BUS TOURS are not usually my thing. I've had some real duds, leaving me with a strong distaste for that mode of sightseeing. However, it was the best alternative available for spending one day as a tourist in the world's first National Park. So, somewhat hesitantly, I paid my money and took my chances.
WOW! Did I ever luck out. My "bus" (really a beefed-up variant of what many hotels use as airport shuttles, or what small cities use for public transportation) had eight other passengers and a fabulous guide.
My fears of a sterile, scripted, inflexible excursion presented in a singsong voice by a jaded uncaring automaton vanished within a very few minutes of my joining the bus.
Once we got through the formalities (review of Park rules, general guidelines, and of course the line at the entry portal), everyone relaxed and got into the tour.
So as to help perpetuate and propagate that feeling, once again I'll hold the prose to a minimum and let the photos and captions talk for me. For orientation purposes, we entered through the West entrance and made a counter-clockwise loop around the lower (main) loop in the park, exiting many hours later (and a full hour and a half after scheduled tour end time) whence we had entered.
Even before I was picked up, I took an interest in how West Yellowstone manages its public trash receptacles. They're bear-proof.
At a couple of early stops we came across a still-operational example of the original Yellowstone tour coaches; there are (John thinks) still eight in running condition in Yellowstone.
If I had access to a casting foundry, metalworking, machine shop and the skills to use them to make replacement parts, it'd be a hoot to have one of these antiques.
By chance, I had learned from Mary Ann (remember her? I met her several days ago in Kooskia ID and ran into her again when I checked in here on Monday) that her graduate research had been on these very organisms. In fact, she was a co-discoverer of a previously unknown species and has a published paper on it.
[Thermoanaerobium brockii gen. nov. and sp. nov., a new chemoorganotrophic, caldo
John told us how the hot, silica-rich water eventually permeates nearby trees. That white crust you see at the base of these trees is silica that the tree absorbed, killing it but preserving the tree for some time to come. Not quite like petrified wood, but loosely analogous.
John had, of course, been tracking the predicted time for the next eruption of Old Faithful and monitoring / regulating our progress to ensure we'd arrive in plenty of time. We got to the Old Faithful Lodge about 20 minutes before the expected eruption.
It was built entirely with hand tools in the early 1900s (within a couple years of the opening of the Park) and ready to open a little more than a year from the time construction began.
It turns out I'm not technically savvy enough to figure out how to post my video of Old Faithful erupting to YouTube using my phone, so that'll have to wait until I can get it done. However, take my word that it happened, and was really neat to see.
There was a large crowd gathered to see the event. Being bright, sunny, and warm, this small child found a clever way to get out of the sun.
This large mud pot brought back memories of my previous trip here. I was about four or five at the time, and didn't like the rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulfide that the mud pots in particular give off.
There was a family of four sitting right behind me on the bus. The kids were great, and the dad had a very keen eye for spotting things. More on this later.
The bison herd in the park is between 5,000 and 6,000 head at present. There were a few of them scattered below our vantage point on a low hill overlooking a large open area.
When we parked at Lower Yellowstone Falls, John made us promise not to look to our left as we walked along the path to the optimal viewpoint. He cleverly diverted our attention by pointing out interesting features to our right. Then we got to the Big Reveal, and it was worth the tease.
The eagle-eyed father I mentioned earlier spotted a what we thought might be a wolf (I didn't get a photo) and an elk. Soon after that we found a hollow where TWO bull elk were hanging out.
Another fumarole; we're almost finished with the lower loop of the park at this point and it's getting late in the day so I settled for a drive-by photo through the bus window.
On our way out of the park we ran into the back of a long line of cars whose occupants were busy gaping at something. Turns ot it was two bald eagles perched in trees overlooking the river. John figured they were probably stalking for fish to grab. One of them may or may not be in this photo; we didn't really have time to stop and the bus was kind of jouncing, so my attempt at a drive-by shot didn't really work as I had hoped. But I saw them.
It was a tremendously successful and enjoyable day tour of a fabulous and unique place on the planet. I'm sooooooo glad I went, and equally glad to have gotten such a wonderful guide. Thanks John!
