Sights and excitement in Yellowstone

We arrived at Yellowstone around lunch time on August 5th with a plan of attack.  We were determined to see as much of the park as we could in the two days we had.  After a quick lunch and a discussion about how we would handle it if a bear happened upon our feast, we set out.  

Arriving in Yellowstone

Our first stop was West Thumb Geyser Basin, which is an area of thermal activity that spills into part of Yellowstone Lake.  There were bubbling pots of mud and deep blue caverns of boiling water – it really is like being on another planet.  We stopped at the Sulfur Caldron and the Mud Volcano, both smelled horrific, but they were interesting to see.  

West Thumb Geyser Basin

Sulfur Caldron

Next, we continued on to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which I didn’t realize is the location of the famous waterfall in Yellowstone that is the subject of so many photos and paintings.  It was great to see it in person.  Charles wanted to do a painting, so I decided to hike the trail to get a closer view of the waterfall.  The hike was awesome, although about 30 minutes in I realized hiking alone in bear territory might not be wise, at that very second I heard a sound and got a little spooked, then realized it was another hiker and felt slightly ridiculous.  I later figured out if you are hiking anywhere around any of the main attractions of the park, you won’t likely be alone for more than a few seconds, fellow tourists are everywhere.   

Shot of the waterfall from my hike

Charles in his painting spot

We finished out the day by making our way to Old Faithful, but unfortunately we missed the geyser by minutes.  I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to see the geyser in all its glory, but I was able to snap a picture as it was simmering down, all in all a satisfying first day in Yellowstone. 

Evening at Old Faithful

 That night we stayed in West Yellowstone at Three Bear Lodge.  West Yellowstone is a cute little town that caters to tourists from the park.  After settling in we walked to the Wild West Saloon and Pizzeria for dinner and to catch up on Olympics coverage.  Great pizza!  I highly recommend it if you are ever in West Yellowstone.  It makes a great picnic lunch in the park the next day, if you have any left over. 

Our second day in Yellowstone we set out to see more sights and find a good place for Charles to work on a painting.  We settled on the Great Prismatic Spring, which is pretty incredible – it truly glows neon blues, turquoise, and orange on the horizon.  

Windy morning at Great Prismatic Springs

I set off on my own to see a few other nearby sights and do some journal writing, while Charles painted.  We met up again for a picnic lunch and to see the Mammoth Springs and Tower Fall.  

Picnic lunch - Charles had a picnic here as a kid with his family

After lunch we were driving to Mammoth Springs when we both thought we saw either a coyote or a wolf walking across a prairie.  We stopped at the next turnoff and decided to hike back to see if we could see the animal.  We never did spot it, but together decided it was likely a coyote.  We ended up walking to the Obsidian Cliffs, which made our failed wildlife expedition worthwhile. 

Looking for wildlife

 Our plan was to hike around Mammoth Springs and then swing by the Tower Falls before driving to Bozeman for the night.  A large rainstorm with some impressive lightning was the first diversion to our plan.  Since the lightning seemed close enough to be dangerous we decided to check out the Park Station nearby, get some water, and use the bathrooms.  We ended up arriving at the upper level of Mammoth Springs around 5:30 p.m. 

Charles parked the car and we were collecting cameras, rain coats, and water and getting out of the car when we heard a loud scrape, screams, then a crash.  Charles immediately handed me the keys and his things and ran up the hill to the other part of the parking area.  As I was running up after him I could only think that someone’s car had just gone off the edge into the boiling pit of thermal springs.  As I caught sight of the scene I was relieved to see that the car had not gone over, but had instead been stopped by one of the wooden bridges that allows people to walk down to the springs lower on the cliff.  My next concern was for the people in the car who were precariously hanging on the side of a cliff by a wooden structure.  A few minutes later I saw Charles carrying a dog and walking up from the car.  When he arrived at the accident a few seconds before me, he realized there were lots of spectators but no one doing anything, so he took action and helped the woman in passenger seat out of the car, then went back for the dog, and asked another man standing nearby to secure the parking brake on the car.  The whole thing was terrifying, but there were miraculously no injuries, and the only thing to do was to wait for the park ranger to arrive.  Charles and I took the job of making sure no one took the parking place in front of the car, so that a tow truck could pull the car to safety, as soon as one arrived.  

Surveying the scene

 As we waited I began talking to the family in the car, they were from Idaho and came to the park regularly.  The group of three was made up of the grandparents and their teenage granddaughter.  The granddaughter was driving and when they pulled into the parking place she forgot to put the car in park and got out.  The car immediately lunged forward with the grandmother still buckled into the front passenger seat.  The grandfather was standing at the back of the car getting out some camera equipment, he grabbed onto the car to try and keep it from going forward, but instead was pulled down scraping his knee and face on the gravel parking lot.  The grandmother luckily had been to the park often enough to know that the most secure part of the wooden structure in front of her was to the right, so she grabbed the steering wheel and veered the car into the largest part of the wooden bridge.  Had the car continued in the direction it was originally pointed, it would likely have taken the whole wooden bridge along with it and ended up in a thermal pool.  They were very lucky.  We waited as the rangers arrived and took charge of the scene.  Charles had to fill out an accident report and I visited more with the family, although rather shaken they were all very calm and grateful that the outcome left everyone unharmed.   

About an hour and a half after the accident a tow truck finally arrived.  They were able to pull the car out and we decided to say our goodbyes to the family.  We left them with a business card (yes, I made business cards for our trip) and told them I would write about it on our blog (so if you’re reading this – hello!).   Charles and I then set off on our delayed hike around Mammoth Springs, and as we were finishing we saw them drive out in their car – it was in good enough shape for them to drive it back to Idaho.  We ended up leaving the park around 8:00 p.m., later than expected, but with an exciting and memorable day behind us. 

Mammoth springs hike

Leaving the park