We didn't drive all the way to Cooke City on the northeast entrance road. Instead, we turned around at Soda Butte and rejoined the Grand Loop Road.
This pitiful wrought-iron enclosure is home to this petrified redwood tree. There were once several trees here, but looting and vandalism destroyed the others. A fence became a necessity, but it totally ruins the experience.
If you didn't bring your own vehicle, or if you just want someone else to do the driving, you can join a tour offered by the park's concessioner, Xanterra. In 1936, the White Motor Company made these models especially for the National Parks. They fell into disuse as visitors stopped arriving by train and started arriving in their own cars. In 2007, eight painstakingly refurbished buses were brought back into service.
That's not snow in the distance. That's the travertine terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs.
Each day, 750,000 gallons of water flow out of the hot springs here. Collectively, they deposit two tons of limestone daily!
The terraces were divided into the Upper Terraces and the Lower Terraces. The Upper Terraces are scattered around and best seen from the car. The Lower Terraces are mostly adjacent to one another and best experienced by foot. We weren't able to find parking on the lower parking lot of the Lower Terraces so we had to park at the top and make our way down.
This is Mound Terrace, on the upper part of the Lower Terraces. Up close, it looked like melted marshmallow fluff.
Between Mound Terrace and the Main Terrace was this little hot spring stained orange by algae. I'd love to shave off a slab and use it as a countertop!
This is the Main Terrace. It is constantly changing as new springs erupt and old springs dry out.
More Main Terrace. It's how I imagine the moon would look in person.
Jupiter Terrace has been mostly dormant since 1992, but in the preceding decades it grew so fast that it buried the boardwalks just as fast as they could be built.
Close-up of Jupiter Terrace. It reminded me of caramel sauce.
Cleopatra Terrace. Orange sherbet.
New Blue Spring
I liked the angular stump-like formations that make up the terrace.
This is the top portion of the Palette Spring. It continues to flow down to the left over a huge mound of its own making.
This is the bottom portion of Palette Spring. Heat-loving algae and bacteria are responsible for the beautiful colors.
This is the final run-off of Palette Spring. Some day this area will be a new mound.
Sticking out of the middle of Palette Spring is a formation called the Devils Thumb. It's an extinct hot spring that stayed in one place for a very long time with a slow, constant release of limestone-rich water.
Here's another "thumb" called the Liberty Cap. It's 37-feet tall.
We'd made our way from top to bottom. I went back up alone to get the car and pull it around. Along the way I passed several Upper Terrace springs like this one: Orange Spring Mound.
Day 11 is not quite finished yet. We've got interesting dinner plans...
This pitiful wrought-iron enclosure is home to this petrified redwood tree. There were once several trees here, but looting and vandalism destroyed the others. A fence became a necessity, but it totally ruins the experience.
If you didn't bring your own vehicle, or if you just want someone else to do the driving, you can join a tour offered by the park's concessioner, Xanterra. In 1936, the White Motor Company made these models especially for the National Parks. They fell into disuse as visitors stopped arriving by train and started arriving in their own cars. In 2007, eight painstakingly refurbished buses were brought back into service.
That's not snow in the distance. That's the travertine terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs.Each day, 750,000 gallons of water flow out of the hot springs here. Collectively, they deposit two tons of limestone daily!
The terraces were divided into the Upper Terraces and the Lower Terraces. The Upper Terraces are scattered around and best seen from the car. The Lower Terraces are mostly adjacent to one another and best experienced by foot. We weren't able to find parking on the lower parking lot of the Lower Terraces so we had to park at the top and make our way down.
This is Mound Terrace, on the upper part of the Lower Terraces. Up close, it looked like melted marshmallow fluff.
Between Mound Terrace and the Main Terrace was this little hot spring stained orange by algae. I'd love to shave off a slab and use it as a countertop!
This is the Main Terrace. It is constantly changing as new springs erupt and old springs dry out.
More Main Terrace. It's how I imagine the moon would look in person.
Jupiter Terrace has been mostly dormant since 1992, but in the preceding decades it grew so fast that it buried the boardwalks just as fast as they could be built.
Close-up of Jupiter Terrace. It reminded me of caramel sauce.
Cleopatra Terrace. Orange sherbet.
New Blue SpringI liked the angular stump-like formations that make up the terrace.
This is the top portion of the Palette Spring. It continues to flow down to the left over a huge mound of its own making.
This is the bottom portion of Palette Spring. Heat-loving algae and bacteria are responsible for the beautiful colors.
This is the final run-off of Palette Spring. Some day this area will be a new mound.
Sticking out of the middle of Palette Spring is a formation called the Devils Thumb. It's an extinct hot spring that stayed in one place for a very long time with a slow, constant release of limestone-rich water.
Here's another "thumb" called the Liberty Cap. It's 37-feet tall.
We'd made our way from top to bottom. I went back up alone to get the car and pull it around. Along the way I passed several Upper Terrace springs like this one: Orange Spring Mound.Day 11 is not quite finished yet. We've got interesting dinner plans...
