West Thumb in Yellowstone and A Peek at the Tetons

This is part eight of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

Today's post begins the end of our journey in Yellowstone.  It is a huge park, and we managed to drive the entire figure eight grand loop in three days and see most of the major attractions on that loop.  Our last stop in our adventure, was West Thumb.

The morning of our last day in Yellowstone we checked out of our little yellow cabin and started driving southwest out of the park.  If you're following along on our trusty little Yellowstone map, we were staying at a cabin on Yellowstone Lake.  We got back on Grand Loop road and planned on exiting out of the park at the South Entrance, but first we stopped at the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

It was so early in the morning, we were the only ones there when we first arrived with the exception of this large elk feeding off the parking lot. 

The West Thumb Geyser Basin is a must see because unlike all the other thermal attractions in Yellowstone, this one is right next to Lake Yellowstone and the hot thermal springs flow into the lake.  The basin includes mudpots, boiling springs and geysers. 

Like all the other hot spring areas in Yellowstone, West Thumb has a boardwalk over looking all the thermal areas.  It was short enough that we were able to walk the whole trail.

The Mimulus Pool reminded me of the mud volcanoes we saw the day before. 

We were most impressed with the Abyss and Black Pools as the color of the turquoise water was incredible!

Now here is where it gets really interesting.  When you reach the lake shore, you see the water flowing into the lake.  Here are some interesting colors the waters produce on the rocks.

The combination of the thermal attractions with the spectacular lake views make this a worthwhile stop.  Unfortunately, we were there so early in the morning that there was a lot of fog, so I would suggest waiting until later in the day to visit.  It is one of Yellowstone's least visited basins in the park, and they have quite a large parking lot (Funny, I know.  And then the more popular places have hardly any parking), so you don't have to worry about congestion.  In fact, if you want to get away from the crowds, go to West Thumb!

Now we have reached the lakeshore portion of the trail.  The boardwalk hugs the lake shore so you get panoramic views of the lake, along with some geysers, right on the shore!

Here is a short video of one of the lakeshore geysers.

These "cones" remind me of beehives.

It's a shame we could only see this early in the morning, because I looked on line for photos of what this area looks like on a sunny day, and it is incredible!

Getting out early in the morning is always your best chance to see wildlife.  I saw a large elk in the forest while driving, then we saw the elk in the parking lot, and finally we were treated to a river otter both resting on a rock and swimming in the water.  It was so fun to watch!

River Otters!

Well our adventure in Yellowstone was over, but our journey was not, for now it was time to explore The Grand Tetons!  Yellowstone National Park and The Grand Tetons are right next to each other, so if you are ever in the area, you might as well see them both!  

As we exited Yellowstone, we went out the South Entrance on the way to Jackson Hole Wyoming where we would spend the next few days.  But you actually have to drive through the Grand Teton National Park and right past the Tetons to get to Jackson Hole, so we stopped and got a photo of the sign.

The Grand Tetons!

And here is a peek of the Tetons.  The drive to Jackson Hole is absolutely breath taking as you have incredible views of the Tetons all the way.

I hope you enjoyed my Yellowstone posts and that I have provided you lots of useful information for your future trip.  Next week I will cover the incredible western town Jackson Hole!  You don't want to miss that one!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more information on Yellowstone, please check out these posts:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Fall, Calcite Springs, & the Roosevelt Arch

Mammoth Hot Springs

The Golden Gate of Yellowstone, Mud Volcanos and the Fishing Bridge

The Golden Gate of Yellowstone, Mud Volcanos, and the Fishing Bridge

This is part seven of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

On Day Two in Yellowstone, after visiting  Mammoth Hot Springs it was late afternoon and we knew it was a long drive back to our cabin, so we started heading back.  Now, if you're following along on our trusty little park map I've been showing in every Yellowstone post (photo 3), we are at the very top of the figure 8 loop and we need to end up by Yellowstone Lake at the end of the day.  We start to head down the upper loop on the West side, planning to hit any attractions on the way to our cabin.  We didn't drive long, before we came to the scenic pullover "The Golden Gate".

The Golden Gate

The Golden Gate is a "must stop" if ever in Yellowstone.  The photo above does not do it justice.  It is so beautiful in person and the photo below will explain its significance. 

