After our original survey of the park, we booked an all-day guided tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the geothermal elements of the park and the wildlife.
We started at 6:30 a.m. in Emigrant. As we drove to the park he told us of the various land holdings on the way and pointed out Yankee Jim Canyon, the canyon on the Yellowstone River that is named for James George who came to Montana in the early 1860s from Vermont. He was a hunter and prospector who settled on land by the canyon. He improved a rough road through the canyon and began charging tolls. Because of his New England origin, he gained the name Yankee Jim, and the canyon still holds that name. The Northern Pacific Railroad eventually purchased the road from him.
We arrived in Gardiner and entered the park through the Roosevelt arch. We went directly to Old Faithful passing beautiful spots and lots of Bison. On the way we stopped at Roaring Mountain. It is a mountainside full of steam vents or fumaroles. You can hear the steam escaping the rocks.
Our guide took us to one area that was full of Bison. We watched them for several minutes as they roamed and lay down to rest.
We reached Old Faithful just a few minutes before it erupted. This was our third eruption, and it was as spectacular as the first two. It is amazing how the geyser blows on such a regular schedule, every 90 minutes.
Next, we walked around Black Sand Basin in the Upper Geyser Basin to look at the many thermal pools. Rainbow Pool was amazing. With the sun shining you can see a rainbow in it. It has a history of eruption, the last being in 1996.
Our next stop was Sunset Lake, a colorful hot spring with a deep blue center and vibrant thermophile colors that range from yellow to orange along the edges. We walked along the boardwalk the encircles the lake.
Next, we went to the Fishing Bridge which crosses the Yellowstone River as it exits Yellowstone Lake. We got out to walk across it to view the lake, river, and surrounding mountains. Then we continued along the Lake to a spot where we had our picnic lunch.
From Yellowstone Lake we went to the Grand Canyon. What an experience! It is a 20-mile long, 1000-ft deep canyon on the Yellowstone River with two spectacular waterfalls—the upper and lower falls. We took the South Rim Drive to the iconic Artist Point. Here we had a panoramic view of the 308-ft lower falls. After taking in the majesty of these falls, we went up to look at the opposite side, the North Rim. It was strikingly different.
This was the end of the tour. As we headed to the North Entrance, we passed mudpots, the fifth thermal feature of the park. We learned so much especially about the five hydrothermal features of the park, all of which we saw: hot springs, geysers, mudpots, travertine terraces, and fumaroles. We also saw herds of Bison, elk, and pronghorns. There were lots of birds, especially eagles and osprey. We saw a trumpeter swan and crane. There are over 285 species of birds in the park. It was a wonderful day.
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