On The Road to Yellowstone During the Age of Covid
/I woke up before my alarm, excited to explore Yellowstone. I also needed a little extra time getting ready, since it was only 30-degrees outside!
Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872 when President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act. The park’s 3,472 square miles are home to 67 species of mammals and 285 species of birds.
There are more than 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone - geysers, hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles. In fact, more than 500 of those geysers are active! We started our day at the most famous geyser, Old Faithful.
Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes. It can last anywhere from 1.5 to 5 minutes and vary in height from 100 to 180 ft.
Even though it was pretty chilly with a light drizzle, we decided to walk the 4 miles (round trip) of the Upper Geyser Basin - SO glad we did! The natural beauty of the hot springs and geysers shone through the overcast skies with a colorful brilliance.
Another popular destination is Morning Glory Pool, so named for its colorful likeness to the flower - although its colors have changed in recent years due to vandalism and people throwing trash into the pool. These foreign objects upset the delicate ecosystem, blocking the heat-seeking bacteria that give the pool its brilliant hues.
After that brisk 2-hour walk in the cooler than I prefer temperature, we opted to drive around the park. Not too far away was Lake Village, with beautiful vistas of Yellowstone lake from the historic Lake Hotel. The lake is the largest high-elevation lake (above 7,000 ft.) in North America.
While the view was pretty, what I found more intriguing was the emptiness of the hotel! We were told the cabins were occupied, but the hotel was not taking reservations due to the pandemic.
We took a few pictures, bought a few souvenirs, and got back on the road! Glenn wanted to check out a one-way stretch of road that caught his eye on the way up. Firehole Lake turned out to be a hidden gem!
The drive goes through a paved section of the Lower Geyser Basin. We were first drawn to Firehole Spring and its clear (and extremely hot) aqua-colored waters. Firehole Lake is the largest hot spring in the area. There was so much steam rising from the waters, the cool temperatures and high winds created clouds so thick, people walking across the bridge seemed to appear from nowhere!
Our drive back took us past more beautiful scenery and the Continental Divide. Great way to end the day! Tomorrow, we look for wildlife.