The "Remarkable" Beartooth Highway, (mostly pictures)

Location: Hardin KOA (el 3,000 ft); Hardin, Montana

(click pictures to enlarge)
(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 cell phone)

Although the location above says Hardin, this posting is from when I was staying in Red Lodge, Montana. I am still catching up on posts because I fell behind due to the large amount of things I saw in such a short time period in Yellowstone and then the Beartooth.

The one and only thing I went to Red Lodge to see was the Beartooth Highway. Built in 1937, it crosses the mountains between Red Lodge and Yellowstone with a summit that tops out at an elevation of 10,947 feet. Just a little walking at that altitude got me to breathing hard. I can't imagine having to do lots of physical work up that high. 

The road is only open during the summer months. It opened to traffic on May 29th and I rode it on June 3rd. It is another one of those right place, right time things. Snow was still in many places which gave a different impression than what it would be like in the middle of summer. There were not many people on the road which gave me time to stop on the road to see things that I wouldn't be able to see if there had been more traffic.

The first six pictures are travel pictures from West Yellowstone, Montana to Red Lodge, Montana. They represent south-western Montana.  

Campsite at Red Lodge KOA; Red Lodge, Montana

It had rained in the days before I arrived in Red Lodge but it was a nice day for a ride on the Beartooth. There won't be any captions for these pictures, because most of them would just be 'wow'.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Yellowstone NP (part 3 and final) Wrap-up

Location: Hardin KOA (el. 3,000 ft); Hardin, Montana

(click pictures to enlarge)
(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 cell phone)

My last trip into the park was to see the Excelsior Geyser crater and the Grand Prismatic Spring. It would be my last trip into the park. I saw the parts of the park I came here to see and now it was time to move on down the road. I was not able to see Yellowstone Lake or Mammoth Hot Springs so those can remain on the list of things to see in the future. 

Yellowstone is one of the most visited National Parks. I am glad I came but I'm undecided as to how high I would rank it in comparison to some of the other things I've seen in my travels. It definitely is worth the trip though. I actually found the rivers that run through the park to be more enjoyable and peaceful than some of the major attractions. However, the fishermen took up a lot of the parking in the turnouts. There should be a time limit for parking in those things because some of the fishermen seemed to be there for hours and hours. I was never blocked from parking where and when I wanted, but I would imagine that is a different story during the busy summer. 

Both the Excelsior and Grand
Prismatic Spring is across the bridge

The Excelsior Geyser Crater

 That is the best shot I could get of the crater. The steam hovers above it most of the time. The crater was formed back around 1890 when it erupted and destroyed some of the fissures leading to the surface. That destruction of the underground piping network kept it from erupting until 1985 when it erupted violently for 47 hours before stopping again. It is unknown when it will erupt again. 

The Grand Prismatic Spring was a brilliant blue 

The water away from the spring was so calm they reflected the clouds on their surface.

This is the little stream leading away
from the spring. Many different colors.

The spring dumps about 500 gallons
per minute into the adjacent river.

Looking downstream. Nice looking
river

They have benches scattered along
the boardwalk

I liked this picture of the general area. The boardwalk circles the place and is close to a mile around. 

I chose this place to enjoy my lunch. It was a PB&J sandwich with a smiley face in the peanut butter. Olivia Grace, if your reading this in the distant future, that reference is about your mother. 

One of the rivers

This part of the Madison River was
one of my favorite spots. It seemed
to never have anyone there, which
was fine with me. This is looking
downstream

Looking upstream

I couldn't remember the last time I posted
a selfie, so I decided to take one in my favorite
place alongside the river. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.  

Yellowstone NP (part 2) Waterfalls and the Grand Canyon

Location: Red Lodge KOA (el 5,150 ft); Red Lodge, Montana

(click pictures to enlarge)
(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 cell phone)

OK, the first thing is I'm not in Red Lodge anymore. I moved yesterday but since I've been so slow at posting, I'm a few days behind. Wait until you see what I came to see at Red Lodge, it was great. In fact it is probably in my top 5 places that I've been to and seen. 

But first, I have some catch up from Yellowstone. It is hard to visit Yellowstone without learning about John Colter. I had read about him many years ago and it was nice to see the places he visited. It is said he was the first mountain man and the first white man to see Yellowstone. If he wasn't, he sure could have been because he lived quite a life. His life is like a combination of Jeremiah Johnson and Grizzly Adams. 

Colter was born about 1775 in Virginia. When he was 28 years old, he met Meriwether Lewis of Lewis & Clark fame. Lewis was having the Corp of Discovery boats built in Pittsburgh when they met and Lewis was impressed by Colter's skills as a woodsman/hunter. He was hired as a private and paid $5.00/month (later on, he would have to sue for his back wages and only received a portion of what was due him).

