Norris Geyser Basin

Geysers are natural hot-water fountains. Yellowstone has nearly three hundred geysers, more than anywhere else on Earth.

Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest, oldest, and most dynamic of Yellowstone’s thermal areas.

Sometimes it felt like we were in outer space or on a Science Fiction set walking about this huge basin with such a strange variety of areas to see.

Rainbow Colors, hissing steam, and pungent odors combine to create an experience unique in Yellowstone. If you are overly sensitive to the smell of Sulphur or your sense of smell is intense this might not be the best environment for you. There were a few younger kids hurrying away holding their noses.

The features in the basin change daily, with frequent disturbances from seismic activity and water fluctuations.

This post is a continuation of my documentation of our trip to Yellowstone. I still have posts on Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake, and the Bison…oh my. So stay tuned.

We had a great gathering yesterday (4th of July) with 14 of us. It was chilly but everyone persevered out on the deck. I haven’t uploaded the photos I took. I’m cleaning up and recuperating this morning and then I’ll be headed out tonight for a friendly game against our Seattle Sounders and West Ham United from Jolly Old England.

How were your celebrations of the 4th or Canada Day?

Old Faithful Inn…

The Old Faithful Inn is one of the few remaining log hotels in the United States. It is a masterpiece of rustic architecture in its stylized design and fine craftsmanship. Its influence on American architecture, particularly park architecture, was immeasurable. The building is a rustic log and wood-frame structure with gigantic proportions: nearly 700 feet in length and seven stories high.

The structure is the largest log hotel in the world; possibly even the largest log building in the world. The lobby was a comfortable setting to people watch and enjoy a drink.

A stone fireplace, sixteen feet square at its base, dominates the southeast corner of the lobby. The upper portion of the fireplace on the north side holds a massive wrought-iron and brass clock, designed by Reamer. The chimney, exposed on the interior, is of stone masonry.

The advantages for staying at the Old Faithful Inn were the proximity to Old Faithful, friendly staff, nice restaurant, snack bars, bar, and the historic log beauty of the older sections of the Inn.

Hallways at the east and west of the lobby lead to guest rooms in the wings of the Old House. Guest rooms in both of these wings retain considerable original character. Those on the first floor have rustic log walls. Interior finishes for guest rooms on the upper stories are rough-sawn paneling on walls and ceiling. Some of these rooms retain original plumbing fixtures: clawfoot bathtubs, wood water closets, and marble sink tops.

What didn’t sit well with Dear and me was paying over $250 dollars for one night in our little dorm like room which was not one of the old rooms in the rustic part of the hotel. Our room was part of a “newer” add on wing to the hotel.

We were happy we could open the window about 6 inches and that the window had a screen on it so we could cool down the room since there is no air conditioning in the Inn. There was a tiny bathroom with a small stall shower. The vanity was across from the bed. They do offer a plug in portable fan in their rooms. Our second lodge room at the Canyon location in the park was nicer. I suppose you pay for the benefit of not having to leave the park and re-enter since there is so much to see. I’m sharing this so you know what you are getting for your dollar here, location, location, location. If we ever stay here again I will make sure we get one of the rustic old rooms. Knowing is half the battle…

We were also happy to walk out the door early in the morning and enjoy a nice long walk around the geyser basin adjacent to the hotel.

Waterfalls in Yellowstone

The first waterfalls we stopped to look at were on the western side of Yellowstone on our drive to Old Faithful.

This is Rustic Falls close to the Golden Gate Canyon.

Next we stopped at Gibbon Falls.

We are in a home swing here getting ready for a 4th of July celebration. Our basement dwellers have found an apartment to move to close to the University of Washington. This will be a good location for them as our son-in-law finishes his degree at the University. They get the keys to their small apartment on Saturday and will start moving their stuff gradually to their new location about 10 miles from us. We are happy for the time they’ve had with us and what their future holds.

Still in the midst of making plans for a 4th of July barbecue here. We will be putting meat in the smoker for sure, just haven’t decided which cut of meat we’ll have this year. All the extras always come together nicely. What are your plans for the 4th here in the USA and Canada Day to the north?

Yellowstone Signs…

We were happy for the most part with the sign placement in Yellowstone National Park. There was only a couple times I yelled too late “pull over” and we had to circle back to see another amazing area. These series of signs were from the western side of the park.

At major sights there were detailed signs that explained what you were looking at and mileage postings so you understood how far you’d have to walk to see everything. I have lots of photos to share from the Norris Geyser Basin in a future post.

Sheepeater Cliff: This cliff was named for the Shoshone Indians who lived throughout this mountainous region. Their use of the bighorn sheep earned them the name “Tukadika or Sheepeaters.” The cliff is basalt lava that formed columnar joints” when it cooled nearly 500,000 years ago.

Stay tuned for more themal basins, geysers, waterfalls, bison and amazing vistas from our oldest National Park.

Linking up to signs, signs with Lesley.

Mammoth Hot Springs

We entered Yellowstone National Park at the North Entrance. President Grant signed a bill into law setting aside 2.2 million acres, making Yellowstone the world’s first national park on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone is in northwest Wyoming and spreads into Montana and Idaho, too.

Our first stop for some exploration was at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Yellowstone has the most geysers and hot springs in one place. This is an area where hot magma deep underground bubbles close to the earth’s crust.

In this area hot water full of minerals bubbles to the surface. These springs have formed beautiful limestone terraces and colorful pools.

This was a very windy day and many people lost their hats. There are several warning signs telling you to stay on the boardwalks built for visitors safety and not to throw any foreign objects on the thermal fields. I guess the wind decided to break the rules!

Hang on to your hats!

The park’s thermal features include geysers, fumaroles, mud pots, and hot springs. A fumerole is an opening in or near a volcano, through which hot sulfurous gases emerge.

This was our hottest day in the park and we were happy to have cooler days. From this spot on the northwest side of the park we headed south with several stops before we reached our room for the night at the Old Faithful Inn.

Today was a very unproductive day for me at this old house. It always takes me a while to recuperate after being away from home.

Cody, Wyoming

We left ~~Yosemite~~ oops Yellowstone on Saturday at the Eastern Gate and drove to Cody, Wyoming to spend the night. We had breakfast at The Irma Hotel named after Buffalo Bill’s daughter Irma. From here we took the trolley tour to learn about the city of Cody.

Today (Sunday) after spending a couple hours at the Buffalo Bill museum we hit the road for Butte, Montana. We had a nice drive with lovely weather and are at our hotel for the night. Tomorrow we hit the road early to drive all the way home. I have so many photos and will have to decide which to share in the next week or more.

I haven’t visited any blogs since we didn’t have WiFi while in Yellowstone. Hope all is well in blogdom!

Postcard from Yellowstone

We spent two days in Yellowstone National Park without any WiFi. Now that we are in Cody, Wyoming with WiFi I wanted to share a postcard from the park. Yellowstone is an amazing complex area with such interesting topography. The photo above is of Gibbon Falls. We were amazed at God’s creation at every turn!

We haven’t seen any news for a few days and it’s kind of refreshing. Hope all is well in your corner of the world. Things are fine right now in Wyoming. Blessings.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Wyoming