Yellowstone - Day 1

Yellowstone National Park
Wyoming, Murica
Saturday, April 17th

Midway Geyser Basin

Dedication:

"I came along. I wrote a song for you. And all the things you do. And it was called yellow."
- Lyrical Genius.

When singing Coldplay, it's okay if you forget the words and make up your own. You might as well.

Itinerary

South on Grand Loop road from the west entrance to Old Faithful, with stops at geysers and hot springs areas along the way. The side road to Firehole was closed.


Park conditions

A large portion of the park has opened. Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, and this waterfall to the east whose name I forget... are accessible. The roads are well-plowed. Lots of bison-looking herds can be seen to the side of the road. Park admission is free until the 24th, so book your thousand dollar plane tickets immediately - to save $40 at the park! There are hotel vacancies in the town of West Yellowstone, but lodgings inside the park remain closed.


A lucky misfortune

Drove through the Targhee National Forest on the way to Yellowstone. Pulled into a scenic drive on the Mesa Falls Byway.

The ranger I called the day before said all the roads in the forest were open. Turns out it's not snow-plowed and currently closed to motor vehicles. I got halfway across a soft slushy snow bank covering the road before my wheels spun helplessly and I couldn't drive off.

Fortunately, not fifteen minutes later a tow truck came from the opposite direction. A young couple had gotten in the same trouble ten miles down the road, about two hours earlier. I was blocking their way back. Their tow driver pulled me off the snow, turned me around and rear escorted me to the highway - in case I got stuck along the way.

I was blocking two cars and another help wouldn't be on the way. I didn't really have a choice but to agree with whatever the tow driver's price; On the other hand, he was right there... my business fell right into his lap. Whatever money he made off me would be all profit.

I lost sight of him in the distance as I drove. If I was a cheat, I could'a made off on the highway without waiting for him to catch up. But he deserved to be paid. I woulda been in a jam if he and the other unfortunate bunch hadn't been there.

The tow driver was a cheerful, friendly man. He tried selling me a hard price at first, but later softened up his fee to a very generous bargain when he saw I was a good-natured, honest guy.

The road was closed, and the police called him out - our tourist stupidity had used up his waiting spot on the rotation list for tow work. The previous guy in line got a couple thousand dollar job, so he had to charge us something to make his business. He wasn't out to vulture a profit.

He was living out here for the same reason we were, love of great nature. He told me an entertaining story of getting his ass chewed out by a policeman for driving around the forest in his four wheeler and people color-dying the waterfall nearby.

My car was shaking violently as I drove on the highway. I thought the tow had bent my wheel axle or something? Maybe hitting the snow banks had thrown my wheels out of alignment? I steeled myself to the possibility of driving a jackhammer for the rest of my journey. But a huge relief came when I made it to town and realized it was just a really rough and loooong stretch of road that shook my bones, and that my vehicle was fine.

Pitchers

Grand Prismatic Spring

Midway Geyser Basin

Some kind of fumarole

<3 :heart:

Midway Geyser Basin

Midway Geyser Basin

Widweos

Lower Geyser Basin
Fountain Paint Pot trail

Ol' Faithful

just a smoking hole in the ground

The rest of the park was a tad nippy at around 50 F. But it was cold winter temperature on open terrain. With wind chill, it felt like high 20's F.

An elderly couple sat nearby about 6:15 pm. They waited. I waited. Couldn't stand to see them shivering in their thin jackets. I told 'em if they didn't mind looking like sheep, I would get some blankets from my car they could use. They had been in Texas just two days earlier, sweating 100 F!

The interval between eruptions is about 80 minutes, give or take 15. Got there shortly after a 5:50 pm eruption, so waited the full interval reading Frankenstein. A timely spout arrived at 7:26 pm.

Eruption

The first stirring of the geyser before eruption was a brief noisy gurgle, followed by five minutes of anticlimactic disappointment. You could barely see a head of water rise above the crater. (Not pictured above). Imagine a stopped-up toilet bubbling. I laughed non-stop like a happy idiot. It would be hilarious if the famous geyser turned out to be all hype!

"That was it? That can't be it!" a young girl said. Some information was passed through the sparse crowd that an actual eruption would come a little after the initial activity. And it delivered! The smell of sulfur and a perfect rainbow lingered in the vapor. "The volcano made a smelly fart," said the little girl. LOL.

Volcanic fart!

Rainbow post-eruption