Roosevelt Arch |
I am SO incredibly overdue for another post!!! I've been so absorbed in the travel and experiences themselves that I haven't been able to take a moment to write about it. (Also, I haven't had easy access to internet.) But never fear, I have found the perfect place to write about my Yellowstone adventures. It's a place in Jackson Hole called The Bunnery. Its a bakery/restaurant that has free wifi as well as Starbucks coffee! I think I could stay here all day. Fortunately for them I also have to get groceries (because some wild animal got half of mine the other night) and I have plans to hike this afternoon. All of this is part of my master plan to make myself extremely tired by approximately 9 pm so I can go to bed and wake up in time for work at 6. UGH! You try doing that after 6 weeks of night shift and see how it goes,.. It's relatively painful adjusting to being awake during the day again.
So indulge me a bit while I reminisce about my time in the world's first national park.... I started out at Old Faithful. I watched it erupt twice, the second time actually being better than the first! I found a place at the Old Faithful Inn where I could order a special coffee drink and sit on the upstairs balcony in the sunshine to watch the geyser erupt. It may not have been up close and personal but it was still really special. My favorite part of watching it erupt was waiting for it. The predictions were for set for every 90 minutes, give or take 15. The most fun was listening to the comments of other park visitors sitting around me waiting for the same thing. The most common saying was that because almost everyone had driven "all this way" especially to see Old Faithful, "just watch, it won't actually erupt this time!" Its amazing the lack of faith humans have in the world in general. We tend to not trust the things that have proven themselves extremely reliable and instead trust many things that have been proven not to.
The geyser has a bit of an ego, I think. It knows people from all over the world come just to see it erupt so it gives teaser shows. For 5 or 10 minutes before it actually goes off, it sprays off little bursts of steam and water in intervals. You sit up on the edge of your seat, prepared with your camera to take awesome pictures and then it simmers down again and the wait continues. But then, when it finally does go off, it's TOTALLY worth the wait!! What a spectacular thing to see! The force with which the water sprays upward is incredible. The eruptions last around 3 minutes and shoot upwards approximately 180 feet. I hope someday I'll get to go back and watch it from a different angle.
Old Faithful eruption |
Half way up Bunsen Peak |
While I was in Yellowstone I was blessed with some incredible weather! Low humidity, temps in the low 70's, and plentiful sunshine made for perfect hiking days. Some of my favorites include a trip up north to Mammoth Hot Springs and the north entrance to the park. The very first picture at the top of this post was of the stone entryway marking the boundary of the park and announcing entry into history, essentially. Since 1872, very little has changed in Yellowstone National Park. The arch is known as Roosevelt Arch. Across the top is written "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People".
Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces |
Along with the hike to Bunsen Peak, I also drove around some of the park's hot spring terraces. The picture on the right is of a giant formation created by the hot water coming out of a spring and the bacteria associated with it. The colors are beautiful and the formations are kind of otherworldly.
Fairy Falls |
Specimen Creek |
The view from Purple Mountain |
One of the hikes I went on happened to be quite by accident but ended up being probably my favorite one. I woke up late one day and figured I'd get a coffee and then just be lazy around the house for the rest of the day. But when I got to the coffee shop, the lady making my drink asked me what my plans were for the day. I didn't have a good answer and told her I was considering a short hike. She suggested Purple Mountain. I didn't have any other reference for the trail. I didn't really know how long it was or what the elevation change was like or what I would see along the way. But I decided to try it anyway. Turns out that at the top of the mountain I found the best view of the Madison, West, and Old Faithful areas of the park! The picture doesn't even show half of what I could see from the top. A winding river, winding road, geyser steam rising in the distance, cliffs and hills, mountains, and valleys, meadows, and much more, captivated me for a long while before I realized I was freezing and had to get down the mountain before nightfall.
Grand Prismatic Spring |
Every weekend in Yellowstone I had the amazing opportunity to explore on foot. I truly believe that you can't really know a park unless you leave the pavement and boardwalks. In the places where few tourists every go, a person can really start to understand and make close acquaintance with the wild side of our national parks. But perhaps the real reason I enjoy walking single track trails through the woods by myself at my own pace is because I gather a deeper understanding of who I am and my thoughts sound clearer in my mind. The woods have a way of calming and relieving stress. When I leave a trail I always find myself more at peace than I have been in a long time.
I'm going to miss Yellowstone. The time I spent there was special in many, many ways. I look forward to the next time already.
No comments:
Post a Comment