Yellowstone National Park - June 2008
Grand Loop Tour - continued
NOTE: Click on any thumbnail for a larger photo
The landscape along the trail to Canary Springs is surreal. Fresh travertine (the massive, usually layered calcium carbonate deposited from hot springs) is bright white in color and as it weathers it changes to gray. Bright colored cyanobacteria and algae mats, which were dependent upon a stable temperature and a flow of water, also change as the microorganisms die creating a stark, bleak landscape. Yet signs of life can be seen in the bright yellow and purple flowers.
Another little yellow flower (alyf)
We left the Mammoth Hot Springs area and headed towards Roosevelt and Tower Junction, taking more pictures along the way. We passed more buffalo and Jim snapped a shot of a young one as it passed by our car. Ât Tower Junction, we stopped at the general store for an ice cream break -- Moose Tracks -- and the stroll out the boardwalk to the viewpoint for Tower Falls.
On the road from Mammoth to Tower and Tower Falls
Pat, the rental car and weird rock formations.
Another critter scrambling over the rocks.
We realized the day is getting away, and we still had a long way to go. We headed down the newly opened section of the grand loop road and see large sections where the snags from the 1988 fires are still standing, with small lodgepole pines growing here and there. The mountain scenery was spectacular. We were very high, 8000 feet or more, and we began to see the snow is still piled high on the sides of the road, giving us a little idea of how much snow they had this year. We saw cars pulled over to the side of a fairly narrow spot in the road. A bear has been sited. The park ranger tells us to pull in or go further up the road and park, so we park. Up the hill hiding behind a tree is a bear. The only part that can be seen is her head. She was out roaming but some motorcycles passed by revving their engines and she hid. We stayed and watched for a while but it was getting colder and the hour was getting late.
We passed the Mt Washburn parking area from where years ago we had hiked to the top of the mountain. If only one hike can be made in Yellowstone, the Mount Washburn Trail should be the one. The scenery speaks for itself. We reached Yellowstone Lake and had wonderful views of the lake and the snow capped mountains beyond. We drank in the scenery, knowing it was our final day and our final trip in this magical place. Back in our snug cabin by 6 pm, we reflected on the long but glorious day. Our final dinner at the Snow Lodge was salmon, which we shared.
