Yellowstone- Geothermal regions

After making my way through bison-jams, I took the Firehole canyon scenic drive, which takes you through an extensive geothermal area, by cascades and waterfalls. A very nice drive :). The bison just take over the roadway, aren't going to move for anybody or anything, and move along at their own slow and deliberate pace. They tease you by starting to move off the roadway, changing their mind and coming back out before you have a chance to get by. With calves in the group, I gave the males who were taking up the rear plenty of room, lest they felt threatened. I saw a couple of them cross the river this morning, and would see this a couple of more times in my visit. I'm sure they would use a bridge if one were available :)
After a stop at Fountain Paint Pot and seeing Fountain Geyser erupt, I made it back to Old Faithful just in time to see it go off again. I did the loop trail through all of the geothermals here, and was lucky enough on my drive out to see Beehive geyser go off. There is so much more here than just geysers. The pools are spectacular in the coloration or hues of the water and the Thermophiles (microorganisms) add sharp contrasts to the pools and surrounding terrain. This would be evident in all the basins that I visited.
In backtracking towards Madison, I walked the boardwalks at Biscuit (mystic falls trail closed to bear management) and Midway geyser basins. Midway features Excelsior Geyser pouring thousands of gallons of steaming water into the firehole river, and Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest within the park. There were a couple of eagles flying at midway which added to the thrill. To top things off, there was a sandhill crane at work out on Whiskey Flats.
Intentionally making camp early, I took a walk along the river and explored the general area. Back at camp, the day went sour :( I will not go into all the details of the evening here, mainly because I am embarrassed by my actions in response to... a women walking her dog smack dab through the middle of my camp, and allowing it to pee on my firewood. Good grief! Gotta love developed camping...Anyways, by far my worst experience since being out on the road.

As I made my way up to Mammoth Hot Springs the next day, I had to deal with iffy weather all day. Still, I managed to take in Gibbons Falls and then to Norris Geyser Basin. I have read accounts that this is the most interesting geothermal area of the park. Rain forced me to cut short my walk, and I will probably do the whole thing when I come back through. Roaring Mountain is a steaming hillside just off the road that had erupted in the past. I looked hard for the significance of Obsidian Cliff, but, sorry, I was just not impressed. Now Sheepeater Cliffs struck me as far more interesting. Columns of basalt have sheared from the cliffs, and it is similiar in appearance to Devils Postpile (at least from the pics I have seen). The Golden Gate is a narrow canyon that the road follows and features Rustic Falls. Both the pioneers and modern road buiders had to be creative in creating the route through the gate :).

Once into the mammoth area, I explored but the upper and lower terraces. Fascinating, but I could not duplicate the photo quality that you usually see of the terraces...

Yellowstone- Lewis Lake, Old Faithful to West Yellowstone, Montana

My strategy was to go into Yellowstone before the Memorial Day crunch. Smart, huh? Well, not exactly. What I found was that everything gears towards that weekend, and even the bears aren't cooperatove before then :') That being that most services, campgrounds, ranger stations and whatnot are closed, and most of the backway roads and trails are closed for "bear management". I managed, focusing my time on road touring and the shorter and open walks and trails. No complaints really, although I got really frustrated over not being able to obtain a boat permit. On my way out, I ran into the ranger who managed the waterways, and she graciously gave me permission to kayak w/o permit. Ah well, I will be back soon...

As I made my way into the park, I visited Moose Falls, Lewis Canyon and Cascades, Lewis Falls and finally Lewis Lake. My initial plan was to kayak the lake, that being before I found the boating permits had not yet been distributed. Still, it made a nice stop for lunch.
After a side trip over to Yellowstone Lake, Grant Village and West Thumb, I made my way west in the general direction of Old Faithful. My second pass over the Continental Divide warranted a stop to do a virtual cache at Lake Isa. An interesting aspect to this lake which is perched on the divide: There are two outlets to the lake, but contrary to what you would expect, the eastern outlet flows towards the Pacific, while the western one flows towards the gulf! How can this be?!?! Well, the lake sits on a section of the divide that is situated midway through a "swithback" or s-curve...Another great stop on the way was at Kepler Cascades. Wow, that is a lot of water!, which has carved a deep canyon here.
I made it to Old Faithful five minutes before it erupted :). Timing is everything. After taking a look around, I headed over to Black Sand Basin just in time to witness the Cliff Geyser erupting. This area is just southwest of Old Faithful, and although it does not get much fanfare, I found it to be a worthwhile stop.

It was getting late in the day and I decided I'd go up to Madison to try for a campsite, and spend the next day taking in the geothermal basins in and around Old Faithful. Unfortunately, Madison was full, so I had to head out to West Yellowstone, Montana to find a place for the night : On the way out of the park, a pair of Bald Eagles have built a nest in a tree just a couple of hundred feet from the road. In an effort to protect the birds during their nesting, Wildlife management has posted big signs indicating no stopping or entry, "Bald Eagle management area" ! Well, guess what that does? Yep :') I at least respected the boundaries posted, when I stopped for pictures. More on these birds later...I also got to watch some Bison sparring. Lots of cool wildlife...

So, I ended up a few miles north of West Yellowstone, at Baker's Hole NF campground. Camping was right off of the Madison River, so it was definitely a nice enough spot. A large number of Bison have made their way out of the park, and some have taken up residence in camp! Calving has just taken place, and I was able to observe these little guys (from a safe distance) as they acclimated into the world. I cut short a morning hike cause one of the adult males kept giving me the stank-eye, even though I was over a hundred yards away. To date, these are the critters that I am most wary of around here.

A sidenote on these particular Buffalo: The Yellowstone herd carries brucellosis, which can cause miscarriage in cattle. Montana has an agreement allowing them to slaughter any bison that will not allow themselves to be herded back into park grounds. This was about to happen with the 300 wayward bison, but public outcry over the inclusion of many week old calves held things up and allowed one more hazing effort which seems to have worked. At least for the moment. This is an ongoing story.

On the way back into Yellowstone, I drove the "river drive" a short spur that runs along the Madison. Amazingly, I got to watch as both the Bald Eagles from the nearby nest flew over, with, get this, an Osprey (?) and a hawk harrasing them! This I had never seen before. Usually those two species are being harassed by ravens or crows. That both adult eagles had left the nest meant that this was some serious business! Later I would see one of them dutifuly perched on the nest, so I guess things worked out ok. This was a spectacular sight to watch!

I stopped by Madison and was able to secure a campsite for the night (regretably!), and made my way back towards the geothermal basins...