Last Day at Yellowstone

 We took sometime to see more of the caldera area at Yellowstone, along US-191. Old Faithful is only one of many geysers, mud pots and steam vents. The  Yellowstone supervolcano last erupted about 640,000 years ago. When it did, it left behind a caldera, a landform created by the inward collapse of a volcano's peak. These links will explain it. Our next stop will be Salt Lake City, Utah.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/volcano.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Caldera

South Entrance going north on US-191

Scenery is great, ranging from mountains, canyons and open land.

The next photos are from the Firehole Lake area, a short drive east of US-191.
The Firehole River follows US-191 on the west side of the highway.

The red stains are from algae that lives in the hot water.

Boiling water.

Calcium carbonate covers the ground around the vents.

A lot of calcium carbonate. We just missed the eruption here.

More boiling water.

There are several water falls in Yellowstone.

Old Faithful and Grand Tetons

 We left early this morning to see Old Faithful before the huge crowds arrived. It was about fifty miles from are RV. The crowds did arrive but some time after we arrived so parking was easy for us. We waited about an hour in the fifty degree weather for the eruption at about 8:45 am. It's not on an exact schedule. This was apparently a short eruption, some are as long as five minutes.

Waiting, waiting, waiting. Other geysers are in the background.

The growing crowd waiting, waiting, waiting.

The Lodge and there are several other buildings at Old Faithful.

The Grand Tetons are about 40 miles south on US-191. We drove as far as Colter Bay Village where we had a good view of the mountain range. The famous Jackson Hole is another 50 miles south but that was too far today. Maybe next time.... 

Jackson Lake

Colter Bay Village

The US-191 below Yellowstone is a memorial to Rockefeller since he
contributed a large sum of money to the area.

One more post is coming about our return trip to our RV.

Yellowstone NP July 31

 July 31, we drove to Mammoth Hot Springs, the north entrance at Gardiner, MT. The west and north entrances to Yellowstone are actually in Montana so you cross the Wyoming state border to enter the park. The Roosevelt Lodge is half way around the Grande Loop Road. The road was closed beyond the Lodge so we had to return thru Mammoth on US-89. 

The road to Mammoth Hot Springs.

Located at Hot Springs.

The road downhill to the north entrance.

Elk near the road at the north entrance to Yellowstone.

My zoom lens works great. 

Established 1906 after a trip to the area by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Road closed, turn around, go back the way we came here.

Yellowstone NP July 30

Some people told us three days was all you needed to see Yellowstone. Not true. The park has 2.2 million acres. We have four days and that is not enough to see it all. We have not been going indoors at all, avoiding Covid-19 so we have been outdoors only. We are not walking trails, but if we did it would take another week. If you want to get around to all the major sights, a lot of driving is required. Everything thing is 25-30 miles apart or more. Roads are good but lots of traffic. Parking lots are full so some places we could only drive by. Scenery is great and I really like my $44.00 dash camera.

July 30, we drove the main interior loop, about 160 miles. It was a full day. There were some Bison on the road and a few Elk in the fields. Early morning or late evening are the best times to see wildlife.

Crossed this at least six times during our visit at the park.

July 31, we drove to Mammoth Hot Springs, the north entrance at Gardiner, MT and to the Roosevelt Lodge on the Grande Loop Road. The road was closed beyond the Lodge so we had to return thru Mammoth on US-89.