Abbie's Real Life Blog

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This is Part Two of the Second Leg of the trip.  In our last episode, I was sleeping at 8000 feet, my first night at Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park.  (Here’s a link to a more general map of the park.)

On Saturday, June 5, it was raining when I woke up.  Again.  So I slept in again (though, in this context, ‘sleeping in’ means about 7 or 8am.  I never slept past 8am on the trip, not once.)  I ate cereal in my room and enjoyed the feeling of not having to pack everything up and haul it out to the car, because I would be there again the same night.  There is something to say about having a home base in a hotel room for a few days.

My goal for the day was to head south from Canyon Village and get as far as Yellowstone Lake, possibly further south to Grant Village, but I wanted to stop and get a look at the Canyon and take pictures of the waterfalls.  There are two- the Upper and Lower Falls.  If it had been a sunny day, I would have liked to be at Artist Point before sunrise, but since it was cloudy, I could do photographs of the waterfalls even at mid-day (bright light means that I can’t slow down the shutter speed to make the water look smooth).  So I headed in the direction of the canyon.

Which is not that far away, obviously.  Canyon Village, as you might be able to guess from the name, sits near the north rim of the canyon.  There are side roads along both the north and south rim of the canyon, and the main loop road goes not far from the Upper Falls, but you can’t see any of the canyon or either of the falls from your car.  I’m sure if you did, it would cause some traffic accidents, because it is quite spectacular.

You can’t see both the Upper and Lower Falls at the same time (unless you’re in a helicopter) because there’s a bend in the river between them, but after the Lower Falls, the river stays fairly straight through the canyon for awhile, and from several spots along the rim, there are some truly glorious views of it.  It is a 350′ foot plunge-type waterfall (as opposed to cascade type), and the waterfall itself is pretty amazing, of course, but the canyon walls that surround it are even more amazing.  I haven’t really seen a photo that does justice to the colors in the walls (and my iPhone photo above is particularly wanting).  Hopefully, I can link one of my own images here eventually, but you’ll have to just trust me that the canyon walls are painted in colors, especially reds and pinks, for many geologic reasons.  It’s quite impressive.  It takes your breath away.

As I stood there with my tripod, I felt an unfamiliar heat on the back of my neck, and looked up to see the sun shining through a haze of clouds.  I muttered, “Don’t taunt me, you bastard,” but a few minutes later, there was blue sky and the sun was out.  And it lasted most of the rest of the day!

Finished with Artist’s Point, I packed up my stuff and headed south along the loop road.  A few minutes later, I found myself in Hayden Valley, another of the broad valleys in the eastern section of the park where wildlife is plentiful.  I saw a crush of cars stopped at a pulloff on the southern side of the park, and I stopped as well.  I pulled in next to a few people who were talking to a ranger, and I was able to catch most of their conversation as I scanned the horizon with my binoculars.  The ranger told them that there was an elk carcass in the river to the far east of the road.  Wolves had killed the elk last night and had already returned that morning to eat, and a grizzly bear had been by as well.  The ranger said that both the wolves and the grizzly would return later in the day.  This sounded pretty promising.  I’d already seen bears, but I wanted to see wolves, so I thought I would return in the late afternoon or evening, feeding time.  After another scan of the horizon to see if I could spot the elk carcass from my car (I could not), I headed south again.

At the Fishing Bridge junction, I turned on to the east entrance road for a few miles, but decided not to go all the way to the East Entrance and back.

I stopped at a point right at the side of Yellowstone Lake to eat something.  Despite the weather, I was in a crummy mood.  This had been a pattern.  I made a note about it, recognizing the pattern even in the middle of it: ”I get crabby around the middle of the day- I think it’s a combination of low blood sugar and frustration as the sun gets high or clouds prevent pretty scenic landscape photos or more people crowd the roads.  I need a nap but I don’t want to waste precious minutes.  A hike helps. Lunch helps.  Music helps.  But the thing that fixes everything is 4pm and a little sunshine at the right angle.  I start being amazed at the view at every turn.  Frustration melts away.  I spent the day irritated at myself for missing photos, but it’s all a matter of the light.  As everyone else starts heading for dinner, I am looking for the magic, and something always happens in the mountains.  Clouds, fog, a hint of sunset.  The beginning of the day might be dull; the middle of the day is frustrating; and the end of it is wonderland.”

I continued south around the Lake, and ended up at the West Thumb Geyser Basin, location of the Fishing Cone.  The parking lot was crowded and I was not really in the mood for people, but eventually I ventured forth to the boardwalks in search of a photo of the Fishing Cone.  My mood turned around while on this little walk because it was pretty even at midday, and the blue sky and blue water with the hot springs steaming were quite nice.

After many pictures, I moved on down to Grant Village, where I stopped at the visitor’s center and saw the exhibit about forest fires.  I liked that all of the visitor’s centers’ exhibits have different themes.

I turned around and headed north again after that, stopping for more pictures on the Lake.  There was still some spots of ice along the shore, even though the temperature was in the mid-fifties.

