Day of the Bison

Our third day in Yellowstone was spent exploring the lower Southern loop of the park. I thought it would be a fairly quick day as the map didn't seem to indicate a lot to explore and we had already covered a quarter of the loop a day before when we explored the Old Faithful area. . I was proven wrong.

It took us almost an hour and a half to reach the Continental Divide towards the Southern tip of the loop.

At which point we decided to stretch our legs since our first official stop would be a half hour away (with light traffic) at West Thumb.

At West Thumb we had our first view of Yellowstone Lake and a strong reminder that the lake was still on the caldera of the volcano.

From the lakeside boardwalk we got our first glimpse of the forest fire that was burning several miles away. I am under the impression that this fire started naturally with a lightening strike.

As we continued on the half mile boardwalk we came to this pool. I puzzled over the name of the hot pool for a short while. Sure looks blue to me!

We passed by several mule deer carelessly grazing on the thermal grounds. According to one Ranger, deer and occasionally bison loose their footing or break through the thin earth crust to a painful death in the scalding water.

Silly deer don't heed the warnings very well. Although who could blame them, it looks harmless.

A little further up the road we saw our first bison of the day. This bull was gazing out upon the lake as he sunbathed.

After a brief stop at the Fishing Bridge Visitor Center Bug decided he wanted to go fishing. We consulted with a Ranger who directed us to an easy 1 mile trail that would take us to a beach along Yellowstone Lake. The signs warned us that it was a bear frequency area so we made sure to sing camp songs and talk loudly on our way through the woods.

While Bug practiced his casting skills (and lost his favorite lure to a snag) I took in some sun and read my book.

When Bug tired of fishing we continued on to Canyon Village. In Hayden Valley we saw over 100 bison grazing in the meadows.

We made a brief stop at the Mud Volcano to tread the short boardwalk. Bug once again kept me informed about the natural wonders.

We passed by another Bison, this one resting not too far off the trail. He picked a bad spot to lay though, as he is on top of a heat vent. A few short minutes after we passed we watched him jump up in anger as the vent released it's steam. He then crossed the boardwalk in front of a small group of visitors to reach a cooler sandy area.

The mud volcano had it's last major eruption in the 1870's but continues to bubble and gurgle to this day.The small of sulfur is strong in this area and Bug had to hold his breathe.

Bug's favorite site at in the Mud Volcano area was Dragon's Mouth. This hot spring belches and steams from a cavern and gives you the impression that a dragon may just be taking up residence deep inside the cave. The smell of sulfur was still strong, but Bug briefly forgot it in his amazement.

A It didn't take long for us to find more bison. There were probably another 70 or 80 grazing in this meadow. It was getting to the point now that I hardly slowed down the truck to watch them.

Although I did slow down long enough for Bug to take this picture out the window.

The rest of our afternoon was spent in the Canyon Village area. We decided to start out with a three mile hike on the South Rim trail to view both the Upper and Lower Falls. We had a good view of the Upper Falls from the parking area but had heard that we could take the trail to the waterfall itself.

Unfortunately this was as close to the waterfall as we could get. The trail was closed off due to washouts and unstable grounds.

We were able to get a decent view of the bottom from an overlook on the trail above the falls.

Bug wasn't too sure what to think of the overlook. I guess he was finally developing his dizzy legs.

It was a very pretty view of the Yellowstone River once I finally ventured out onto the platform.

Bug got a little more daring further up the trail and decided to show me his impression of Titanic.

We didn't follow the trail the whole way, deciding to turn around a quarter mile before the end due to biting insects. We were able to catch a glimpse of the Lower Falls before we turned around.

We drove across the river and took a trail that dropped 600 ft down to the top of Lower Falls.

Bug was very impressed to be so close to the raging waters.

I, on the other hand, had to stretch my arm out past the fence and take a picture in order to see the bottom.

Looking straight out into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was definitely worth the steep climb back up.

The sun was starting to set and the moon starting to rise. It was time to head back to the cabin and get some rest for another busy day tomorrow.