ID/WY/MT Adventure Day Four - Smoke, More Steam, and Steak

I went to bed a little later than usual last night, so I had planned to sleep in before heading to see the north loop of Yellowstone. Then at 6:30am, I woke to the smell of burning wood. Normally I love that smell; it reminds me of fireplaces, campfires, and fire pit nights with friends. But this early morning, it reminded me of the Maple Fire that was burning only four miles away. I reluctantly got out of bed and looked out my hotel room window. The parking lot was completely fogged in--except that it was smoke, not fog. I immediately went online to see if the entrance road or park of the park loop was closed, but everything looked okay.

The ride into the park was definitely hazy, but the views were good enough for decent photos. I pulled out at a few stops to take photos from my car on my way to Mammoth Springs; this route was definitely less scenic and interesting than the southwest side. However, the steaming springs in Mammoth and just south of it are some of the most fascinating geological formations I've ever seen. A combination of mineral white and rust orange, they're a series of layered terraces with water flowing over them from the bubbling/steaming springs at the top of the plateau. I'm doing a terrible job describing it, so hopefully these photos will help a little bit.

Getting to the springs was going to be a no-go. The walkways are all wooden ramps and stairs like a scaffold wrapped all around the formations. The parking lot was crazy, so I did the best I could from as close as I could get.

After Mammoth, my next planned stop was Canyon Village and the loops along the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone." It was a long drive, and mostly unremarkable. What is fascinating about Yellowstone is how quickly the scenery changes from alpine to high desert to grassy plain and back again. On this stretch, I saw some very stark reminders of the 1988 fire that destroyed almost 800,000 acres and caused the park to close for the first time in its history. A full 36 percent of Yellowstone was affected by the fire, which was made obvious by the millions of dead lodgepole pines strewn like match sticks across mountainsides. It was also strange to see the spires of burned pines among the much smaller new growth of pines below them. Fire is necessary in forests; pine cones can't spit out their seeds until the heat causes them to crack open. However, the 1988 fires were unprecedented and disastrous; the evidence of that was everywhere, as were signs of life and regeneration.

My next stop was pretty amazing. I've been to the Grand Canyon and canyonlands across Arizona and Utah so this one wasn't earth shattering, but it was still impressive. It has a double waterfall (upper and lower), then a canyon-length view at the end of the loop. It was crowded at every lookout and I was tired after a long day of driving, so once again I did the best I could photo-wise.

The drive back was pleasant; no more smoke, clear skies, winding roads, and peaceful plains. Overall, I saw one herd of bison, four solo bison in fields, one male elk wading in a river, and two female elk(s?) dining roadside. Not bad, considering I spent most of the time in my car and in busy places. The best times for wildlife viewing are at dawn and dusk--two times I was not in the park--and the best places on hikes, for which I'm not exactly suited. Hey, I was just happy to see any animals in their natural habitat and not in a zoo!

I was starving when I got back around 3:30pm, but I needed to kill time until the restaurants opened at 5pm. So I saw an IMAX movie across the street about (duh) Yellowstone, then did a little shopping. Dinner was amazing, and consisted of (duh) bison strip steak. Now I'm back at the hotel on a full stomach and watching Bachelor in Paradise (Olympics are over; don't judge) to wind down. Tomorrow it's an early wake-up for my online coaching class at 7am local time, then it's back on the road to Whitefish, Montana!