It was about 4pm when I was driving north on the road from Fishing Bridge junction, and, just as I predicted, the light turned pretty here.  I had several really nice views of the Yellowstone River as it flowed next to the road for awhile.

I didn’t stop at any of the thermal features between Fishing Bridge and Canyon Village, but I was particularly fond of one steam vent area.  In the parking lot for the steam vent, another steam vent just appeared a few years ago.  They have blocks surrounding the area, but it’s the kind of thing I like.  Nature cannot be contained.

When I reached Hayden Valley again, I pulled off at the same crush of cars.  Well, it was a different group of people, but even though I wasn’t sure where the elk carcass was, I ended up with a great view directly through my windshield (with binoculars, of course).  I got out of my car, set up a tripod, and within just a few minutes, I was rewarded with the sight of a grizzly bear ambling out of the woods and over to the carcass, which sat in the river.  It was about half a mile away, barely visible as more than a dot to the naked eye.  I could just make out what was happening with binoculars, and my camera images will have to be blown up quite a bit to see more than just the shape of a bear.  Still, the bear fed for awhile and I got more pictures.  It was pretty awesome.  I waited for awhile after the bear left, and then I packed everything up in the hope of doing a hike at the canyon.  I thought I would return again before sunset with another hope of seeing wolves.

I was still recovering from my cold with a cough that, I noted, would out after I exerted myself a little bit.  I wanted to do a trail anyway, and I’d read particularly nice things about the Uncle Tom’s Trail, which descends into the Grand Canyon from the south rim, and allows for a nice view of the Lower Yellowstone Fall.  I did note that the sign suggested that anyone with breathing problems should probably skip the trail, as it was very steep, not to mention the altitude.  But I wanted to take it anyway, and I did.  The trail was very steep.  So steep, in fact, that a good part of the trail is just metal steps, 328 of them.  It is only .5 miles long, but it involves a 600 foot drop, or to about the same general height as the base of the Lower Fall.

It was a nice view and an interesting walk.  When I returned, I coughed and coughed and nearly puked from the exertion, but it was totally worth it.

The sun was getting lower, and I tried to decided whether to return again to Lamar Valley one more time, or to head back to Hayden Valley in a quest to see wolves. I decided to head back south to Hayden Valley since I.  When I arrived back at the same pullout, there were again new cars parked there, but many people were standing near the cars with spotting scopes.  I got out and was a little more chatty than I had been previously.  People were happy to share information.  I learned that I had missed wolves that had arrived in the mid-afternoon, about two hours before I saw the grizzly, but there were others who were hoping they would return.  In the meantime, many people were excited to watch carrion birds such as bald eagles feeding on the carcass in the river.

It may sound strange, but I was enjoying the company and eager to glimpse wolves, and I stayed there for two hours until finally the cold and some spitting rain and the setting sun drove me back into my car and headed for Canyon Village again.  I saw no wolves.  But the pullout was congenial and I had a nice time anyway.

Back at Canyon, I made myself dinner in my cabin after a hot shower.  The water pressure at Canyon Village was insane- like a jet engine.  I made a note that it felt particularly good after sitting outside in the chilly mountain air.

I made this note before I went to bed: “It was good to see the sun today!  I like the geyser basins in the cool rain for the heavy, ethereal mist, but the pools are supposed to be best in bright sunlight.  Hoping for a nice mix of clouds and sun over the next few days.”

I didn’t get my wish.  It was raining again when I woke up on Sunday, June 6.  I was up early anyway, to pack up the car and head south to Old Faithful.  I was hoping that I would be able to find blue skies in the western half of the park.

If it had been a pretty morning, I might have stopped at the canyon again on my way, but it wasn’t.  Instead, I stopped for gas and ice and souvenirs at the Canyon Village center, and left the Canyon area behind me.  I did stop once again at the pullout in Hayden Valley, where a much smaller number of cars were stopped to watch the elk carcass, but I saw nothing but birds.

I passed the Fishing Bridge junction and was heading west along the side of the Lake when my cell phone buzzed about in activity.  I had cell service!  After more than two days without, it was worth stopping and sending a text.  It was mighty mysterious too, since I’d been in that area the day before and had nothing.  It would have distracted me further from the nice skies, but since it was raining on Sunday, I didn’t mind pulling over.  I sent some texts and chatted with my mother on the phone from a pullout, then continued down the road to find even better cell service there.  So I stopped and made use of it at a pullout overlooking the lake, where I made myself an early lunch.  It was nice to check email and upload some pictures since the weather was not cooperating.

A few of the tweets sent over lunch:

Weird!  Cell reception at Yellowstone Lake.  But the weather here is rain, rain, rain.  - 11:00am, June 6, 2010

Currently it looks like this: http://yfrog.com/g0spoyj – 11:02am, June 6, 2010

But yesterday was pretty for awhile. (Fishing Cone at West Thumb Geyser Basin) http://yfrog.com/b8z4aj – 11:04am, June 6, 2010

I’ve seen a lot of the park and it is an amazing place. Very beautiful. Even in the rain. http://yfrog.com/6fljghj – 11:11am, June 6, 2010

Geysers and thermal features are cool, but I am in love with Lamar Valley, the most beautiful place in the park. – 11:12am, June 6, 2010

After awhile, though I was reluctant to leave my mysterious cell service hot spot, I did continue down the road to Grant Village, where I stopped to do my dishes and send a last tweet or two, and then turned west on the road to Old Faithful.