The Golden Gate isn't pictured on the map below but it is on the Yellowstone map provided for you when you enter the park.  If you look at the top of the map below you will see "Mammoth Hot Springs" and slightly below it is "Bunsen Peak", The Golden Gate pullover is slightly below "Bunsen Peak".

Photo Credit

Now there is another main attraction on the figure 8 loop that we did not stop at called the Norris Geyser Basin. It is Yellowstone's "oldest, hottest, and most dynamic of Yellowstone's thermal areas". We didn't stop at the one for two reasons.  Number one, it was getting late and frankly, I was kinda growing tired of hot springs at this point.  There are so many hot springs in Yellowstone, it can get old really fast.  I would recommend if you're short on time like we were, to just go to the thermal areas that interest you the most.  For us, it was "Old Faithful" (although I wouldn't spend too much time walking around Old Faithful looking at all the other thermals in the area), Grand Prismatic Spring,  Mammoth Hot Springs, and the West Thumb (to be shared in next week's post).  The second reason we didn't go to the Norris Geyser Basin was that there was a warning that your car could be damaged by the water sprays in the parking lot.  We have a fairly new car, and weren't willing to take the risk.   However, if we ever have the chance to go back to Yellowstone, I would try and see this area because they also have a cool museum there.

So we passed the Norris Geyser Basin by and were now back in the center of the figure 8 loop.  We had already stopped at the Virginia Cascades the day before, and there is really nothing else to see in the center so we continued driving east, then took the bottom of the figure 8 loop down heading towards Yellowstone Lake.

Sulphur Caldron

Since we were closer to the cabin now, I felt more secure about getting there before dark, so we decided to hit an area in Hayden Valley that we passed by in the early morning.  When passing through this area at dawn, there was so much steam it was eery, and at dusk, there was still a lot of steam.  I was curious about it so we pulled over.  The Sulphur Caldron was just a pullover on the side of the road, and a little bit further is the Mud Volcano area.  We stopped at the Sulphur Caldron first, it is one of the most acidic hot springs in Yellowstone.  This pullover also has a nice view.

Be sure to watch the video below, the sounds of this spring are unbelievable.

Mud Volcano 

Our next stop was the Mud Volcano Area.  If ever there was a place that could give me a glimpse of what hell would be like, it is this place.  The stench of sulphur overwhelms you the second you step out of your vehicle.  The area is a 2/3 mile loop trail.  We had the time to walk the whole trail, so we did.  Here are the highlights:

Most of the area is of bubbling, boiling pits with lots of steam and mud, but you do get the background views of the beautiful Hayden Valley too.
 

You see a lot of dead trees in Yellowstone because of all the hot springs.

The Churning Caldron

The Churning Caldron was the most interesting, and scary thing to see in the Mud Volcano area.  You really have to watch the video to experience this.  The water was almost deafening in person.  It sounded like you are standing on a beach listening to ocean waves; it was so powerful. 

The steam that this area produced was incredible too.  You can see the steam from the road.

This next photo and video is very representative of the entire area:  bubbling mud!

And finally, our second favorite part of this area:  Dragon Mouth Spring.  It really did sound like a dragon!  Be sure to watch the video.

After finishing up at the Mud Volcano Area, we got back in the car to head to our cabin for the night.  I did ask my husband to stop at the Fishing Bridge, so I could take a few photos.  We did drive across this bridge on our way into the park, but we didn't stop for photos.

The Fishing Bridge

This is such a pretty area.  The bridge spans Yellowstone Lake and is called the Fishing Bridge because people use to fish from it.  There are many old photos on line showing people back in the day fishing from this bridge.  Sadly today you are no longer allowed to fish from this bridge.  It was closed to fishing in 1973 due to the decline in the cutthroat population due in part to fishing from this bridge. 

There are steps down from the bridge that leads to a trail around the lake but obviously we didn't take it because now it was dusk.

In the pictures below you can see a bit of the lake trail on the lower left side. 

This really is a very pretty area and a nice peaceful stop if you visit Yellowstone.  Also in this area is a museum, RV park, an automobile repair shop, and a grocery store.  Yellowstone has it all!

