Exploring Mammoth Hot Springs area

 

Since we get so many questions from guests about what to do in the area we decided to take some ranger hikes and check out Boiling River trail.

Fort Yellowstone Historic District is part of the Mammoth Hot Springs area. The military was in charge of the park from 1886 to 1916 when Congress created the National Park Service. "Calling the Cavalry" walk began at the Albright Visitor Center which was the original bachelor officers quarters.

The tour was led by Ranger Annie, an enthusiastic young lady full of interesting information. She told us about the role the military played in protecting Yellowstone.

The buildings that were originally used by the army are now occupied by park employees.

As we walked along she described life back in the day. We were unable to take the usual path because elk decided to graze where she usually goes. So we had to see some of the buildings from a distance. As we were heading back to the visitor center the clouds that had been in the distance moved in quickly, the wind began to blow fiercely, and large rain drops slammed down on us. We, wimps that we are, ran for the car for protection while the ranger lowered the flag with the help of two brave folks. This view is from our car.

It was very interesting to learn about how the park was ruled back then. Just as today the military made great sacrifices for our country.

The next ranger walk we took was the Hot Springs Terrace Walk. Although we had walked this area on our own and I posted several pictures earlier in this blog, we thought it would be good to find out more information. The enthusiastic ranger did not disappoint. She passed out paint samples and had us try to find the colors around the terrace where we were standing. Ours was very easy.

It was amazing how many colors we found all around us. We discovered that this area began only four years ago.

This pretty little hot spring was not there in February and was discovered in the spring.

On our previous walk we did not see the Canary Spring which changes from year to year.

With guidance from the ranger we were able to use all our senses to experience more fully the beauty of Mammoth Hot Springs.

On our way to work is an area called Boiling River. Until last week there was a sign at the ranger station that is was closed due to high water. Since it finally opened we decided to take the trail and see it for ourselves. On the way we saw many beautiful wildflowers.

 We were amazed at how these flowers grew out of the rocks.

 These were on the river bank.

 This one was just opening up.

The path meandered alongside the river. It was lovely hearing the water and seeing it flow along.

The Boiling River is created by a massive hot spring discharge flowing into the Gardner River. The river doesn't "boil" but it gets comfortably warm for people to soak in like a hot tub. This is our first view of it.

We walked up to it and watched people wade and soak in the water.

It looked like fun. Maybe we'll come back with our swimsuits and take the plunge.

We are settled in the routine of the job and schedule. The weather has been quite nice lately - cool at night and warm during the day. I have adjusted to the absence of the employee dining room although I would prefer it to cooking! It's great to have this little city of Gardiner within walking distance. We really enjoy seeing and hearing the Yellowstone River behind the RV and watching rafters cruise by. Today we return to night shift (2:15 to 9:45) for five days and then two days off to explore the park.

More Yellowstone views/visit with family

Here are pictures of the elk and her newborn baby that we saw at Mammoth after work about two hours after it was born. We actually saw the afterbirth come out of the mama, and it was pretty gross. But it was interesting to see how mama cleaned up her baby and tended to it.

During our hike to Artist Paintpots, between Mammoth and Old Faithful, we saw some very colorful sights. Water was flowing all around in a haphazard way.

Also there were some steamy hot springs...

And a few places where water was shooting out from the ground.

 

We climbed up a hillside and saw this view.

 

 

When we came back down we took a picture facing the hill.

 

 

It never ceases to amaze me how these hot spring areas pop up here and there around the park. 

 

During the week of June 9 we were delighted to have our daughter Donna, her husband Jon, and their two kids Jessica (16) and Chris (14) come for a visit. On our days off we traveled together to show them some of our favorite places in the park. Of course we had to take the picture at the Yellowstone sign.

 

 

We passed our first bull elk sighting of the season.

 

 

We stopped to check out Gibbon Falls.

 

 

Tuff Cliff was our next stop. It's a high rock bluff made from volcanic ash known as tuff. The sign noted that it is the result of an eruption 640,000 years ago. It's beyond me how they figure these things out!

 

 

 Since Jessica saw the mouse pad of the Grand Prismatic that we bought last year she wanted to see it in person. So we drove to the Midway Geyser Basin and walked around the boardwalk where it is located. It was so windy that all we got was steam in our faces from the 250 by 350 hot spring. But we did see some very colorful formations of bacteria.

