Yellowstone National Park

I recently visited the Yellowstone National Park.  It indeed is a fascinating place and a giant of a park sprawling across three states.  It is also considered to be the first National Park in the whole world.  You will find many interesting facts about the park here: Wikipedia and Govt's site.

Each day of our visit we used to enter from the West Gate, for our hotel was to the west of the park. A shallow river runs along the road with vast meadows surrounded by hills.  The grass and vegetation looked green and healthy unaffected by the summer.  The river all along is shallow and looks black due to the stones lining the bottom.  The water is absolutely clear, though it must have a high level of dissolved salts and minerals from the thermal basins and geysers.  As you go deeper into the park, you see fumes emanating from various sites all around you.

The numerous thermal basins have geysers, ponds with the water steaming, boiling and spurting, and fumaroles.  Fumaroles are holes in the earth or small mounds that emit steam and smelly gases, mostly Hydrogen Sulphide.  The earth around these is mostly covered with white deposits which could be salts from the emissions, and the spewing water.  You see mudpots too which have mud bubbling and making sound like a very thick soup on a burner.  The mud in some mudpots is white and thick like white paint.

You also come across craters, deep pits containing very hot water and overflowing.  Some craters have very clear water which has hues of emerald and azure.  The sight is mesmerizing.

Almost as marvelous as the formations and phenomena in the thermal basins, is the way these have been preserved meticulously despite a footfall of over 3 million each year.  The ground in thermal basins is thin and if a person stepped on it, he may not only be damaging the delicate formations but also run the risk of sinking into boiling water or mud.  Extensive boardwalks have been built around the structures and visitors are required to walk only on these without touching the basin or pools or mudpots.  At some places you see warning that these are not only hot but acidic enough to burn the soles of your shoes!  The pungent smell from the fumes bears testimony to this.  Throwing any object in the basins is illegal and punishable and you find rangers keeping a watch at several places.

Since the ground in the thermal basins is so fragile and at many places around fumarole holes we could actually see how thin the crust is, we were astonished when we saw a bison standing near a bubbling pond.  Bisons typically weigh around 2000 pounds and we thought the bison was sure to sink into the ground.  It kept standing there for some time and then sat down.  We watched in fascination and returned the same way on our way back to ascertain its fate.  It wasn't there and there was no hole in the ground either!  We heaved a sigh of relief.

There are valleys full of herds of bisons.  We also saw bisons crossing the road at some places.  At one time we saw a bison roaming on a street bringing the traffic to a halt.  Soon enough a ranger came along in his car and nudged the bison away from the street.  We also had the good luck of seeing a grizzly bear near a stream.  A ranger there was there to brief the visitors and also to ensure that the animal was not disturbed.

A fascinating scene was a river and several small waterfalls from a vast thermal pool feeding it.  The pond was sparkling like a gem with several shades and there were several rainbow colours at the bottom of the water flowing out from it in all directions.  The plaques tell us that the colours come not from the minerals but from vast colonies of bacteria which live in the very hot water that no other organism may be able to survive in.  These bacterial are called thermophiles. A study of the mechanism which helps them thrive in such hostile environment has lead to discoveries that may find use in the medical science.

At one place we saw a stepped hill with hot water flowing from the top making a wonderful site.  It is called the Devils Lair.  Though, to an Indian like me it invoked the image of a Kailash or Ushn Kailash.  Adjoining it is an structure called Liberty Cap which looks like a huge Shivling.

The park also has a grand canyon complete with waterfalls and a river at the floor of the canyon.  The canyon has an Artist point where the hills are multihued and look like pastel colours on a huge canvas.

Of course, we also visited the famous Old Faithful Geyser, and witnessed an eruption.  This is the most predictable of the geysers with eruptions taking place every 75 minutes +/- 15 minutes.  Surprisingly, it was not as picturesque as many of the other sights that I have mentioned earlier.  And, yet, one cannot even think of skipping it when visiting Yellowstone.

Even in this abundant wilderness, the park has toilets in the parking lots.  There is no sewerage and these are just huge pits with a commode sitting at the top.  There are no wash basins but you have abundant supply of toilet rolls and huge containers of hand sanitizers.  The number of visitors was large, parking lots were all full, most toilets had a queue but we never saw anybody doing their business in the bushes.  Huge bear-proof waste bins are also kept in the parking lots and you never find any littering anywhere.  This, of course, applies to all parks and public places in this part of the world.

There also are visitor centers with gas stations and stores nearby where you can find food and beverages.

Yellowstone is surrounded by other parks and together they form a park system.  We visited the Grand Teton Park on our way back.  It is absolutely picturesque with a huge lake surrounded by the Teton range of mountains.  There still was snow on the mountains.  We wanted to boat in the lake but it was very crowded with the parking overflowing and we didn't have too much time left for our drive to the airport for catching the flight from the Salt Lake City.

All this sightseeing called for driving around 100 miles each day.  All the driving was done by my son, Anupam.  He is a great driver indeed.  I look back to the time when I taught him driving with great satisfaction and pride.  I may add that he has repaid that debt by teaching me driving in USA. Also, he managed the whole trip, meticulously planned each day to optimize our experience.  Thanks to his planning we could also see a few very quiet and scenic places that were not so crowded as the main points.

We were also assisted by a GPS based app called Gypsy Guide that keeps telling you about the location that you are passing through.

It was a memorable visit indeed, and worth sharing.  Hence this blog.