Western States 2012 - Day 18

June 23, 2012 - Saturday

“The hills are alive with the sound of music
 -With songs they have sung for a thousand years

 -The hills fill my heart with the sound of music,
 -My heart wants to sing every song it hears…” – Oscar Hammerstein II

It seems that everywhere we have traveled, some song comes to mind. This is the song that played through Martha’s head as we traveled the 35 miles north to Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. We entered the park mid-morning under cloudy skies and cool temperatures driving along the beautiful Madison River amongst new pine trees. The park was touched by fire in 1988, but the trees are once again replenishing themselves. It was not long before we caught a glimpse of elk frolicking in a distant meadow and then were among a buffalo herd grazing near the roadway. We have seen so much new life on this trip, baby elk, baby buffalo, baby cows, baby horses, new growth of vegetation.

We stopped to take more pictures of wild life, laughing at how many pictures we have already taken. We were here in 2005 and have pictures from then as well. There is just something about seeing these animals in their natural habitat that draws you to stop and take a picture.

A buffalo (bison) calf tries hiding behind a tree.

We headed north with a few stops along the way. Before reaching Norris Geyser Basin we stopped to look at Gibbon Falls, a short waterfall on the Gibbon River just north of Madison Junction in Yellowstone.

At Norris Geyser Basin there were bubbling hot springs with the smell of sulfur. At the Basin there is a boardwalk trail to Porcelain Basin and Steamboat Geyser. Porcelain Basin is just that, the appearance of porcelain lying out before you with steam rising from the earth and bubbling hot springs. Once again, we took pictures, but they just do not capture the beauty of this place. We also got a glimpse of Steamboat Geyer, which is one of the largest geysers when it does erupt. Unlike Old Faithful, eruptions are erratic in frequency and inconsistent in height. The last time it erupted to its full capacity was in May 2005; however, it erupts 30-40 feet on a daily basis.

Looking down into the Norris Geyser Basin where hundreds if geothermal oddities in action.

One of the many geysers spewing hot water and steam several feet into the air.

A small, multicolored stream flows under a boardwalk. The colors are cause by the different minerals existent in the water.

Our destination for the day was Mammoth Hot Springs where we had a delicious lunch at Mammoth Springs Dining Room. The elk are especially plentiful here. Today they were resting and grazing in the square that connects the old structures of the fort to the news structures of the Visitor Center, Hotel, etc. We didn’t stop to take any photos of the terraced hot spring because we have those from our visit seven years ago. 

After a short ride out to the original, northwest entrance and Gardiner, Montana we retraced our steps back to West Yellowstone where we took in the IMAX presentation of “Yellowstone.”

This is the original arch erected as the entrance to Yellowstone shortly after it became the country's and world's first National Park in 1872.

On our way back through Madison junction we were able to get a close-up photo of an elk on Gibbon Meadow.

We have seen many beautiful places but, for Martha, this remains her favorite. She thinks she could live here amongst this beauty between May and October. From then through April she wants to be where there is warmer weather and a lot less snow.