Road Trip - Yellowstone

Firehole River

We started the day with a swim in the Firehole River. Totally unplanned - we discovered this popular spot after Sean randomly turned into a side road, just to see where it would go. The road followed the river to a swimming hole which we later discovered to be one of only two places in the park that it is safe to swim. The water was fairly cool, just like swimming in any other lake or river.

After clambering down the rocks to get to the river level, we spotted several people boogie boarding down a series of small waterfalls and rapids. It looked like the current in the middle of the river was moving quite quickly. Most children were wearing life jackets and staying close to the shore.

We had a quick dip before getting back on the road!

Fountain Paint Pots

Our next stop on the road to Old Faithful was the Fountain Paint Pots. This is a boardwalk loop, linking multiple geysers, hot springs, fumeroles and mud pots. We passed a sign on the way in that read: "Thin crust and scalding water. It is illegal to leave boardwalks." Off the side of the boardwalks the ground in these areas is often void of any vegetation with mineral deposits crusting the surface. The ground did indeed look fragile and as if it may have once been, or one day will be a steaming/bubbling hydrothermal feature in that spot. We happily followed the signs instructions!

The mud pots here were among the largest we saw; some were thin like muddy puddles, others were goopy and thick. This one was very dry, you can see where the mud is cracking. Although these features aren't as photogenic as the bright and colourful hot springs, they are still super interesting! If you listen carefully, you can hear them, sloppy and bubbling, just below the surface.

Biscuit Basin

Biscuit Basin takes it's name from the biscuit-like deposits which used to surround Sapphire Pool (the largest pool in the basin). Sapphire erupted in 1959 and blew all of the biscuits away! What remains is a large, deep, bright blue pool - which although biscuit-less, is still incredible!

Jewel Geyser, is one of the most frequent geysers to erupt in Yellowstone. Sean and I saw it go off twice, in less that 10 minutes! The water level of the pool surrounding the geyser is often used as an indicator of when the geyser is about to erupt.

Another good example of the black algae (zygogonium) that lives in the hot spring run off. It forms these thick mats, that almost look like carpet under the water.

Sean and I spotted several hoof prints in the algae, made by animals who had wandered into the area. We asked a ranger about what happens when animals fall into the pools and geysers and she said that they leave them there. They explained that this was due to the danger posed to Park Rangers who would have to get right up close to the hydrothermal feature, and also in an attempt to keep the park in as natural state as possible. The National Park Service would rather close an area of the park than interfere in its natural processes.

Upper Geyser Basin

For our next stop of the day we decided to walk the 4km trail that runs from Biscuit Basin to Old Faithful. Some of the trail is gravel and grass and as we got closer to Old Faithful the trail became tar sealed and boardwalk.

Siliceous sinter, sometimes called geyserite forms these strange mounds and shapes around geysers and hot springs. The water that erupts from the geyser carries silica (dissolved from the rhyolite rock) from deep underground and deposits it around the geyser or spring. Unlike the travertine terraces in Mammoth Springs, these rock features form very slowly, perhaps an inch or two a century!

Morning Glory Pool is the main attraction of this trail. It is massive and incredibly brightly coloured. It was also unique in that if you stood and looked at it from this angle, you could see way into the pool's depths! They had even strategically placed a bench so you could look at it from slightly higher up. While we were admiring the pool, we read that it actually used to be an active geyser. However, as people have thrown things into the pool over the years, the water supply has become clogged - dramatically altering Morning Glory Pool in activity and appearance.

When we arrived back at our car several hours later, we found some crows feasting on all the bugs that had become encrusted on the roof tent. Thanks team!

On our drive back to Norris Campground we encountered a bison who had found himself stuck on the road. He was lumbering along, oblivious to the traffic jam he had caused several kilometers up the road! We drove past very cautiously...