Lower falls, Yellowstone River from Artist’s point
Every day has brought us something new in Yellowstone National Park. Today our plan was to go to Yellowstone Canyon, and we did get there. However along the way there were a great number of very interesting things to observe.
We have been shocked by the variety of things we have seen. We knew we’d see some geysers and hot springs, and expected to see a bit of wildlife, but the number and diversity has amazed us. We thought we’d be doing some hiking, but instead every day we have walked and walked many kilometres just exploring all the paths around the places we’ve been.
This morning started with a bull elk and his harem. On a sandspit that runs for a couple of kilometres across a bay in Yellowstone lake, there were half a dozen cows and a bull with a large rack of antlers. The reflection in the lake made a pretty picture (to see this and the other pictures I’ve taken on this trip, go to http://digipac.ca/pictures and go to the 2012 section).
Shortly after that we spotted a coyote hunting. It pounced through the grass, jumping up and landing with it’s front paws. We didn’t see it catch anything, but it certainly wasn’t very concerned about the large number of cars that had stopped to watch and photograph it. It is easy to find the wildlife. Just look for fifty cars all stopped at all angles on the shoulders, or even right in the middle of the road!
Next we saw a large chocolate brown grizzly bear that was wading in the river. There was also a herd of bison in the same area. We’ve seen many bison, in all the parks we’ve been in on this trip. They are all pretty tame, but the size of the big bulls is still intimidating.
We also stopped in the Mud Volcano area. Here one of the most interesting sights (and sounds) was the loud pulsating roar of steam from the Dragon’s Mouth Spring. There were several mud springs here, the largest of which is Sulfur Cauldron, a huge boiling mudpot. It lived up to its name, for the smell of hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur compounds is very strong. It certainly took me back to my research days at the university!
By lunch we did reach our goal of Yellowstone Canyon, and after we’d eaten we toured the visitor center. It has a number of very interesting displays about the volcanic activity here, and how much it influences everything about the park. We then drove around the loop drives to see the canyon and falls, and we walked to a large number of viewpoints.
The canyon is spectacular, as are both the upper and lower Yellowstone falls. The canyon walls are made of colored stone, much of it yellow and thus giving the river and the park its name. The view from each of the viewpoints gave a different look at the walls of the canyon with its multicolored rock, and the falls and rapids of the Yellowstone River.