Obsidian cliffs and melted marshmallows, Epic Yellowstone, Day 4

Epic Yellowstone 2013

Preview of the melted marshmallows

The morning of day 4 we saw some of the best geology-the Obsidian cliffs

Early morning view of the low lying fogs that collect around some thermal features

Close up of the obsidian ribbons inside the rocks

Do not take the obsidian home!  There was some on the ground that we were able to examine a put back!

The Angel terrace is on a short walk just off the main road.  It is another of the landscapes that look like the moon.  But whereas Norris was rapidly changing, this area is much less active and you shouldn't expect much change.  (Unless of course the super volcano blows!  Apparently the area is overdue for a seismic event)

A nice example of young 'bobby socks trees' 

After all the other sites, the lack of color in this area is just odd.  

Odd, but beautiful.

About a third of the pretty pattern pictures came from this area-everything looks trapped in motion.

Do you see the melted marshmallows?  

There is hot water still pouring out, but no dramatic bubbling or splashing.

Am I the only one who sees screaming faces trapped in the rock?

This was the spot where E- did a fantastic job backing the RV into a space in the crowded lot-yeah back up mirrors!

Buffalo jam and the Lake, Epic Yellowstone 2013, Day 3

Epic Yellowstone 2013

 A herd of b near the road leads to a buffalo jam!  

After lunch at the old style diner we continued the loop south toward Fishing Bridge.  Along the way we got into a buffalo jam.   The herd is quite large and they are not in any real hurry-great wild life viewing.

When a herd of buffalo decide to cross the road, you just stop and let them.

We made it to the Mud Volcano area.  No geysers, but steamy and bubbly and smelly.

Yup, that's sulphurous smelly.

A particularly vile green.

And such bubbling and belching.

This area was not so hot as to deter some buffalo.   Yes, there is a lot of mud around Mud Volcano area. 

This is the second dragon in the park-well named.

Meanwhile in the parking lot, if you see a fence,

maybe don't drive too near.

 Great views of Yellowstone lake on the drive to the West Thumb area.  This is the day when we come up on a group of motorcyclists stopped in the road.  Their case of Pabst had come off the back and they were on the road rescuing what they could.  We saw that one had a hole in the side, so the guy was drinking it as is rather than let it go to waste.  E- drove carefully, but the RV is large and there was a one can casualty from us.  Later we heard the ambulance and found out that a motorcyclist had gone down...have to assume it was from the same bunch-save the beer for after the ride!

The West Thumb area thermal features (mostly springs) have the gorgeous lake as the background.  It was extra windy here, so keep you hats close.  We caught part of a talk by a ranger and learned that back in the day people would catch fish from the lake and then cook them in the hot spring-luckily they don't allow that today!

And on the road back home

we crossed the Continental Divide.  This little stream has a nice set of lilies and you are totally in forest.  This is the evening that we pull out the telescope and see very very far away.  It was cloudy on the night that the rangers were going to do the astronomy talk, so we were lucky that we had one clear evening.

The Canyon of Yellowstone, Epic Yellowstone, Day 3

Epic Yellowstone 2013

Yet another amazing waterfall-this is the biggest and most popular.

We make it an early morning to take advantage of the light and smaller crowds to see the waterfall from Artistic Point, which everyone wants to photograph.

Cause it's amazing!

We also manage to get the iconic shot.

But I was still in pajamas.  I drove while while others kept sleeping and then didn't bother to change before we hurried out to see the falls. We had breakfast in the Artistic Point parking lot and THEN got ready for the day.  Gotta love the RV! 

Rather than dash off after visiting the point, we took a moment to hike the forest trail.  It quickly becomes green and shady.  So cool that fungi are able to grow.  This is one of the best things about taking a little longer to see the park-it is okay to take 20 minutes to explore a side path.

Lone bison that we spotted in the early morning drive.

 When a male gets too old to have a herd he generally goes off by himself.  They will often be found near human structures which the herds tend to avoid.  Don't be fooled-they are not friendly!  Think of them as a cranky and potentially violent, though they are a nice photo from the car.

There have multiple stops to view the waterfalls and canyon.

 Living in a drought area has really made me appreciate water...

There are a number of great hikes but many of them are quite steep.  This was a short one to get a better view of the falls and worth every step back up.