We went to Yellowstone on a whim
Our Saturday excursion to Bear World left a lot to be desired and a lot of free time in the afternoon, since we only stayed at the "wildlife attraction" for less than an hour. We found ourselves sitting around, bored and disappointed, but that's not how we wanted to spend our Saturday afternoon. We were 90 minutes from Yellowstone National Park's west entrance, but we didn't plan on visiting yet because we booked a stay much closer in June. But when the day desperately calls to be salvaged, we needed to go big or stay home. This is RV life. Making memories is a top priority. And so off we went to take the drive up US20 into West Yellowstone.
As we ventured further north into the forest, we got a firsthand glimpse of the remnants of the crazy winter that plagued the mountains. Lots of snow remained on the ground and several of the rivers and lakes were higher than usual. A few areas were flooded, including the Yellowstone KOA holiday, which wouldn't open its doors until summer. We drove past the lake that we would call home the following month, and we thanked our lucky stars that we weren't booked there yet. We've had enough floods for one year!
Despite the iffy water levels, the Yellowstone and Madison rivers were not wreaking havoc on the National Park. The southern part of the Grand Loop had just opened for the season the day before, and all the major landmarks were ready for viewing. We made the goal to see Grand Prismatic Spring and Old Faithful because we imagine they'll be much more crowded in June. The more we can get the touristy areas out of the way first, the more we can enjoy other parts of Yellowstone in the summer.
We had a lot of thoughts about Yellowstone going in, and our opinions differed in a lot of ways. Anthony had the park on his bucket list since childhood. The geological uniqueness is right up his alley. I too am a fan of geology, but I pegged Yellowstone as one of those overly hyped parks. Even the geothermal pools and geysers aren't anything new. In 2017 we roadtripped Iceland's Golden Circle and got to see volcanic activity in all its glory. Then we recently went to Craters of the Moon, which has volcanic rock as far as the eye can see.
What I wasn't considering, though, was Yellowstone's incredible vastness. There's no comparison to the Golden Circle or to any of the places I've seen volcanic rock. Of course, the park itself is huge - bigger than the entire Golden Circle itself. It spans 3 states (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) and is bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Much of the area is backcountry wilderness, and glimpses of this wilderness are apparent right from the entrance gate. The Madison river flowed alongside vast terrain of fields, snow, and the cutest skinny pines I've ever seen. Bison roamed in the distance. The snow-capped mountains loomed over the earth below. Entering Yellowstone almost gives the feeling of going back in time, before civilization. It was majestic.
Then there are the famous hydrothermal features. Unlike anything we've seen, the pools, springs, and geysers lie right at the earth's surface. They all look like they could erupt at any minute. Driving the Grand Loop, we were surrounded by pine trees that grew in an unfortunate place, leaving behind their burnt trunks embedded in mud and clay. In the distance were billows of steam shooting up from the ground. For some reason, all the videos I've seen and stories I've read about Yellowstone didn't prepare me for the juxtaposition of this wilderness and volcanic activity. I expected them to be relatively separate landscapes in the park, but in reality, the forest grows right next to the geothermal terrain. There are even points where water from the pools runs off right into the river below!
It didn't take me long to realize that I could visit all the volcanic land in the world, but Yellowstone is magnificent. Plus, Yellowstone was the first officially designated National Park, and boy does it set the tone for the ecological diversity we have here in the United States. As for Anthony, the park lived up to his expectations. For years he imagined what it would be like to finally visit Yellowstone, but never would he have thought he'd be so lucky to "live" 90 minutes away and just pop in on a random afternoon. It's like we're able to just say, "Oh hey, feel like having an experience today we'll never forget? Let's go fulfill a lifetime bucket list item!"
We packed a lot into our few hours at the park. We covered the Grand Loop from the West entrance down a little past Old Faithful. On the way, we stopped at Fountain Paint Pots, Grand Prismatic Spring, and the Old Faithful geyser.
