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1998 West Vacation, Part 4

September 8 through 19

Part 1	Background and Planning	Nebraska	Courthouse and Jail Rocks Chimney Rock NHS	Scotts Bluff NM
Part 1	Wyoming/Colorado	Dinosaur NM - Canyon - Dinosaur Quarry	Golden Spike NHS	Thiokol, Utah
Part 2	US-26 / Snake River	Grand Teton NP	Yellowstone NP-Day 1, Part 1 Yellowstone NP-Day 1, Part 2	Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 1
Part 3	Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 2	Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 3	Yellowstone NP-Day 2, Part 4	Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 1
Part 4	Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 2	Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 3	Yellowstone NP-Day 3, Part 4	Yellowstone NP-Day 4
Part 5	Bighorn Canyon NRA	Devils Tower NM	Custer State Park	Badlands NP

Yellowstone National Park (Day 3, continued) - September 14

My 1998 West Vacation - 11 days, 4315 miles. Days 7 & 8, Yellowstone National Park.

What can be said about Old Faithful that hasn't been said, except it's not the most regular geyser, nor the highest, nor the longest, nor the largest. But it is Old. And it is the most publicized natural phenomenon in the world.

We also visited Geyser Hill, just across the Firehole River.

Yellowstone National Park, Day 3 - Part 2

After lunch at the Lodge, we left Old Faithful and continued around the Grand Loop Road to the South, stopping at Yellowstone Lake and Fishing Bridge, where you can't fish anymore, but you can see the cut-throat trout taunting the angler in you.

Now going North on the East side of the Grand Loop Road, you arrive at Sulphur Caldron, where the unmistakable odor of brimstone reminds you of a living hell. An event happened there, that doesn't happen too often in any other part of the world, but happens quite often in Yellowstone. A buffalo jam. A herd of Buffalo just walked out of the woods, crossed the road, and calmly walked down the slope to the Yellowstone River. (Unfortunately, I only have video of that event.)

Further North, is Canyon, the start of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where the legendary Upper and Lower Fall of the Yellowstone exist. The Upper Falls drop 109 feet, then the Yellowstone River jogs left for several hundred feet, then falls another 308 feet to the bottom of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It's one of the most beautiful falls in the world.

We first stopped in at Artist's Point on the South side of the Canyon, then took an easy walk to the brink of the Upper Fall. But it's a heart-stopping 500 foot stairway to the brink of the Lower Fall. Which is why there are pictures from the brink of the Upper Fall, but not of the Lower Fall...

There are Panoramics of the Falls and Canyon in my 2006 trip.

Yellowstone National Park, Day 3 - Part 3

North view, North Entrance Road, Yellowstone National Park.

From the Upper Fall, we went through the Canyon Visitors Center, then to the North side of the canyon for a few more scenic viewpoints of the Lower Fall and the Canyon.

We met up with a coyote at Calcite Springs (just South of Tower Junction), took in a few sights on the North Entrance Road, then headed out the North Entrance, where the Roosevelt Arch stands. (So named because it was dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt.)

Yellowstone National Park, Day 3 - Part 4

Yellowstone National Park (Day 4) - September 15

This was our last day in the park, so we headed South out of Gardiner, and had breakfast in Mammoth Hot Springs. We're a 1400 miles from home, in the Mammoth Hot Springs Dining Room, and Jo meets someone she knows from work. Sheesh.

After breakfast we made a quick stop at Roaring Mountain (which still wasn't roaring), Midway Geyser Basin, and ended the day in Cody, Wyoming.

Yellowstone National Park, Day 4