Colored stream entering Yellowstone Lake
After a week of viewing geothermal formations, it would be easy to skip another, yet each one has something different to offer. Today was no exception as this afternoon we visited the West Thumb Geyser Basin which is right adjacent to our campsite, only a kilometre and a half in a straight line, though quite a bit farther than that by road.
Since it was cold and cloudy this morning we stayed in the campground. I walked to Big Thumb Creek which is just half a kilometre north of our campsite hoping to spot some wildlife. I followed along the lake shore, but all I saw was a lot of ducks and some Canada Geese.
It cleared by noon so we drove to the West Thumb Geyser Basin and looked at the features there. None of the geysers are active, but there are a number of very hot thermal springs, very brightly colored. The area is unique because the geothermal activity is right at the lake shore, and even right in the lake water.
View of Yellowstone Lake from the overlook
After about half an hour here we hiked a short 2 mile hike to the Lake Overlook. This climbs a rise that gives a great view out over Yellowstone Lake. The area was burned in the 1988 fire, but it is now starting to regrow with many lodgepole pine trees about ten to fifteen feet high.
Enid walked to Yellowstone Lake just before supper. She came back in just a few minutes to get her camera, as there was a bull elk and a couple of females on the shore. I took the video camera and got some great shots of the bugling bull elk, which had an enormous rack of antlers. A female was right next to where we were photographing, less than 100 feet away, and she was catching the bull’s attention so he faced directly toward us.
We leave Yellowstone tomorrow, though we are not travelling far. For the rest of this week until next Sunday we will be in Grand Teton National Park, which is just a short distance to the south.