Yellowstone Day 4

We woke to an incredibly cold room and fog so thick and collecting on the window that it reminded me of snowy winter days in Boston. We took our time making our way to the cafeteria for breakfast, and decided to sit by a fire on some plus leather chairs enjoying a cup of joe. We got breakfast then headed back to the cabins to pack up, grabbed our post cards and head out.

Yellowstone Lake facts:

·      The lake is 7753 feet above sea level

·      It covers 131.7 square miles

·      The shoreline is 141 miles

·      The deepest part is 410 feel

·      The average temperature is 45 degrees farenheit

·      There are many hydrothermal features on the bottom of the lake

·      Yellowstone Lake is the highest elevation lake in North America

·      It is constantly changing

·      3,000 gallons of hot water pours into the lake daily from the geyser basin

A couple of things from yesterday that I forgot to mention: first, we saw a rainbow after the storm. It was a beautiful rainbow that was sideways in the sky. The second was that I had this interesting salad dressing made of chokecherries. I’ve never had them before and I’m not totally sure what they are, but it was good.

We drove around Yellowstone lake to the West Thumb area. This is one of the two little fingers off Yellowstone Lake carved by the glaciers.  We spent much of the day going between Grant and West Thumb to listen to the ranger talks and walk around the area. We first heard a talk about the history of Yellowstone (which showcased three women and the first three female rangers in the park.) Horace Albright, the Director of Yellowstone was apparently a visionary at the time allowing women to work for the National Park Service and fighting for their ability to do so.  Apparently there’s a book called ‘Women in Wonderland’ that chronicles some of the stories of the time in the 20s.

We drove through the old growth pine forest, which has never had a fire or been logged.  We learned that the seeds in the lodge pole pinecones need fire to melt the resin and release the pods to start new growth. Later in the day, we walked in this pine forest for a bit. The trees are quite close together. It was along the water and I had walked off a little ways, and actually saw a coyote trotting on the beach not too far away under the short cliff I was standing on.

We watched a short video on the ten years after the fire. In 1988 over 30% of Yellowstone Park burned. It was the culmination of two factors: several years of drought and a change in National Park Service policy that they were not going to interfere with nature and if a fire started, they would let it burn. And they did, which caused major scandal and public uproar. It’s beautiful and quite amazing to see the renewal process at work, and how the natural systems in the park recover after such a large and devastating fire. One year after the fire swept through, fireweed, a bright lavender purple flowered plant was growing, and the plains, hills and mountains were covered with grasses. Scientists took the opportunity to research how nature responds to fire, and found many positive things for the animals and plants.

Flames give birth to new opportunities offering animals new plants grown in the nutrient-rich soil. The fifteen-year old lodge pole pine forests show the dead tall stalks of the trees impacted by the fire, then lots of new growth 6-10 feet high in the same area. Fire is a conservation tool allowing the rebirth of the forests. To be preserved, Yellowstone must change, and now fire is often seen as a natural cleansing process.

 We then went to the Grant Geyser Basin and walked along the wooden boardwalk through the geysers and hot pools. We listened to another talk and learned that if a pool ever erupts, it’s called a geyser forever. She was a good speaker and used the acronym P³HEW to teach us about the geyser basin.

P= pipes, pressure (and I forget the third P!)

H=Heat

E= earthquake(s)

W= water

There are 3-6,000 earthquakes in Yellowstone Park a year, usually 1-2 on the Richter Scale. Heat from the magma is around 2 miles beneath the surface in Yellowstone, compared to most part of the United States where it’s 10 miles or more deep.

Grant Geyser Basin overlooks the lake, and offers some truly incredible views of the bright blue and orange pools draining into the dark blue of the lake. There are also some interesting pots by the water, and we were told that people used to fish in the lake, then put the fish into these boiling cauldrons to cook the fish!! The area is pretty barren right around the geysers, similar to the other areas we saw. It’s flocked with dead pine trees, and further off are some live ones, not yet killed by the heat of the area. As we were leaving, I saw a complete idiot walking on the boardwalk carrying his dog!! I told him dogs aren’t allowed in the area for safety and that there are signs at the start of the boardwalk in both directions. He just said ‘oh really?’ Shrugged, and kept walking! Poor dog. I told one of the rangers as the guy didn’t even have a leash on it either!

We picnicked in the woods by the basin and a little grey bird came diving at a grape I accidentally dropped on the ground. I know, I shouldn’t feed them, but I had a case of dropsy apparently. :o) They came right up close and were quite assertive.

We went to a third talk and learned that it’s now elk and moose rutting season, and to be careful not to get too close as the males can be a bit aggressive. The ranger had a horn from a sheep that was surprisingly heavy, as well as an elk’s antlers. She gave us some places in Grand Teton park that are typically good for animal sightings.

We drove back and grabbed some drinks and headed to the beach by our hotel for a drink before dinner. It was so nice listening to the sound of the waves crashing up on the shore. The beach has black sand in parts, which is beautiful. We saw some tracks and speculated what they are.

Dinner was much better this evening in the lake hotel. We decided to head out to go searching for animals in the Hayden Valley. We saw a huge heard of buffalo, and watched them for a little while. They had walked across the road (evidenced by the fresh ‘piles’ left behind). They were making these interesting mewling noises, and we listened for a bit. Across the road there was a buffalo carcass and two wolves feeding on it, a black wolf and a grey. They were far off so looks like specs, but someone with a really strong telescope let us look. There were also a couple of buffalo nearby and some elk. We have yet to see a bear now, and are likely to see moose in Grand Teton where there are around 600 (in comparison to the 100 or so in Yellowstone.) We saw several squirrels, chipmunks, tons of buffalo, elk and gazelles.

We got back and the others decided to run an errand while I wanted to go back to the room. Boy, was I sorry I did! I saw one of the HUGEST spiders I’ve ever seen right on the door frame to the bathroom. I am PETRIFIED of spiders. I jumped up and down, squealed and shrieked, but nothing worked and the spider didn’t do me the courtesy of dropping dead. So, I grabbed my friend’s shoe (mine were on my feet, and I was too petrified to think of taking it off) and threw it at it. It bounced off! I smacked that thing five times before it succumbed, and by then I was too freaked out to go closer and left it on the floor. Then I look up, and see his friend over my friend’s bed towards the ceiling.  I was incapable of processing this, and quietly sat in my bed trying to distract myself until my friend arrived.

When she did, I told her about our problem. She muttered under her breath and went to work. My hero! She confirmed the death of the first evil being, and then went to work on the second. I had to go outside and hear her thumping something on the wall trying to get it. I could swear I heard screaming, but it might have been my imagination. After a last thump I asked if she got it, and was told she’s not sure. ‘WHAT!?!?’ After some more scurrying she said she was successful and flushed both. Well, now I’m even more freaked out, because what if they have more friends!?!? It may be a long night…