Day 1 at Yellowstone National Park

Wow. Yellowstone is unbelievably awesome. You MUST visit it!!!

We arrived in Yellowstone from the South entrance (having driven by the Grand Tetons and witnessing an amazing sunset, see the prior post for details) the prior night and had a cabin in the Old Faithful area for the first two nights there (in the Canyon area on the third night).

On our first day in Yellowstone we woke in our cabin in the Old Faithful geyser area and hiked all over it, then we visited the Old Faithful Lodge and watched Old Faithful itself go off, then we headed over to the Norris geyser area and hiked all over there as well. What an amazing landscape!

Here's a map to give you an idea of the areas we covered. On our first day we were in the Western areas where some of the most intense geothermal features of the park are located -- Old Faithful and Norris.



Seriously, these are some sweet cabins (and we got the cheapest we could). It's no hardcore camping, they even supply you with a cute little basket of soaps and such, as you can see.



Here's our cute little cabin. It had a queen sized bed, a heater (which we needed), and a sink. Bathrooms were located about 30 feet away. We cooked our dinners on a gas stove which Ricky D provided us in exchange for a Nintendo DS game we had finished. We made lunches and brought them hiking with us.



I am spending this much space on the Old Faithful area quarters because I want people to know that visiting Yellowstone is very pleasant, not an exercise in wilderness survival. Therefore, you should all visit!



If you think those lodgings are decent, wait until you get to pics of the Grand Lodges and Yellowstone hotels!!! They're absolutely magnificent.

Here's a shot of what the general landscape in this area of the park looks -- there are geothermal features, mainly geysers, pools, and fumaroles, all over the place. The whole area is steaming like it's a supervolcano that's about to explode (which may actually be the case).





The entire area is set up with boardwalks for easy hiking and due to the dangers of all the geothermal stuff. Check it out, one of many of the funny warning signs:



Here are some shots of colorful pools of hot water. The color is due to the flourishing of crazy bacterias that live only in super-hot environments and apparently they get brighter in color when they are hotter. Here's what Wikipedia says about these: "Mudpots such as Fountain Paint Pot are acidic hot springs with a limited water supply. Some microorganisms use hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell), which rises from deep within the earth, as an energy source. They convert the gas into sulfuric acid, which breaks down rock into clay."





It was an overcast day for the most part, but things cleared up later in the afternoon and as you can see, it makes a BIG difference for a photographer!



This little hole full of boiling water had recently formed.



Some of them were more spectacular than others --



Here was a bright blue one in the Norris area, with our shadows waving "hello":



Of course, the pools were not the MOST impressive of the geothermal features of Yellowstone, that honor belongs to the ubiquitous geysers, which generally blow boiling water out on some loose schedule. We had the honor of witnessing three go off.

First, we were very lucky to catch Fan/Spiteful/Mortar go off, which only occurs once every other week or so. Second, we happened by as Riverside Geyser went off, which is also only every few days or so. Those two are in the Biscuit Basin area of boardwalks. Finally, we watched Old Faithful, as every visitor to Yellowstone must, which goes off once every 90 minutes or so. This will not mean much to those who have never been, but below is a pic of the area of the map where some of the aforementioned geysers live:



First, Fan/Spiteful/Mortar...special because it's very infrequent. Crappy because the light was horrible and the sky overcast. Didn't get the best shots, but that aside, it was magical for both of us to experience our first geyser! I should note, we only caught it because it was surrounded by "Geyser Gazers," a group of enthusiasts with walkie-talkies and such who keep track of these things and informed me that it would erupt soon -- thanks!









Second, we happened by right as Riverside Geyser, reputed to be among to most beautiful due to its riverside location, erupted.





Finally, we hit the Old Faithful Lodge, got some hot chocolate and sat on the deck to see Old Faithful itself erupt. That one really puts on a show, however brief, by shooting water over 100 feet up!



Check out the ridiculous Old Faithful Lodge, which is considered one of the National Park system's jewels and is referred to as one of its Grand Lodges.





Check out the fireplace...



After seeing Old Faithful erupt, we headed over to the Norris Geyser Basin, which required a short drive. Along the way we ran into a couple of big fuzzy Bison and a Coyote! (I'm saving my best animal pics for a separate "Animals of Yellowstone" post, sorry.)



Passed by some falls, Gibbons Falls I believe.



We passed by Roaring Mountain, a large hill full of fumaroles. Described by Wikipedia: "Fumaroles or steam vents, are the hottest hydrothermal features in the park. They have so little water that it all flashes into steam before reaching the surface. At places like Roaring Mountain, the result is loud hissing of steam and gases."





Then we walked the Norris Geyser Basin, which is every bit as awesome as the Biscuit Basic where Old Faithful is located.







Then we caught a very nice pink and purple sunset up on a hill by some Painted Pots mudpots!









After returning to the campsite I set the camera up and tried my first star trail shot. The result is poor considering what I was going for, but considering that I was totally winging it, oh well, I still like it.