Friday, August 1, 2014

Yellowstone NP - The Terraces

A long road trip today, well, the mileage isn’t so long but the time will be. The park’s speed limit is 45 mph with long stretches at 35 mph and then sometimes we get down to 25 mph. However, it’s not just the mph that makes a trip long, it is the stops for sights. It’s Yellowstone, where else are you going to see some of these things? Ya gotta get out and see what’s there. Just driving by and you miss most of it. The final delay is that there is road construction. Yellowstone gets millions of visitors each year (3,000,000 predicted for this year) and, between the tourists and the weather, the roads take a pounding. We found some construction on one section of the Loop Road which lasted about 1/2 hour. We will take the other half of the loop road home this afternoon to see a new section of the park and avoid that.

Our goal today is what is called the Terraces at the northern entrance to the park. A different kind of thermal feature and - of course, Fort Yellowstone is up there. On the way we passed by Norris Junction, which has some of the hottest thermal features in Yellowstone. We looked back and saw this, steam rising on the horizon.
HydrothermalFeaturesintheCoolMorning-1-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
On the way up we saw Roaring Mountain named for all the hissing fumeroles that cover its side. And, yes, they really hiss. Stand still, wait for the cars to pass and then listen - sure enough, you can actually hear the mountain. But, look at all that steam curling up from the cliff face. There’s lots of activity here.
RoaringMountain-3-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Further north is the Golden Gate Bridge. No, we haven’t made a wrong turn and ended up in San Francisco. The Golden Gate is a narrow V in the mountains with sheer rock wall on one side and a waterfall and river on the other. Putting a road through this was not easy but in 1885, engineers built a wooden trestle cantilevered out from that wall, with supports below. There have been several versions of this bridge with the latest having been done in 1977. There is one turn-out before the actual bridge and we stopped for the view of the engineering marvel - before we drove on it. Hmmm, sometimes, it’s better not to know.
BridgingtheGoldenGate-8-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
On the other hand, note the colors and sheerness of the cliff on the side.
BridgingtheGoldenGate-4-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Several days later we saw this picture in a museum. It’s a picture of the same area after an earthquake.
MuseumoftheNationalParkRanger-3-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Then we drove into the Mammoth area where we stopped at the first turn-out so we could walk the road to the Upper Terraces. Since RV’s and buses were prohibited from taking this narrow one-way road, we thought we could walk it. We walked clockwise since the cars were coming from the other direction. Unfortunately, it is difficult to see how this area is all terraced when we approached it from the top. It would have been much better to have approached it from the bottom to appreciate how tall, how terraced and how much the springs had built the area up. Starting at the bottom, we could have seen the results of the springs and how they formed the terraces. Then, when we got to the top, we could have been in awe that one little spring could have done all that terracing. Thus, my advice - start at the bottom.

For example, here’s the top of one of the most elaborate terraces, Palette Spring. Pretty and the colors are gorgeous but it’s just a colorful pool from the top. From the top, you can’t see the water overflowing and running down the side, forming the massive elaborate terraces.
LowerTerracesArea-36-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Now, here it is from the bottom looking up. WOW. That little spring did all that? Look how much water is pouring down. It looks like a waterfall. And, the terraces - layer upon layer.
LowerTerracesArea-9-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Here’s another from the top
LowerTerracesArea-57-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
and from the bottom. From the top, it’s just a colorful pool. From the bottom, it’s terrace after terrace of delicately formed minerals with color splashing through it.
LowerTerracesArea-47-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Color all over flowing down the hills.
LowerTerracesArea-1-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Beautiful formations and so much different from the springs and pools and geysers that we have seen in the rest of the park. It’s amazing how the 3 ingredients of all of these formations: water, heat and cracks in the the earth’s crust combine to make so many different shapes and forms: geysers, terraces, pools, fumeroles and mud pots. 3 ingredients, an infinite variety of results. Isn’t Yellowstone something else? Here’s a formation called the Liberty Cap after the caps worn by the French Revolutionaries. (And note the virga rain in the background. I’m thinking we might be pounded soon.)
LowerTerracesArea-23-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
We enjoyed our self-guided tour of the fort and its environs but it was time to head back to the RV. Did we hit any ‘bison jams?’ Silly question. Several.

We also stopped to see the petrified tree. Here’s a picture of it in the past. Note how tall it is. Unfortunately, tourists chopped piece after piece from it. By the way, there were originally 3 here - 2 are gone now.
PetrifiedTree-1-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
Here is the one remaining - all fenced in to protect it.
PetrifiedTree-2-2014-08-1-10-11.jpg
There’s an interesting dance that we touists do here in the park: the ‘Yellowstone two-step’. Not too imvolved and you can pick up the steps in one easy lesson.

Drive the Loop Road

Notice brake lights ahead of you and a long line of cars

Grab the camera, take off the lens cap, turn it on, roll down the window and be at the ready

Check both sides of the road to see what others are looking at

Stick the camera out of the window when you see the - whatever

Take the infamous window pic, only slightly less favored than the ‘selfie.’

And, there you have it, the ‘Yellowstone two-step.’

No comments:

Post a Comment