Travels with rarecat: Yellowstone South

After three days in Grand Teton, we moved on to Yellowstone National Park. Our plan was to spend 7 days in the park with two nights in each of Canyon, Mammoth Springs and Old Faithful and one night in Lake. It worked out well and we were able to see all the items we had on our itinerary.

We stayed at Canyon Lodge for the first two nights. This part of Yellowstone is very diverse, with some awesome scenery in addition to geysers, waterfalls and mud pots, not to mention the ubiquitous bison which we encountered on our first day in the park. The highlight for me was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, much touted and deservedly so. It was a most spectacular canyon with its contrasting red and yellow rocks, highlighted when the sun was on it at different times of the day. The Lower Falls faces east and is best seen in the morning with the rainbow arriving promptly at 9:45 am to add to the dazzling falls encircled by the warm canyon walls.

The lower part of the canyon gets its best light during the golden hour two hours before sunset when the sun is right on the red and yellow walls of the canyon. But arrive too late and everything is in the shade and the colour would not be as intense. This is truly a case when timing is everything.

The West Thumb basin has some spectacularly colourful pools and springs accessible via a short trail while the Norris Geyser Basin has some interesting geysers and pools spread out over a broad expanse. Porcelain Basin at Norris has come colourful runoffs from the geysers - emerald green, yellow, rust and red abound - not to be missed. We were caught in the rain twice when we were in the Back Basin and had to convince ourselves that "there is not much to see anyway" before doing a quick loop back to shelter. The Back Basin is mostly geysers with not very much colour.

We were held up like everyone else going through Hayden Valley as there always seem to be a stray bison or two on the road. But it is a great spot to get your must have bison shot. We visited the mud volcano area on our last day in the park - not very photogenic but an interesting spot nevertheless. If you've visited other thermal areas in New Zealand or Iceland, you can pass on this.

PRACTICAL TIPS:
1. Stay in the park if at all possible because of the long driving distances to the entrances and constant traffic delays due to wildlife, usually a bison that decided to take a stroll on the loop road and tourists desperate to get a photo without stopping or parked by the roadside where they should not be parked and blocking other traffic. A cabin or campsite in the park would help you make the most of your time.
2. The drive through Hayden Valley is almost constantly slow because of wildlife so allow extra time. The best advice we got from Tripadvisor was not to assume we can drive through the park in the morning to catch even a midday flight. Driving through the park confirmed this.
3. If you only have time for one basin at Back Basin, do the Porcelain Basin. At West Thumb, do the outer loop.

The stunning Lower Falls at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

The remarkable red rocks of the Canyon

This rock formation jutting out into the valley looks like an iguana

The Upper Falls, overshadowed by the Lower Falls but still pretty

Pools in the West Thumb Basin

Abyss Pool is the most spectacular at West Thumb. It last erupted in June 1992.

Black Pool - why the name? Apparently at one time, it really was black. Lower water temperature allowed thick mats of dark green and brown termophiles to grow in the pool causing it to appear black. The water temperature rose in 1991, killing the organisms. So it's now a clear blue and you can see right down to the bottom here.

The runoff from the Black Pool is like a golden river going right into Yellowstone Lake

Kayakers on the lake can go right up to Big Cone


Fishing Cone right by the lake. Folk legend has it that mountain men told of a geyser where one could catch a trout, swing the pole around, dip it into the boiling pool and cook the fish without taking it off the line. Fishing is no longer allowed. ;-)

Bluebell Pool

In Norris, the Palette Basin took one's breath away with its size and colours. The milky blue pools are saturated with silica, the primary component of glass. Norris's thermal waters contain the highest concentration of silica in Yellowstone.

Look at the colours of the runoffs! The different colours are based on the mineral content. The brilliant green belongs to acid tolerant thermophiles, rust-red mats are coloured by iron oxide and arsenic.

At the Norris Back Basin - Steamboat Geyser erupts regularly

Cistern Spring is linked underground to Steamboat Geyser. Each time Steamboat had a major eruption, Cistern Spring was emptied.

One of the many geysers in Back Basin - but see the approaching thunder clouds? This was where we ended our hike.

Panoramic view of the Mud Volcano area

Churning Cauldron lived up to its name

Mud Volcano

Beautiful green stream runoff

Marsh area at the bottom of the Mud Volcano area

Fishing Bridge - wood bridge from which there used to be many anglers fishing but now fishing is not allowed

Lewis Falls near the South Entrance

There are around 5,000 bisons in the park. It's almost impossible not to see one even if you only drive through it. We saw a herd the first day we were in the park.