Road trip journal #16: Yellowstone Pt. 1 -- Of Geysers and Canyons
Finally reached Yellowstone and explored some geysers and canyons on the first day.
Summary
- Start: 11:50 (Livingston, MT)
- Finish: 22:15 (Island Park, ID)
- Distance: 186 mi (297 km)
- Mood: rotten eggs
Today I decided to take it easy and enjoy the sights. I wanted to visit as much of Yellowstone as possible, which meant checking out on almost every sight. If that means multiple days, so be it. So, I didn’t pressure myself to get out as early as possible. I also didn’t have a plan where to sleep.
Road to Yellowstone
Driving from Livingston to Yellowstone took about an hour and took me through the north entrance, which is apparently famous for the Roosevelt arch with the inscription “For the benefit and enjoyment of the people”, which is a quote from the Organic act of 1872 that created the first National Park.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Far north, the first “town” is Mammoth, which contains Mammoth Hot Springs. I took a leisurly hike around the hot springs, which was also pretty crowded.
Hot Springs on US 89
There were several spots to stop along the north-south road.
Norris Geyser Basin
Next, I stopped at Norris Geyser Basin, which has trails leading to lots of geysers and hot springs. A lot of them were very bubbly, hot, steaming, and smelling of sulphur. I took my time with the hike, doing a long loop, and passing by almost every geyser.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Next up on the bucket list was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which can be viewed from two sides. Both were pretty empty, due to it being relatively late in the day, and what with the pandemic and all. I almost missed golden hour.
Wildlife
Various wildlife could be seen throughout the day. I saw some raven and chipmunks were near the Grand Canyon. Bigger game like elk and bison were chilling really close to the road at dusk. This created traffic jams due to folks taking high-quality drive-by cellphone photos of distant elk.
Road to sleep
Since a lot of the roads were closed, no overnight camping is allowed in the National Park, and all campgrounds were full, I decided to drive out west to West Yellowstone. Once there, I got cell signal again, and booked a hotel. I was feeling pretty exhausted today, to the point that I didn’t really enjoy the sights as I should have. So, I booked two nights, and I’m taking a day off in Island Park to regenerate.