Park soundtrack: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Split Lip Rayfield, Coconut Records, Old Crow Medicine Show. – 1:15pm, June 6, 2010

The road to Old Faithful was rain, rain, continued rain, and also more and more crowds.  I was really not prepared for the number of services available in the Old Faithful area or the number of people, but I arrived precisely when Old Faithful was scheduled to erupt.  I had a hard time figuring out where to park and which of the many lodges was the one where I was supposed to stay.  Eventually I figured it out, and I checked into a room in the Old Faithful Inn, which is a pretty neat building.  I had a room in the ‘old house’, though, and it didn’t turn out well.  I won’t get into it here, but it was dim and hot and in a very public area.  The curtains were sheer and I was on the first floor near an entrance.  I was not happy with the situation.

It was early in the afternoon, and it was still raining.  I had hoped to take a hike, so I escaped from the Old Faithful area and headed in the direction of the hike, but it was still raining and the parking lot was crowded when I got there.  I decided to drive out towards the West Entrance towards West Yellowstone, in what felt like a desperate attempt to find the sun.

Old Faithful was a madhouse- had to escape pretty fast.  Rain, rain, rain.  It’s starting to drive me a little crazy. – 5:13pm, June 6, 2010

As you can see from the map at the top of this post, I went out towards West Yellowstone and then just kept going, eventually crossing over into Idaho from Montana.  And in Idaho, I found the sun!  I also found more cell service, so I pulled over on the side of the road to find my sanity.

A little bit of sunlight in Idaho.  Took me awhile to find it.  http://yfrog.com/6zak2oj – 5:20pm, June 6, 2010

I don’t have Seasonal Affective Disorder; I have Rain is Affecting My Vacation Disorder.  Ha ha.  Oh help, I am losing my mind.  - 5:21pm, June 6, 2010

I wandered in a little loop, crossing back into Montana and back to West Yellowstone, but it was a nice little drive, quiet and free of crowds.  I passed Earthquake Lake and some fly fishermen on the Madison River.  And when I turned east again to head into the park, the sun seemed ready to come with me.  So I brought it back to Yellowstone for the evening.

I was in a better mood heading back towards Old Faithful, and it had mostly stopped raining, so I took a couple of scenic drives, including the one through the Firehole River Canyon.  When I returned to the Old Faithful Inn, I moved my stuff into my room and then went out to catch the last eruption of the day.  The sun didn’t quite make it out before sunset, but it had mostly stopped raining.  I took some photos.

I went to bed that night frustrated, and woke up even more frustrated when it was cloudy and rainy again.  I had held out hope for an optimistic weather forecast for Monday, June 7, and it was not delivering.  I was in a horrible mood when I checked out of the hotel, but luckily (for them) the staff did not ask me how my stay was.  (I was ready to tell them.)  I had planned to take a tour of the geyser basins around Old Faithful that morning and see some of the famous pools, but I had hit the wall in my head.  Old Faithful made me miserable and I needed to see if there was better weather in the Tetons, even if it meant skipping some major thermal features in the park.  I’d already seen a lot of thermal features, and I wasn’t all that eager to see more, especially in the clouds and rain.  So I left.

A few hours later I was back in Grant Village, where I got gas and ice and discovered a miracle in the form of bottled Starbucks Frappuccino.  I had been struggling with the fact that I can’t drink soda day after day, but I wanted a strong hit of caffeine besides my bottled iced tea.  The combination of sugar and caffeine that is a bottled Frappuccino improved my outlook immensely.  My tweets show the transformation:

Another rainy day.  I am pretty depressed about the weather- can’t hike, the mountains are fogged in, and I can’t take pictures.  - 8:58am, June 7, 2010

Old Faithful was horrible- the room was hot, dark (I needed a flashlight), and there were just tons of people.  - 9:00am, June 7, 2010

The eastern half of Yellowstone is heads and tails above the western half.  Lamar Valley is still the prettiest.  - 9:01am, June 7, 2010

I feel a little guilty for skipping sights, but the weather is making me crazy.  - 9:03am, June 7, 2010

Ok, enough self-pity.  When life gives you rain, take pictures of waterfalls. – 9:17am, June 7, 2010

Okay, so it’s not all bad.  I love to drive, love eating out of coolers, love wearing hiking boots, love mountains, and love national parks. – 9:22am, June 7, 2010

And, with that, I turned south.  In an hour or so, I crossed through the southern entrance of the park (I drove on at least part of every major road in Yellowstone) and into Grand Teton National Park.  And thus endeth the second part of the Second Leg of the trip.

I need to finish this up and I’ve been procrastinating on it.  Hope I’ll finish it tomorrow.

ETA: Here’s a link to the Third Leg of the trip.