Yellowstone, part 2
Trip Start
Sep 01, 2000
1
13
Trip End
Sep 15, 2000
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Thursday, September 7, 2000
Shortly after that, I went to see the Lone Star Geyser. Along the way, I stopped for my first Continental Divide crossing, where, as per usual, I acted like a dork.
...and then proceeded on towards the geysers. I picked the Lone Star because it was a bit off from the beaten path, yet not so far that I'd have to do any of that time-consuming and strenuous back-country hiking. Ugh! I'm much too lazy and impatient for that... So I biked along the fire road, following the Firehole River along until I came to the clearing, and to my surprise and good fortune, the geyser was just starting to fire up. Lone Star erupts about once every three hours, so I was REALLY lucky to have such good timing. I posed for a bunch of pictures, and almost lost a roll of film... and then continued back to the road.
The next stop was at the Old Faithful geyser basin, where I took the bike for speed (walking just is WAY too slow), and then did a quick tour of the area.
One observation that is hard to avoid is the stark contrast between the burned-out trees and the new growth. The park had suffered severe wildfires in 1988, following a century of fire-suppression efforts, and large swaths of the area were decimated. New policies let fires burn more naturally, so they are less intense and clear out the dead brush on a more regular basis.
I was surprised as I was riding along, that elk were spooked by my presence, and would run along the path, often following beside me. I'm not sure if I was more surprised than they were, but it was an amazing experience to be biking in the midst of these large and beautiful animals.
Speaking of large, beautiful (and dangerous) animals, bison could be found throughout the park. Typically, you'd see a herd of them standing around somewhere pretty, like THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, and there would be a handful of cars, with little people like me cowering behind car doors trying to get photos. I guess it is a little comical - but it was also pretty cool.
My final stop for the day was way up north at the Mammoth Terraces, where hot springs had deposited pools of minerals on the hillside. I went hiking in the twilight, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and checking over my shoulder for large predators that might like to attack a nice snack such as myself.
