Yellowstone: Day One
Wednesday, September 15, 2011
This morning before dawn we checked out of our little cabin at Colter Bay and headed to Yellowstone!
The first thing we did was stop at the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which is full of hydrothermal features–hot springs, paint pots, mud pots, fumaroles (steam vents), and geysers. It was raining, and a cold wind was blowing, and we found ourselves in the strangest, most alien environment. The ground was white, like the surface of the moon, and great plumes of steam hung in the air.
The mud pots were busily gurgling and bubbling and belching, and the hot springs were steaming and sometimes boiling. The hottest springs were bright turquoise blue, and the slightly cooler ones were orange or milky white or green or muddy brown. Each pool and mud pot and geyser was special and had a name: Abyss Pool, Black Pool, Fishing Cone, Bluebell Pool, etc.
A boardwalk wound its way among the pools and geysers, and despite the freezing rain, we followed its entire length, stopping often to pose for pictures in the warm steam that smelled like rotten eggs.
We sat in the car for a few minutes and ate peanuts and tried to warm up. Then we followed a nearby trail to the top of Observation Hill. We ascended through meadows and woods, passing various steam vents and pools as we went. The steam vents were just sitting there in the meadow land, not marked or fenced off, so it was as if they were our own discovery. “There’s Rob’s Vent,” Rob said, pointing. “And Leslie’s Vent. And Pittle’s Vent.” (Pittle is our beloved cat.) The top of the hill was bald, and there was a little bench there, among the boulders and wildflowers. The view stretched for miles. We could see Yellowstone Lake, which looked like the ocean, so big.
We had lunch at the old-fashioned lunch counter at Fishing Bridge. People were having Cokes and milkshakes and piles of french fries; it was all very cozy and festive. We had the most delicious veggie burgers with all the trimmings–lots of pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup, and mustard. We had fries too, and everything was served in a basket lined with checkered paper.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” I said.
After lunch we toured the Mud Volcano area, where we viewed lots of sinister-looking boiling, steaming cauldrons of mud that gurgled and roared and splashed and smelled like rotten eggs. I found all the various geothermal features in this area to be vaguely disturbing. For example: Sour Lake, whose water can burn your skin like battery acid.
Dragon’s Mouth Spring was also wonderfully alarming. It snorted and belched and roared (it sounded like sound effects), and the mouth, a cave in the side of a hill, released steam, breathed smoke.
“This seems like something I’ve seen at Disney World,” I said. “You know, while waiting in line to get on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.”
“So you’re saying it seems fake?” Rob said.
“Precisely.”
We drove on toward Canyon Lodge, where we spent the night. On the way we saw some Canada geese swimming in a lovely cold mountain lake, and Rob said, “They look so nice in their native environment . . . instead of waddling around in a Staples parking lot . . . which is how we usually see them.”
We saw a bison too, standing by the side of the road. He was very grand. “Look at him standing there like a statue,” Rob said. “He looks like he’s modeling for the national parks symbol. It’s such an iconic profile. It’s really amazing to see.”
