Yellowstone: The First National Park

Our arrival at Yellowstone National Park was certainly a memorable one. It hailed, twice. August in the mountains at more than 7,000 feet above sea level is certainly something else. I guess “summer” is a shorter season around here. As we pulled into West Yellowstone to enter the park, small pellets gushed down on us as a cold “hello!”

The storm was short though, and we drove through the majestic wonderland, native land to the Apsaalooké (Crow) and Cheyenne peoples. On our way to Canyon Village, we were welcomed by tall lodgepole pine forests sprouting up on both sides of the highway, rolling over mountains far ahead. Soon the forests opened up to the Madison and Gibson Rivers, rushing along beside us with alpine meadows along their shores. Waterfalls roared over dips in the river, areas carved out by the pounding water through the soft rock. Then we came upon what makes Yellowstone so very special, the steam rising into the cool blue sky from a variety of spectacular geothermal features right along the highway. Steam floated across the road, sometimes spouting from springs or vents just a few feet from the side of the road – the activity of the super volcano below the surface poking out and reminding us it is still alive.

The 40 miles to our campsite at Canyon Village, in the middle of the park, were marvelous. Yellowstone is gigantic, three times the size of Rhode Island, nearly 2.2 million acres. The explorers, artists, and photographers who captured the sublime features of the park in 1871 convinced President Ulysses S. Grant and Congress to make Yellowstone the first National Park in 1872. It is home to geysers, hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles, travertine terraces, countless hiking trails, rising mountains, and abundant wildlife – wolves, moose, bears, elk, deer, bison, and more.

As we neared our campground, we pulled over for our first up close inspection of the park – Norris Geyser Basin. We headed out on the Porcelain Basin trail, an interconnected system of raised boardwalks that bring you close to the different features. Underneath is solfatara, unstable ground above the volcanic activity deep below. The sulfuric acid, gases, and steam that escape from the vents create a thin layer of delicate covering (solfatara) above the decomposing rock below. The boardwalks are very safe and stable, but it is important to stay on them, which we did. And when you do, you are treated to spectacular sites.

Steam rises around you, peaking up through trees or dancing across the earth ahead. Small holes here and there are gurgling with boiling water bubbling at their surface. Turquoise springs rimmed in oranges and yellows delight your eyes. Vents splash out scalding water and send steam clouds into the air. The sizzling of water bubbling across shallow bodies of water makes you think bacon is cooking on the stove. And then the rainbow rivers of greens, oranges, whites run across the land, under the boardwalk, to the next pool on down into the ground. It truly feels like you have stepped into another world.

On the upper trail, across the basin, small spouting geysers erupt erratically. Bacteria living in the boiling water create patterns all around. Some look like cauliflower, others like stones, and still others circling in rings like crystals. Mud pots gurgle and bubble and hot springs sizzle. We made out way around to Steamboat Gesyer on the upper loop. This geyser erupts erratically, either every 6 days or every 50 years. And when it does, the minerals spraying out can apparently damage paint and glass on cars – so beware where you park! We did not have the privilege of seeing Steamboat Geyser erupt, but the constant plume or steam that escapes from its vent was still pretty spectacular.

After a full morning of exploring, we headed over to Canyon Village to check in at the campground. My spot was nicely tucked into the woods, but at a severe downhill slant. We level the best we could, but lets just say gravity helped me easily get to the front of the van. Haha. And no sooner had we settled in that a hailstorm and thunder swept through again! We ate dinner indoors that night and prayed from warmer, sunnier weather in the morning for our next adventures.