Next week I will finish my series on Yellowstone with one final stop on the way out:  West Thumb.  That was cool to see.  Then I will continue on sharing more of our trip out west sharing some western town experiences like Jackson Hole and Cody, along with our visit to The Grand Tetons.  Stay Tuned, there is so much more to come!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more information on Yellowstone, please check out these posts:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Fall, Calcite Springs, & the Roosevelt Arch

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs In Yellowstone National Park

This is part seven of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

Mammoth Hot Springs

On Day Two, after having Linner in Gardiner, we drove back into the park to check out the next spot on our figure 8 loop:  Mammoth Hot Springs.  If you're following along on our trusty little Yellowstone map I've been using in every post, we are now at the very top of the park.  We saw that a storm was moving in so we decided to go to the Visitor Center first.  It was tough finding parking, as there is just a tiny parking lot for the center, but we lucked out as someone was leaving.  I don't have any photos of the interior of the Visitor Center, but there is an exterior photo at the end of this post.  It was a simple two floor Visitor Center with exhibits and a gift shop.  We stayed inside till the storm passed, which wasn't long.  Fast moving mountain storms that seem to spring up out of nowhere are common in Yellowstone, so always be sure to have rain gear on hand.

Photo Credit

Even though there is a lot of parking in the Mammoth Springs area, it was still tough finding a spot as it was very busy.  We ended up parking in a lot directly across from the "Liberty Cap".  It is an extinct hot spring cone named after the conical hats given to Emancipated Roman slaves.  It is quite the interesting formation standing all by its lonesome, I know. 😁

Mammoth Hot Springs is absolutely fascinating.  Out of all the hot springs in Yellowstone, this and West Thumb (to be featured another day) I think I enjoyed the most...even more than the Old Faithful area.  

The highlight of the area for me are the "Travertine Terraces" where the interactions of water and limestone create chalk-white travertine.  These terraces are among the fastest changing features of the park, emerging quickly and drying up just as fast.  

The photo below talks about how the landscaping in this area is always changing.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and read more. 

Another reason I loved Mammoth Hot Springs was the breath-taking panoramic views.  The boardwalks seem to go for miles and take you high above the valley where you can get such scenic views.  Pictured below is the Mammoth Hot Springs restaurant, hotel, and cabins.

The Travertine Terraces are absolutely gorgeous up close.  It's hard to believe these are habitats for microscopic organisms that survive and thrive here.  They are too small to see with the naked eye, but trillions are grouped together and appear as masses of color.

The color in this area is breath-taking.  When we first arrived, it was cloudy due to the storm that passed through.  But later the sun came out, and wow! What a difference the sun made.  Try to see Mammoth Hot Springs on a sunny day if you can.

I also loved the shape of these beautiful terraces.

When the terrace "dies" it looks like a pile of grey ash as pictured in the background.

This photo reminded me of stalagmites one often sees in caves.

The photos above and below show the absolute beauty of this area!  These boardwalks seem to go on forever.  We didn't even walk the entire boardwalk because it just seemed endless.  

The surrounding landscape was a beautiful as the travertine terraces. 

The area is divided into two areas : Upper Terraces Area (which also has a one way auto drive) and a Lower Terrace Area.  Although we walked up to the top, when we saw how much more walking was involved, we decided to just turn around and head back as it was a long way back to the parking lot.

Palette Spring seemed to be very popular when we there.  I do think it had the most variety of colors, especially when the sun came out.

Here are a couple of short videos so you can see these terraces in action:

Fort Yellowstone

Another interesting fact about this area, is that this is the site of the old Fort Yellowstone.  The buildings are still there, and although you can't go inside any of them (other than the Visitor Center) you can walk the neighborhood.  It killed me that we didn't have time to do that, as I love old buildings.  Today, these buildings are still used to house park employees.

The history of Fort Yellowstone is amazing.  Yellowstone had a huge problem with poachers, railroad, and miners when it was first established in 1872, so the Army was brought in to protect it.

In the photo below the building on the far left is the Visitor Center (originally the Bachelor Officers Quarters), and the rest of the buildings were also part of the fort.  The legend in the first photo gives a detail description of what each building was used for.  You can't drive through this area, but you can take a walking tour which takes about 45 minutes to complete.

And this is the Post Office. Isn't it just the coolest?

If you ever get to Yellowstone, be sure to not miss the Mammoth Hot Springs.  I know it's at the top of the loop, but it is so worth it!

Have A Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more information on Yellowstone, please check out these posts:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Fall, Calcite Springs, & the Roosevelt Arch