other worked on beading. There was lots of opportunity to shop in the general store, the Visitor Center and the Tribal Culture Center. We enjoyed that as well. It was a wonderful day of sightseeing, learning and relaxing.
Over our 40 hours in the Old Faithful area, I saw Old Faithful explode about 8 times, from all different directions. Each time its steam and water shot up in slightly different ways. It really is an amazing sight. But what is also amazing was our guided walk around the lower basin and seeing all the other geysers and their eruptions. In some places there are three geysers right next to each other, like the Lionesses. When one goes off it can either trigger another one to erupt, or actually draw water away from one that is already erupting. The Anemone Geyser doesn’t really erupt at all, instead it slowly fills a basin with hot steamy water then suddenly all the water flushes downward like a whirlpool or a flushing toilet.
There are lovely hot springs to look at, like the Heart Spring, that looks just like a heart. But the temperature in these springs often rise to over 160 degrees, enough to cook anything that falls in.
The land around these features is often brittle and baked. You see the silicon deposits around them and the bacteria growing in the warm moisture. The geyser basins are just one of the impressive sights of Yellowstone.
Once we left the geyser basins, there were so much more to see. We visited a mountain entirely composed of obsidian, the black glass made from an ancient volcanic eruption. This mountain is sacred to the native tribes that once inhabited the park. They used it to make arrowheads and knives. You are not allowed to take any obsidian out of the park. But you can hold this cold, sharp glass.
Every day we ate a sack lunch in the park. The day we went to the hill of obsidian, we ate lunch at this lovely creek and picnic area. I did not want to leave!
Roaring Mountain, is unusual smoking mountain, where fumarole vents have killed off the trees and caused the mountain to look like something out of a Lord of the Rings movie.
The West Thumb part of Yellowstone Lake, where geysers can be seen right on the edge of the lake and also bubbling up in the lake. And I cannot forget the bubbling mudpots where hots springs and bacteria cause the mud to actually boil. Talking of mudpots, we also visited Fountain Paint Pots where you can see hot springs, geysers, mudpots and fumaroles all within a short circular walk. While there we saw many small geysers erupt. It was a good introduction to our later experience at the two geyser basins near Old Faithful.
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River with its canyon walls of many colors and its tremendous waterfalls, the Upper Falls and the Lower Falls, are thunderous and stunning. But also along the walls of the canyon you can see the steam from the vents rising as the heat bakes the canyon walls and helps to destroy them.
What surprised me is that the bison, elk and other animals will walk along the heated ground, and sometimes even lie down on it for warmth. We saw this at Mammoth Falls where a bull elk and his harem decided to hang out on the day we were there.
Just mentioning Mammoth Falls Hot Springs brings back the vision of the water cascading down these travertine terraces that look manmade, but they are not. Photos cannot capture the sparkling essence of these terraces.
Of course I have not mentioned the wildlife. Black bears, grizzly bears, Wolf packs, Trumpeter swans, Clark nutcrackers, elk, moose, mountain goats, pronghorn (which are not deer!), bison – lots of bison, and so much more to see and experience from a distance. In fact the bison are not buffalo, but people still refer to them that way. And pronghorns are not antelope, but people still refer to them that way. As our guide, Shauna, commented, it is impossible to change the song from “Where the buffalos roam, and the deer and the antelope play; to where the bison roam, and the deer and the pronghorn play.”
Every spot we visited in Yellowstone is amazing. When you think that you are walking in the middle of a giant volcanic caldera, it really changes your view of the world.. These objects that nature has created here is inspiring. You realize that we, humans, are just tiny specks in the world, because in reality, nature is in control. I understand how the First Peoples of the Northern Hemisphere and the early explorers who walked these lands were stunned. This was sacred land to the First People and should be sacred lands to us.
I am so glad that in 1872 President Ulysess S. Grant declared it the first National Park. Yellowstone is not only a national treasure. It is a world treasure.
I think everyone should come here to visit and learn. Having a guide lead us on this journey made it so much more meaningful. I have to thank Shauna, our guide; Bryan, our fearless bus driver; and Louis, our director of all (food, keys, directions, etc.); and Road Scholar. We will never forget this experience.
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