The Northern Circle of Yellowstone National Park

Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Situated in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with some of Montana and Idaho included it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

My first impressions of Yellowstone were not really favorable.  I didn't know if it's because it is different than I expected or that Yosemite, Mount St. Helens and the Canadian Rockies had just been so spectacular.  The first sites at Yellowstone just didn't seem to move me -- whatever the reason.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm on a mission these days to see a moose and I'd really like to see a grizzly bear too.  My eyes are constantly scouring the roadside for wildlife.  Within the first half-hour of our entry into Yellowstone National Park, we ran upon a small group of elk.  They aren't moose, but they'll do for now.  They're far away so I had to zoom in to even get them in the photo.  Oh well, the day is still young.

The landscape is nice and really wide open.

Driving on past the elk, still early in the day, we saw a group of cars stopped ahead of us.  We know this is an indication of wildlife close by.  Closing in on the congestion, we saw people with cameras already out of their cars.

This photo contains a group of crazy people and a single bull buffalo who seems to enjoy the limelight.
No, I didn't get this close.  I zoomed again.

Early this summer (2011) a man was killed and his wife seriously injured by a grizzly bear here in Yellowstone.  They were hiking in the back country and were not novice hikers.  The couple reportedly walked, accidentally, upon a mother grizzly and her cub.  I thought about the incident when we came upon this sign near a trail head no longer being used. 

No need to tell me twice.  I even took the picture some 50 feet back.
Lexie did not get out of the car.

It wasn't long until we came upon bison #2.  Another solitary bull, resting in the grass. We're making a counter clockwise circle of the northernmost loop of the park.  The sites are still somewhat unimpressive to me but the day is enjoyable.

Second buffalo. Another lone bull...resting.
Far from the maddening crowd of tourists.

We drove past Roaring Mountain and on through the Norris community of Yellowstone at an elevation of 7,526 feet. A few miles farther and we entered the Caldera overlooking Yellowstone's Central Plateau.  I didn't know what a Caldera was and still have only a vague idea but it has something to do with an enormous volcanic eruption some 600,000 years ago (are they sure of that timeline?) that blew parts of the mountains all the way to Texas!  The plateau beyond the caldera continue to bulge and brew their mysterious magma fires that will eventually lead to the next eruption. Wayne says repeatedly that we're touring a power keg that could "blow" anytime.  I'm a little uneasy about this.

View at the rim of the Caldera
Aka: Sitting atop the power keg.

Another view of the Central Plateau.

Our drive takes us to Canyon Village and some really nice views of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  The scenery has become much more striking and taking photographs of the canyon has become a thrill.

I wonder if the yellow colored rock faced canyon has anything to do with the name "Yellowstone" 

The orderly vertical columns along the canyon wall are volcanic. A gazillion years ago, the lava welled up and then flowed as a flood of fire. Upon cooling, the lava remains contracted producing hexagonal columns of basalt.  All this, mind you, took place 1.3 million years ago according to the information in the brochure.  How do they know this stuff?

Lexie and Mom. Most photographed dog in America.

This huge cylindrical stone juts straight up from the floor of the canyon.

At Washburn Hot Springs Overlook, I took a walkway that led to beautiful scenes of Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. Wayne and Lexie waited in the car while I walked and took pictures.

Waiting for Mom to return.

We passed Mount Washburn at 10,243 feet and drove northward to Tower-Roosevelt where we picked up a quick snack for supper and took a look at the nearby Petrified Tree which was most unimpressive. Just a column shaped rock standing straight up 20-30 feet. 

Petrified tree

At the Forces of the Northern Ridge, we saw a group of riders on horseback.  It was a hot afternoon and I wondered if they were enjoying themselves.

Barely visible in the picture, riders on horseback.

This area is known as Forces of the Northern Range and it looks different from the other parts of Yellowstone we've seen today.  The 5,200 - 7,000 foot elevation is less than any other part of the park. Rainfall, at 15" annually, makes it the driest part of the park too.  The winter winds and sun amounts make this the best grazing part of the park and reduces snow depths.

Floating Island Lake, I think.

Mammoth Hot Springs at the Albright Visitor Center near the North Entrance of Yellowstone was next and this stop certainly did not disappoint.  This is where the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, Historic Fort Yellowstone and Park Headquarters are located.  Additionally, elk frequent the yards and flower beds, which are draped in chicken wire to save the blooms. 

Homes in Yellowstone.

Please do not feed the elk.

Just down the road we came upon the Hot Springs themselves.  Oh, they are terrific!

The original "cone head" at the entrance to Mammoth Hot Springs 

The surface looks like glass with water running across it.
Lexie stayed in the car. She wants nothing to do with hot water, thank you very much.

Water continually flows across these formations, which look man-made.
The colors are beautiful.

Did I mention... yes, the water is hot.

As the afternoon was slipping away, we made better time after Mammoth Hot Springs, stopping just once or twice more. We did catch some beautiful sites though...

Wayne read that the original road through here dates back to the 1930's.

A herd of elk -- from a great distance, of course.

Bison #3

Bison #4 is coming up the road to greet us.

As a matter of fact, he does own the road.
He did not get off the asphalt.
We just changed lanes...

I don't remember the name of the place we stopped last.  It might have been Steamboat at Norris Geyser Basin. We were tired by then and Lexie walked a long time before she took care of business.

