Blog

We’ll, we’ve had a few days of downtime. we had a day to travel through Yellowstone from the east to the west and then south about 40 minutes to our next campground. Another National Forest – Buffalo Campground. We needed a day of rest from driving and sightseeing so that was Saturday. Sunday we woke to rain and we had to move campsites within the same park. We managed to find a window when it was light rain and made the move. Then spent the rest of the day inside as the rain continued all the day. However, it’s the first rain we’ve really had during the trip so not really concerned. Then on Monday morning we headed back to Yellowstone to explore some more. We decided to concentrate on the Norris Basin since there was a possibility of afternoon rain.

We drove to the parking area and headed out on the upper trail which was the longer of the two routes. From hot springs to geysers, with a few mud pots thrown in, it was an interesting walk. Near the end it started with a light rain so we opted not to continue with the lower loop. Tomorrow we’ll plan on returning and head to the Old Faithful area. Hopefully we’ll see some more significant geyser activity.

Steamboat Geyser is one they haven’t been able to predict. it last erupted in early June. When it does erupt, it shoots 300’ in the air and the water is acidic so they caution it could damage your vehicle.

It was another beautiful day for touring. A bit of high clouds at times but still great for pictures. Out route today was heading up on the upper circle, starting with the west side first.

The highlight today was Mammoth Hot Springs, both upper and lower terraces. There was a short ring road around the upper terrace where we saw a spring called Orange Mound.

While viewing the upper terrace, we saw an elk laying down in the grass under a tree below us.

For the lower terrace, there was a boardwalk. It was hot, upper 20s C. But we walked a fair bit of it to see some spectacular springs.

One famous spring is the Liberty Bell

Our final stop was Tower Fall – it would be even better in the morning when the sun is on it, but regardless, we’ll worth the stop.

Another long day, but the park is big and roads are slow going and so much you can see and do. Tomorrow we move to a campground about half an hour south of West Yellowstone. We plan to tour the southern loop road where much of the geyser activity is located. Come back again for more pictures!