The Oldest National Park
This was our second time to visit Yellowstone National Park. Our first
visit was about 28 years ago when we went there with our son Brent, who
was under two years old at that time. We saw some of the park on that short trip. We
ran into snow flurries when we were at the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone so we only took a brief look at the canyon. Since that brief trip we have always wanted to return to this place!
From our experiences during that first visit we knew we would want more time to enjoy this very large
and unique national park. We planned five full days for our adventures in Yellowstone! Our first day was a travel day from the southern entrance up to the
West entrance pulling our trailer. We did a few stops along the route, which brought us to our new campground at Flat Rock in Island Park, Idaho.
West Thumb Geyser Basin
We found parking for our truck and trailer at West Thumb Geyser Basin, which is adjacent to Lake Yellowstone. The water of the lake was a deep indigo blue, a stark contrast to the lighter blue hot springs along the shoreline.
This Hot Spring is called the Abyss Pool. Hot Springs are the most common hydrothermal features in the park. They vary from frothing mocha-like boiling water to clear and calm pools of tremendous depth.
Old Faithful Geyser Basin
We also found a place to park the truck and trailer by Old Faithful
Geyser Basin and saw the last part of an eruption of Old Faithful before
taking the boardwalk to explore the hydrothermal features along the
boardwalk trails.
Geysers erupt with steaming hot water. They are hot springs with narrow spaces in their plumbing, usually near the surface. The constrictions prevent water from circulating easily to the surface where heat would escape. The Old Faithful area has the most famous geysers; some eruptions can be predicted.
After this long day of walking the boardwalks through the geyser basins, we set up camp about 24 miles outside of the park for our three night stay at a National Forest campground.
Midway Geyser Basin
Our second day in the park we explored yet another geyser basin, where the
highlight is Grand Prismatic Spring. A boardwalk takes you around the
edge of this beautiful blue, green, yellow and orange spring, shrouded in steam. This is
the world’s largest hot spring! The best way to see the spring is to
take a hike up the adjacent hillside to an elevated viewing area. From here we
could see the entire spring and surrounding basin area, and the
boardwalk where we had walked a short time before. The people on the boardwalk, so tiny in the distance, gave perspective to just how large this spring and surrounding geyser basin were!
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Driving to Canyon Village to finally
have our long awaited chance to see Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, brought us to a viewing point called "Brink of the Falls" which put us on a viewing area directly above the
upper falls of Yellowstone River. We could really feel the power of the
raging river as it fell away below us! Pictures just could not capture the experience!
Continuing on our way we traveled along the south rim of the canyon for
more views of the river far below. At the end of the South Rim Drive we
reached
Artist Point, with views of the lower falls and canyon.
Finally, we drove
the North Rim drive out to Inspiration Point, the spot we saw just briefly so many years
ago, that made us hope to return here one day. We are so glad we had this opportunity to see and
explore both rims of this great canyon of the Yellowstone River, as well as the rest of the park more fully! If you haven't been to Yellowstone, I hope you can add it to your list of places to see!
Psalm 65: 6-13
Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.
9 You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
Norris Geyser Basin
On the way back toward the West entrance we visited Norris Geyser basin, the park's hottest, most dynamic geyser basin, containing Steamboat, the worlds tallest geyser. Unfortunately this geyser is very unpredictable and we did not witness any eruptions. Walking along these boardwalks you feel like you are on another planet!
Roosevelt Tower Entrance
After breaking camp and hooking up the trailer in the morning we drove to the northern area of the park, where we set up a new campsite outside of the original entrance of the Yellowstone National Park, where you can see the Roosevelt Tower Entrance in the town of Gardiner. The landscape changed dramatically as we drove north, traveling through beautiful pine forests to amazing rolling hills along rivers and streams.
Lamar Valley
We took a drive through the Lamar Valley, which is home to a great deal of wildlife. Large herds of bison grazed on the green valleys, while so many baby bison frolicked and played and napped alongside them. We saw Elk, Pronghorn and deer along the roadside as well. And we saw a petrified tree! Heading back toward our campsite we finally saw two black bears grazing near the roadway. What a great day filled with wildlife and beautiful landscapes!
Mammoth Hot Springs
On our last day in Yellowstone we visited Mammoth Hot Springs. A roadside sign on the way to the springs told us we were at the 45th parallel of latitude, half way between the equator and the North Pole. The overnight temps here take after the cold northern latitudes, but the daytime temps were in the eighties! Maybe the climate can't decide to be hot or cold. Here are a few pictures of this unique place.
Last Sunday we enjoyed an interdenominational evening worship service in the amphitheater in Grand Teton National Park.We found that there is a group of young men and women, who apply for jobs at the National Parks, live in the dorms with other staff and build relationships with them to give an opportunity to attend the Sunday Service that they put together. One of the young women gave an excellent teaching about Jesus healing the paralytic who was lowered through the roof to Jesus. This was a story of two miracles: salvation and physical healing. It was so great to see that this organization is seeking to reach those who work at and visit the National Parks!
This week we hope to visit a Calvary Chapel on our route from Yellowstone up into Montana.
Looking forward to our upcoming adventures! I hope you are enjoying the blog as well.
Thanks for all your prayers for our safety and health!
Glacier National Park, established in 1910, was nicknamed the Crown of the Continent, by the co-founder of the Audubon Society, George Grinell. Glacier National Park in America, and Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, connect together at the 49th parallel, the border of the US and Canada, to form the first International Peace Park World Heritage Site. This is also a geographical point of interest as the park is split East and West by the Continental Divide. Waters from here flow to the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Hudson Bay. In a few miles you can travel from lush cedar/hemlock forest through alpine meadows to the edge of western prairies.
On our second day-trip to Glacier we drove all the way around the south side of the park via Highway 2, and then up the east side to the St Mary entrance. Here the Going the Sun Road was open to Jackson Glacier overlook. We took a hike to St. Mary Falls, with views of St. Mary Lake opening below us as we descended from the roadway.
We walked through the charred skeletons of still standing trees which had been destroyed by the Reynolds Creek fire in 2015; the fallen logs surrounding us were silvery and black reminders of the fire that consumed this area. The stream side valley is now filled with huckleberry plants and wildflowers and new trees growing up around their charred ancestors.
