Friday, September 6, 2002
We awoke to a cold, rainy morning. Tom wanted to sleep in,
but I was ready to explore, rain or no rain. I drove up to the gift
shop and fetched some coffee, then I dragged Tom to breakfast in
the cafeteria. Last night's cookie dinner just didn't cut
it.
Canyon Village is, logically, right by the Grand Canyon of
the Yellowstone. The canyon is 20 miles long and from 1,500 to
4,000 feet wide. Its cliffs drop as much as 1,200 feet on either
side. The Yellowstone river flows through the canyon and drops over
two massive waterfalls called (with much originality) Upper Falls,
109 feet, and Lower Falls, a fantastic 308 feet.
Upper Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
We drove along South Rim Drive and North Rim Drive, stopping
at every viewpoint along the way. On sunny days the canyon walls
are a colorful yellow, pink, and orange. When we visited, the sky
was dark and foreboding, but still the canyon was stunning. The
best views are from Artist's Point, where you can see the entirety
of Lower Falls framed by the canyon walls. Happily, there was a
break in the rain while we were here. We would have liked to do
some hiking in the area, but the weather was too dicey to stray far
from our car.
Lower Falls
Leaving the canyon area, we headed south, backtracking over
the road we had covered yesterday evening in the dark. Hayden
Valley is a gently rolling meadow that used to be part of
Yellowstone Lake. Yellowstone River flows through the valley. This
is a good place to see bison, elk, and waterfowl. We think we
spotted an eagle, but it was too far away for us to be sure - So
let's just say it was!
Tom at Hayden Valley
South of the valley, we soon reached the Mud Volcano Area.
You can smell the hydrogen sulfide from a mile away. Mudpots are
acidic hot springs with a limited water supply. The acid breaks
down rock into a muddy clay, and gases escaping through the mud
cause it to gurgle and burble. It's very cool, I promise -
definitely better than it sounds. Just after we reached the end of
this two-third-mile loop trail, a herd of bison wandered across the
path, blocking the way of the people behind us.
Mudpot, Mud Volcano Area
It started POURING down rain, so we turned back towards our
cabin, but as we neared the canyon area again, the sun broke
through the clouds. We decided to revisit the canyon, and despite
Tom's not feeling well, I goaded him into joining me on a
half-mile, steep hike along Red Rock Trail to Red Rock Point, which
takes you close enough to Lower Falls to feel the spray. It started
to drizzle again as we were hiking, but one good thing about the
sketchy weather is we had the point all to ourselves.
Awesome!
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
We returned to Canyon Village long enough to "treat"
ourselves to a couple of pre-made, hermetically sealed sandwiches
like you can buy at gas stations. We bought ours at Canyon
Village's picnic shop. Same difference. As soon as the rain stopped
again, we hit the road, headed for Tower Falls.
Tower Falls, near Roosevelt Junction
Tower Falls is located at the northern end of the Grand
Canyon of the Yellowstone. It is a short walk from the Tower Falls
parking area to an overlook of the falls and a one-mile hike to
visit the base of the falls. On a sunny day you can sometimes see a
rainbow from the bottom, but since it wasn't sunny, we skipped
it.
Tower Falls area
The falls share a parking lot with a Hamilton Store, a little
shop with various souvenirs, supplies, and a small snack bar. Tom
ordered what was supposed to be a burger, and I had an alleged
barbecue sandwich. Mine looked like one of those McRib sandwiches
that I've never been tempted to try and tasted just like you'd
expect from such, and Tom's burger was of similar quality. They
were pre-made, microwave meals - more gas-station food. Oh, well,
we'll just have to feast our eyes instead of our stomachs!
East from Tower Junction you immediately enter Lamar Valley.
This valley doesn't have geothermal oddities, but it is a nice,
open area with hardly any trees, good for animal watching. Gray
wolves have been reintroduced to the park here, and we were hoping
we might be lucky enough to see some. We saw several packs of
wolf-watchers, but no wolves. Lots of deer and bison,
though.
Lamar Valley
Back at the cabin for the evening, we entertained ourselves
listening to the European couple in the next room showering
together. With all the clouds, there's no stargazing tonight, so we
had to entertain ourselves somehow!
99 miles today, and we hardly even left our little corner of
the world. This is a large park.
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