Fountain Paint Pots was our first real introduction into the hydrothermal features of the park. We got to see pools, geysers, mudpots, and fumaroles (the vents in the ground that release the volcanic gases). A short boardwalk weaved us around all these features, bubbling, spouting, and steaming. Signs are posted everywhere telling visitors to stay on the walkway, and for good reason. The ground below is extremely hot and delicate, covered only by a thin crust of mud. Staying on trail is important in every park, but especially here, because it's not only a safety concern for the environment, but for the people as well.
The Grand Prismatic Spring trail begins at the Firehole River and includes three other features: Turquoise Pool, Opal Pool, and Excelsior Geyser. Grand Prismatic is famous for being the largest spring in Yellowstone and third largest in the world. The trail around these features is also a boardwalk, to keep visitors safe from the harsh ground conditions. We had to wonder about the brave souls who built these boardwalks. It happened in the 1960s because humans have terrible impulse control, and despite the signs and very good reasons for not entering the area by the springs, people continued to do so. The boardwalks helped, but as we know too well, incidents happen multiple times a year with spectators deciding they want to do more than just spectate. To some, the springs are like a big button that says "Do not press." Yellowstone is not for the immature.
We walked the Grand Prismatic Spring Trail in mid-late afternoon, a time when the steam could cause the colors of the springs to look lackluster, but we actually found the walk to be quite entertaining. At times, the steam rising off Excelsior Geyser was so intense, it fogged up our sunglasses so we couldn't see. But, then the steam would clear, and we'd get to see the vibrant colors. We look forward to our next visit, when we can hike to the upper overlook of Grand Prismatic. Seeing it from ground level didn't give us the full scope of its hues. What we did get to see, though, was an up-close view of the textures of the ground and how they change as they get closer to the spring. The edges look like bubbling cheese on top of a pizza. Thin crust indeed!
We didn't have a lot of people sharing the boardwalk with us that day, but we can only imagine how the trail gets when there are large crowds. It's not a very wide walkway, and with everyone trying to take pictures and kids pulling their parents in all directions despite the one-way signs, it seems like a hazard waiting to happen. Then we saw the people who blatantly ignored the "no pets" warnings and took their dogs on the trail. Come on, people. It's really not worth the defiance. Some National Parks are very pet-friendly; Yellowstone isn't one of them, and for good reason.
Our third main stop was the famous geyser, Old Faithful. The NPS app has live updated predictions of when the different geysers will erupt, and Old Faithful of course has stayed true to its name for centuries. Still, it's a bit of a guessing game when it will erupt. The predictions are as accurate as possible, but they still give a range of about 60-90 minutes between eruptions, and even when they narrow it down further, they give a margin of error of +/- 10 minutes. We parked and walked over to the geyser, set up with amphitheater-style seating and, of course, a boardwalk deterring people from getting too close. At that point the wind was picking up more and the sun was getting low behind the mountains, so it was a cold half-hour wait for the eruption. But, because we visited during an off-time, we had a great view and a bench all to ourselves. At peak times, you're lucky if you get a seat at all!
We have mixed feelings about Old Faithful. It's obviously not the largest geyser in Yellowstone, but it's the most predictable, so visitors check it off so that they can ensure they saw a geyser erupt. That said, the eruption is still pretty spectacular. Only, you wait so long for it to happen, and when it finally does, you get that initial burst of awe, but then you're sitting there watching a natural fountain. The geyser reaches its peak height almost right away, and so after that the thrill is over. Lots of people left before it even finished erupting.
What was kind of cool, though, was that when the geyser erupted, a second mini-spout also shot up behind it. We didn't know that Old Faithful had a twin!
And so, with our touristy spectacles checked off, we headed into the Old Faithful lodge gift shop before it closed, got our 15th National Park pin, and headed out. We got to see more herds of bison, as well as a beautiful sunset over the mountains and river.
We can't wait to tell more tales of our Yellowstone adventures in future weeks, but we felt really good about what we accomplished on our whimsical afternoon trip. Like so many famous landmarks, the features along this part of Grand Loop might be touristy, but they are totally worth a visit. We're just happy that, when we return, we can spend our time diving deeper into the wonders of this park...though not literally, of course.