Blog

Hayden Valley and Yellowstone River

by Marc 12/08/2017 | 8 IMAGES IN THE BLOGPOST | No Comments

Early in the morning, 6:15am — we drove through the early morning fog from Canyon Village to Hayden Valley to see large herds of bison. But the surprise was big, the first bison cop approached us in the dark from the fog on the street — luckily on the other side of the street. As he emerged from the darkness, he reminded me strongly of a man in a loden coat!

But soon we arrived at the flat sections of the Yellowstone River, which meandered through the Hayden Valley. A few fog swathes hung over the river, before which a few trees emerged. But unfortunately the herds of bison were not to be found here. So we enjoyed the sunrise over the Yellowstone River.

Yellowstone - Hayden Valley (3288) — Yellowstone — Hayden Valley (3288)

After the sunrise we drove to the Mud-Volcano region, located at the edge of the Hayden Valley. A not so impressive area, because the typical strong colors of the Yellowstone were missing here and a pungent oder of rotten egs, caused by hydrogen sulfide gas. But in the backlight of the flat morning sun, the steam swaths of the area were simply great to photograph.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

by Marc 12/03/2017 | 4 IMAGES IN THE BLOGPOST | No Comments

After visiting the Upper Geyser Basin with its geysers Old Faithful, Beehive, Grand and Castle, it was clear to us that we wanted to see the fascinating Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. What could be better to spend the nights in the nearby Canyon Village? From there it is a short walk and you are at the north rim of the canyon. On the evening of arrival we hiked to the canyon edge for a short visit. The footpath from the Canyon Village ends directly at the Grand View. From there you have a fantastic view into the 1000 feet deep canyon. Especially in the afternoon hours of summer, the southern rim is illuminated by the sun, consisting of red and yellow tufa rock. Far below you can see the narrow course of the Yellowstone River, which meanders through the canyon.

Great Fountain Geyser & White Dome Geyser

by Marc 11/25/2017 | 1 IMAGE IN THE BLOGPOST | No Comments

Along the Firehole Lake Drive there are some hot springs and unique geysers. On our way from Old Faithful to the next accommodation in Canyon Village we made a detour along the Firehole Lake Drive. We were particularly attracted to the Great Fountain Geyser, which breaks out very irregularly but is particularly beautiful to look at due to its sinter terraces. We sat down for a while at the edge of the geyser and watched again and again how the water was boiling up inside. During observation, the White Dome Geyser broke out several times in the background. It is nice to see the two geysers staggered one after the other in the photo.

The White Dome Geyser has a cone several meters high, indicating the age of the geyser, which is many hundred years old. It often breaks out at intervals of 30–35 minutes and its eruptions reach heights of up to 9 meters.

Grand Prismatic Spring

by Marc 11/19/2017 | 4 IMAGES IN THE BLOGPOST | No Comments

The Upper Geyser Basin also includes the biggest and most famous hot spring of Yellowstone: Grand Prismatic Spring!

After our long hike in the Upper Geyser Basin we decided to went to Grand Prismatic Spring by car. Before you got there, the parking lot of the Trail Head »Fairy Falls« is located on the left hand side. A short hike of less than 1 mile and we climbed the hill to look down at the spring from above. I can only recommend this — especially in the afternoon — because from there you have an excellent view of the whole splendour of Grand Prismatic Spring!

Afterwards we had made a short detour to the parking area of the Grand Prismatic Spring, because we wanted to see the red arms of the spring close by!

Yellowstone - Grand Prismatic Spring (2875)

Yellowstone - Grand Prismatic Spring (2881)

Yellowstone - Grand Prismatic Spring (2917)

Upper Geyser Basin at the Great American Eclipse

by Marc 11/19/2017 | 24 IMAGES IN THE BLOGPOST! | No Comments

The Great American Eclipse, 21^st of August — and we weren’t there. Just arrived in Old Faithful, it was soon clear to us that we didn’t want to make our way to the solar eclipse on the only road from Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park. There would certainly be a big traffic jam. Therefore we planned to do a day hike through the Upper Geyser Basin, from Old Faithfull to the Biskit Basin and back — together about 7,75 miles.

As in the Grand Teton we were early in the morning on the hiking route, respectively at Geyser Hill in the Old Faithful region. There are many hot springs and geysers, the whole hill is steaming. From there you had a great view over Old Faithful with its many lodges and facilities and over to the Black Sand Basin. Everywhere we saw it steaming!

Yellowstone - Firehole River & Geyser Hill (2385) — Yellowstone — Firehole River & Geyser Hill (2385)

Trail Guides of Yellowstone

by Marc 10/31/2017 | No Comments

During our first stay in a hydrothermal zone in Yellowstone we discovered the simple but very informative trail guides. Since then they have accompanied us through our stay in Yellowstone National Park. For only 1,- Dollar you get a simple map (which is very easy to read and follow because of the everywhere available plank paths) and good background information to most geysers, hot springs and pools. They are published by Yellowstone Forever, but I haven’t found them anywhere in the online trade.

We would recommend them to any visitor of the park. Our hiking maps bought in advance were mostly used for preparation and especially for estimating the length of a hike, but they were usually in a backpack during the hike. The small trail guide was always easily accessible and stowed away in one of the backpack side pockets!

Old Faithful

by Marc 10/30/2017 | 1 IMAGE IN THE BLOGPOST | No Comments

Since the discovery of Yellowstone at the beginning of the 19^th century, the Old Faithful Geyser erupts every 90 minutes. Depending on how strong the previous eruption was, i. e. how long and how high it was, the rangers can predict the next eruption to within ±10 minutes. In every lodge at the site and even beyond, there are boards indicating the time of the next eruption.

Shortly after our arrival at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, we were on the verge of the next eruption. We were not able to resist the fascination and of course we went to the hundreds of other people around the oval around the geyser. Three rows of benches are installed on the way and many spectators have been waiting for the new one since the last eruption.

Then the spectacle began: First a few small steam boost — a murmur went through the crowd — then nothing for a while. Then again a steam boost, this time followed by a little bump of hot water — a cheering and clapping went through the crowd and the people shouted to each other in many languages:»It’s starting«. Then finally — a really big bump of hot water and then again and again — the eruption had begun! The Old Faithful kept us under his spell for almost three minutes.

Blog Updates