It was almost dark when we got back to the campground and we were three tired dogs!

West Yellowstone, Montana and Island Park, Idaho

For ten days we'll be at Island Park, Idaho, just two states away from Yellowstone National Park--Montana and Wyoming.  Wayne visited the park many years ago; I've never been.  The weather is quite warm in the daytime but the temperature drops quickly with the sun. 

Driving here from Missoula, we stopped overnight at Ennis, Montana then arrived at Red Rock RV Park in Island Park early the next afternoon. 

Our first campsite at Red Rock was cramped and in a very dusty part of the park and we planned to leave after the third night, but instead, we relocated to a larger, grassier space within the campground.  

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our friends from Yuma, Marcella and Landon and their beagle, BJ.

Red Rock RV Park  is five miles off Highway 20. It's quiet and dark here at night. All around us is grazing land for fat, happy cattle and good looking horses. The few homes in this area are made of logs.  Moose, bear and wolves have been seen in the area, I'm told.  One section of Red Rock Road travels through pastureland that is completely unfenced. Cows wander across the road at will!

The wood fence surrounds the campground and separates it from the vast grassland.
Henry's Lake is 1/2 mile across the field.

The dirt road seen here takes the traveler to Henry's Lake,just over the rise.

Our first full day was spent exploring the town of West Yellowstone, Montana; we didn't go into the national park at all.

Downtown West Yellowstone

Here at the Grizzly Discovery Center I ran into this woman with her Maltese.

I don't even remember her name but her Malatese is just 8 months old and already 6 pounds!

Wildflowers growing in a parking lot.

More wildflowers

In West Yellowstone, we "whiled away" the afternoon eating blizzards at Dairy Queen and browsing for campgrounds and historical buildings.  We took an hour or so to tour the old Union Pacific Railroad Station. This town was created as a direct result of the Union Pacific Railroad. 

A fascinating fact to me is that in 1905 the U.S. Forest Service "borrowed" the shape of the Union Pacific Railroad shield for it's own logo.  Funny, I never noticed that until I read it here today.

West Yellowstone-Oregon Shortline Terminus
The construction and dedication of this pylon in 1910 marked the completion of the railroad terminus and the beginning of  development by Union Pacific Railroad for tourist accommodation for park access.

These water wagons rolled along the streets, dripping water to keep the dust down.
Sounds like a good idea for some campgrounds I've seen.

The train loading side of the depot.

We're parked on the side of the depot.
That's Wayne with the bird legs.

In early afternoon, we stopped for McDonalds and I couldn't resist this photo of Lexie watching Pop eat french fries.  She never eats people food, but she sure enjoyed watching today.

In the parking lot at McDonalds, I saw the biggest, ugliest black bird in the world.
He was the size of a chicken! Horrors.

How To Save The United States Postal Service

A good deal of our travel is along state and federal highways. We prefer it over the interstate system. We like the towns and the people in them. One of our favorite pastimes is to take note of the population numbers in some of the small towns through which we drive. 

We've begun to notice something that disturbs me:  Without fail, all these little towns have a post office.  More times than not the Post Office is the finest building in the town.  Does every little town, particularly those with fewer than 100 people really need to have a post office?  Every post office building costs some about of money to operate.  The expense of electricity, water, sewer, insurance, personnel, maintenance, equipment and so forth for each of these tiny buildings could certainly be used somewhere else in the postal system deficit.

I'm just saying..... it's worth considering. 

Missoula Smokejumping School

Our friends Tom and DJ joined us at Missoula for a few days' visit before driving to Kalispell. We've not seen them since mid-June in Eugene, Oregon so there was lots for us to catch up on. 

We met Tom and DJ at Shady Oaks Campground in Orland, Maine last August and we've enjoyed visits along the way since then.

Wayne holding Lexie, Tom and DJ

With the great frequency of wildfires in this part of the country, (one in Yellowstone today as a matter of fact) Missoula has a Smokejumping base and we were fortunate to be able to tour the facility. While our tour guide left plenty to be desired, as she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, we learned a lot about Smokejumping and the people who do it. 

Here's some of what we saw:

Smokejumpers parachute into a wildfire with all this apparatus and gear.

Personnel Lockers.
There are currently 85 smokejumpers who work out of the Missoula Base.
Their ages range from 20 to 50 years.

The parachute hanging room.
All chutes are numbered and hang onto the corresponding numbered hook for inspection.

The job of the smokejumper is to suppress wildfires in the mountainous terrain of the western United States.
This smokejumper is folding a parachute.  Better that he not be distracted.

From Alaska to New Mexico and from California to Wyoming, smokejumpers fight fires.
These are packaged cargo chutes.

Utilizing a fleet of fixed wing aircraft, including a Turbine DC-3, Twin Otter, and a Shorts Sherpa,
 firefighters can reach all parts of the country.

The museum part of the Smokejumping Base at Missoula included a replica fire tower which I found to be especially interesting. I guess it's the homemaker in me!

This mounted circular map is a 1934 Osborne Firefinder.
Readings from two lookouts determine the exact location of the fire.
Today an infrared scanner automatically detects fire locations.

Leaving the base, I took note of the sign along the roadside and thought a little more about the chance of a wildfire.

Today's Fire Danger is at "Very High"

And "Remember.... Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" 

 ... Smokey... da bear.