 

This is a view from the ground.

 

So we took a hike from a different area to spot it from the non windy direction. It included a hike part way up a hillside to get the view of looking down on it. The picture just doesn't show its true beauty.

 

 

Here we are walking back down the hill. We made it!

 

 

The next stop was Old Faithful, our old stomping grounds from last year. We waited until its scheduled eruption, and it was very prompt.

 

 

We didn't have enough time to walk around the boardwalk at the Upper Geyser Basin so we headed back to Gardiner.

 

Since seeing animals was one of their goals, the next day we visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center at West Yellowstone right outside the west entrance to the park. They had seen everything but wolves in the wild. We got to see many bears and learned why they were there.

 

 

When the wolves weren't sleeping we saw then tromp around and heard several of them howl.

 

 

When we came back to Gardiner we took a picture of them at the arch at the northwest entrance.

 

 

They got to tour other parts of the park when we worked. Their last day was spent going on a stagecoach ride in the morning and attending the Rodeo in Gardiner in the evening. Their visit went by too quickly, but we enjoyed the time we spent with them.

 







From Gardiner to Cooke City, MT

Our first weekend (Tuesday & Wednesday) was cold and rainy so we made a short trip to a nearby visitor center and listened to some ranger talks. We also toured the Heritage and Research Center here in Gardiner which boasts of a collection of more than 5.3 million items. It also houses the park's herbarium, archeology lab and physical science lab.

It was the first day they were doing tours, and we were the only ones there so we had a  personalized guided tour of the facility by the curator. She showed us many items including some animals needing refurbishing.

Among many other interesting items was the original key to the door of the Old Faithful Inn which we toured last summer.

We were able to enter the Archives where we saw National Park Service records, manuscripts, and special collections. The last stop was the Research Library that contains an outstanding collection of diverse materials related to history and science in Yellowstone. As we walked along the stacks I was totally blown away by all the books there. I never knew there was so much information about Yellowstone. It made me realize how little I know about the park.

After our tour we took a ride down a bumpy dirt road and came upon the Gardiner cemetery. We had heard about it from associates.

We were not the only visitors that day. A pronghorn was grazing in the area.

On our next days off we were lucky to have beautiful weather. We took a drive along the northern part of the park. We passed the 45th parallel.

We stopped at the small but pretty Undine Falls.

At the parking lot we saw a Yellowstone tour bus. Maybe we'll do that sometime.

We had to walk about a half mile to see the Wraith Falls which was more like a cascade.

Along the way we saw hillsides of beautiful yellow daisies.

We were told that a good place to see black bear was down a road where the petrified tree is displayed. So we found the road and found the tree.

We spoke with a man who said that the day before there was a mama and two cubs playing in the field. But that day they found another place to romp. So we continued on our way. We saw a bunch of cars pulled over and figured that something interesting was spotted. It was a black bear with one cub.

 The baby stayed close behind for a while.

 Then mama got ahead of it.

 And it ran to catch up.

They looked like they were heading for the road so the ranger dispersed everyone to give them free range.

The drive along the Lamar Valley is very beautiful even if you don't see any wildlife.

At one point a pronghorn tromped through the field.

A little later a coyote crossed right in front of us. As I fumbled for the camera he headed off in the other direction.

Here's one other bear we saw.

At one point we were stopped while a group of horseback riders passed by.

We saw another group of cars pulled over, and people were walking back to their vehicles. A ranger came by and told us that two moose had swam across the lake and walked off into the woods a few minutes ago. Here's the lake, but we missed  the moose. Maybe next time......

 

 In addition to bison near the road, there were many herds of bison in the distance with their babies.

 

The next day after that delightful drive we took a hike to the Artists Paintpots south of Norris. Once we get the pictures on the computer I'll describe that day.

Yesterday afternoon one of the custodians said that a new elk was just born. After work we stopped to see it when it was about an hour old. It was precious seeing its wobbly legs trying to hold it up as it tried to nurse. What a great view!

We are excited to see our daughter and family who are arriving on Sunday for a week. We hope for nice weather so that they can see the park in its glory.