Yellowstone National Park- Mammoth Hot Springs & Baby Elk!

Wednesday we drove up to the Mammoth area and tucked in amongst the historic residences, this mama Elk just had her spring baby!  This baby is between 1 and 2 hours old.  Baby was practicing getting his feet working.  Baby Elk bed down for 2-3 days before travelling with mama, whereas baby bison are ready to go within 2-3 hours.
This baby was learning quickly and kept trying to bound around the grassy lawn. The Mammoth area is where the army set up camp to protect Yellowstone when the park was first established.  There are many historical buildings from the fort, including this stone chapel which is still used today.
We walked on the lower terrace boardwalk to see a different side of Yellowstone’s thermal features.  In this area, the thermal waters mix with the limestone creating travertine terraces.  The colors are only evident on areas where the hot springs actively flow because they are caused by microorganisms.
As with the rest of the Yellowstone ecosystem, this area is always changing.  A portion of the trail was closed because the terraces had built up onto it, some areas can have up to 3 feet of terraces deposited in a year!
A view of Chris and Caleb along the lower terrace boardwalk.
From the top of the boardwalk one gets quite a view of the historic Mammoth settlement below and the mountains in the background. We drove to the north entrance at Gardiner for a view of the historic arch where Teddy Roosevelt mortared the cornerstone.  Can you see Caleb by the door on the left?  We have seen pictures of the arch but never realized how massive it is! 

Along the drive back to our campsite we saw female and baby Big Horn Sheep frolicking along the rocky cliffs.  Back at the campsite Chris & Caleb saw a moose in the willows by the Madison River.  Did I mention we decided to stay put a few more nights?  This area has so much to do!  Today, though, we are going to hang out at camp and look for wildlife around here.

Yellowstone National Park- Geysers & More!

Today the sun was shining so it was a perfect day to view the thermal springs with their brilliant colors!  We walked the boardwalk around Old Faithful and saw it erupt from the backside. 

We also saw many other geysers such as this one, the Beehive.  We started at Old Faithful and worked our way north today, stopping at the Fountain Paint Pot for a gurgling, clay filled pool.  Pictures of Yellowstone surely don’t illustrate the sounds and smells of it’s many wonders.  The sulphur smell of the thermal features may seem like stinky eggs at first, but then one knows that the smell means great beauty lies ahead!  The sounds vary from bubbling and plopping of the Fountain Paint Pot to the hissing of steam straining to escape a fumarole. 

  We also visited the Midway Geyser Basin to view the famous Grand Prismatic Spring.  It is one of the largest pools and one of the hottest, so there is always plenty of steam.  Right above us as we walked this boardwalk, two Ospreys chattered overhead.  Back at our campsite, an Osprey was spotted with it’s trout dinner in its talons.

Caleb finished up his Jr.Ranger requirements and was sworn in by a ranger at the Madison Jr.Ranger Station.  Now he’s prepared to flash his badge to help protect our national park! 

These Bison, earlier in the day, were right behind where Caleb is standing in the photo above.  We’ve been to Yellowstone before, but don’t recall ever seeing as many bison calves as this year.

Grotto Geyser puts on an entertaining show on the Upper Geyser Basin.  It shoots and sprays this way and that, popping up here and then there, masking itself in steam and then clearing up.  We sat and watched Grotto’s antics for a few minutes before walking on.

Do you see the baby leaping in the background?  These bison were swimming across the Madison River.  And when mama decided to cross, baby had to take the plunge too!  The water is high and the current is swift, so when one mama and baby crossed they didn’t end up at the same spot on the other bank!  So they snorted and ran to meet up with each other again.

We have decided to stay one more night here in West Yellowstone.  Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty clear before the rains move back in towards evening.  Where to after that?  We are planning a spelunking adventure, so follow along!

Yellowstone National Park

Sunday we left Gros Ventre campground in the Grand Tetons under the cover of clouds with rain steadily falling.  We drove north and entered Yellowstone through the South entrance.  Snow blanketed the grounds and the temperatures dropped.  We continued through the park and exited through the West entrance at West Yellowstone, Montana.  Proceeding through town and two miles up highway 191, we reached our camping destination, Bakers Hole National Forest Service campground.  It sits on the Madison River which is swollen from the rain.  There was a flood warning, but it seems the banks will hold swift current back today.  This view of the Madison river is from the side of our trailer.  This campground will easily accommodate any size RV.  Electric sites are available, but we chose a dry camping spot for $16 a night. 

Monday morning we ventured into Yellowstone, slowing for the Bison sleeping in the meadow along the Madison river, and stopping at the Madison Jr. Ranger station.  Caleb earned his patch here a few years ago, but now that he is older, there is a different patch to earn.  He listened to Ranger Molly talk about the Ravens in the park.  With the clouds and the rain hanging on and following the advice of a ranger, we decided to visit the thermal features on a sunnier day.  North through Norris and on to Canyon for a stop at the Laundromat.  Then to the Falls…

We hiked down to the Brink of the Lower Falls located in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

  The falls were amazing!  Enormous amounts of water careened over the edge passing next to canyon cliffs still covered with snow. 

Of course once you walk down, you have to walk back up!  The trail’s elevation change is 600 feet and the length is 3/8 of a mile one way.  So it’s a steep climb up!Looking up the canyon from Inspiration Point…

  and then towards Old Faithful!  Along the way we stopped in a picnic area to walk the dogs when crack, crack, thunder, boom!  A tree fell in the forest pretty close, but luckily not too close!  There are many fallen trees that seem to have just uprooted themselves and fallen over.  There was also a fire in the area last year that scorched some of the forest.  But the small healthy pines that line much of Yellowstone are proof that the massive fire of 1988 cannot destroy the beauty of Yellowstone. 

After viewing an evening presentation of one of the most predictable and frequent geysers on earth, Old Faithful, we were treated to a rainbow over Old Faithful Lodge.  From there we were headed back to the campsite.  Caleb asked, “How long from here?”  I replied, “About 45 minutes.”   Well, that figure didn’t account for the Buffalo jam!