We awoke to the sound of the annual 4th July parade... well, perhaps parade is too grand a title. It had all the basic elements: people, flags, horses, brass instruments, singing and even baton twirling, but 8 a.m. just isn't the right time for a parade. Some of the participants looked more asleep than I did.
After a pathetic shower and a huge breakfast (we definitely weren't in Canada any more) we checked out of the hotel and started our tour of Yellowstone in the only way Americans know how; by car.
Yellowstone is conveniently laid out so that all the major attractions lie along a 140 mile loop road. We were leaving the park via a different exit to the one we came in, but even so we'd be covering 100 miles during the course of the day.
First stop of course was Mammoth Hot Springs, just a couple of minutes from the hotel. The springs have formed where water bubbles up slowly from deep underground, leaving behind mineral deposits that gradually build to form mounds and pools. The springs are constantly changing as some dry up and new fissures appear - some large pools that were active 20 or 30 years ago are now completely dried up so that the lower slopes look like a barren alien landscape. Farther up, as you reach the active springs, the first thing that hits you is the smell. The steam rising from the pools is thick with sulphur and the whole area reeks of rotten eggs. Nice.
Our next stop (a lone tree believe it or not), was a few miles further on, through an amazingly varied landscape of lush green fields, barren mountains and everything in between. What makes this tree special is that it's over 5 million years old. Back then, a volcanic eruption buried it and as a result of some sciency stuff it was petrified. Ages later the surrounding ash washed away but the stone tree remained. Oddly enough it doesn't look dissimilar to any other dead tree, if it wasn't for the sign you could easily miss it.
Still, enough about a tree. From there we travelled to Tower Falls, the first waterfall of the day. The falls are an impressive sight, taking their name from the impressive rock formations that tower above. I wish we'd had time to take the trail further down towards the fall but we only had one day so after listening to the thundering roar of the water for a few minutes we moved on again.
After various other short stops we arrived at Lower Canyon Falls. This is what I always imagine a waterfall to look like - the water has carved out a deep canyon through red and yellow rock and the volume of water pouring down far surpassed any of the other falls we'd seen. It's not hard to see why the rocky outcrop overlooking the falls is known as Artist's Point.
We stopped just past Dunraven Pass, the highest point on the loop road at a staggering 8,892 ft. It was also the first time I'd seen the temperature gauge on the car rise from its half way mark (I don't think it liked the steep climb and thin air) so it was a good excuse to give the engine a rest. From our vantage point we could look out over one of Yellowstone's major volcanic basins which although inactive for a long period shows several large bare patches where the soil has become too acidic for vegetation. One day it could all blow up again, eek.
After this mountainous section the road winds across a large grassy plain down towards Yellowstone lake. We'd seen the odd bison by the road but here there were suddenly dozens of them. At one point we saw a whole herd wading across the wide river - an amazing sight, and all the more so because it took us completely by surprise. By early afternoon we'd reached the lake front and stopped at the lakeside lodge for a spot of lunch.
And I'll stop typing now too. More Yellowstone tales in the next post.
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