During the years 1804 thru 1806 while with the Lewis & Clark team, Colter was often sent out ahead of the party to hunt and scout. It was said he was the best at it and often spent time alone away from the main party. While out scouting/hunting, Colter was usually the first to meet the local Indians. Chances are, he was also the first to see the Pacific Ocean while scouting the way. 

In 1806 while on the return trip and at the Mandan Villages in present day North Dakota, Colter met two trappers headed west. Colter wanted to join them so he approached Lewis & Clark about an early discharge. They agreed, and while the main party was heading home, Colter was heading back in to the wild west. The partnership didn't last but a few months before the three men split up. It was now 1807 and Colter was again headed back east, this time though by himself. He was near the mouth of the Platte River, about a week from St. Louis, when he met up with a group of men heading west to set up a trading post. He joined them, and once again, turned around and headed back west. 

During the years of 1807 and 1808, Colter explored the area around present day northeast Wyoming, western Montana and eastern Idaho. He traveled alone and spent most of his time in freezing temperatures at high elevations. He traveled through parts of what is now Yellowstone and when he returned, tried to describe what he saw. People didn't believe him when he spoke about geysers, steam vents, mudpots and hot springs. The area was called Colter's Hell because it sounded like something a crazy man would think. 

The year was now 1809 and Colter is about 34 years old. He and another man are exploring an area where the Blackfeet Indians call home. The other man is killed and Colter is captured. The Blackfeet were looking for some fun so they stripped Colter naked, and gave him a head start running-for-his-life before a band of young braves started chasing him. After about 5 miles, he had outran all but one brave. He turned quickly, killed the Indian and took his blanket. The main group was still chasing him but he got far enough ahead that he was able to hide in a river. Some versions say he hid in a beaver lodge while other say he hid under a small group of trees floating on the river. Either way, he stayed hidden until nightfall when he swam downstream and away from the Blackfeet. Escaping from the Indians was only the first part of the story, the second part was he had to walk for 11 days with only a small blanket before he made it back to the trading post. 

The next year, in 1810, Colter was out exploring with 2 other men. While Colter was away from camp, the Blackfeet Indian killed his two partners. That was apparently the last straw for Colter because he headed east after that event. Once he got back to St. Louis, he found William Clark and described to him what he had seen during his explorations. Clark added that information to the maps produced by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and was the most accurate description of the area for at least 75 years. 

As if Colter had not had enough adventures, he joined up with Nathan Boone (Daniel Boone's 10th and last child). They fought during the War of 1812 as part of Boone's Rangers. 

Colter died quietly in Missouri in the year 1813 at the age of 38. As children, we should have learned about his man in school. He led quite a life in a short number of years.     
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After seeing Old Faithful and the geyser fields on the first day I headed to The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It is the canyon carved out by the Yellowstone River, complete with a set of waterfalls and some beautiful sights. 

I've bored you with enough words, time for some pictures.

A river runs through it,,,:)

Nice waterfall alongside the road

A steam vent and hot spring on the side
of the road.

Traffic backed up for miles due to
some bison wandering on the road.
Not too fun but would be much worse
during the summertime with all of the
park visitors.

Larger waterfall in the distance with the Yellowstone River

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

This was quite a contrast. The bare
slopes of the canyon contrasted
with the bright green grass on top.

Another look at the
waterfalls

More waterfall

Last look at the waterfall and Grand Canyon. 

A big rock deposited there by an
ancient glacier

Hmmm,, going down
will be easy. Coming
back up, at nearly
10,000 foot elevation
will be harder. Yep, it
was worth it.

There were benches along the way.
I liked the gnarled old tree on the left.

The view once you got to the bottom.

This is where I enjoyed by picnic lunch.
It was quiet and peaceful. It would have
been better if I had packed a bologna
sandwich instead of turkey. Picky, picky

I couldn't remember if I posted a picture
of the campsite at West Yellowstone or not.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road. 

Yellowstone NP (part 1)

Location: KOA Mountainside (el 6,800 ft); West Yellowstone, Montana

(click pictures to enlarge)
(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 cell phone)

Yellowstone National Park: Established in 1872, it is the first national park in the world, not just the U.S., but the world. Most of the park is sitting in the caldera of a Super-Volcano. The volcano is active which is what produces the geysers, mudpots and hot springs. It is so large that when it erupts, the ash and debris will cover all of the mid-western states and possibly even east of the Mississippi. Needless to say, if it happens, it will be very bad. The last time it erupted was about 640,000 year ago. 

Today, you can drive through the park and see:  

Valleys of green grass 

Waterfalls

Geyser fields

Dead trees in mudflats. The white
parts at the bottom of the trunk are
called "bobbie socks" (young people,
ask someone older what they are).
It happens when the live tree soaks
up rich minerals into the trunk.

Hot pools

Boardwalks have been built to make
easy walking to see the sights

The pools have different colors based
on which minerals are coming up from
down below. A lot of the time, they are
hard to see due to the steam. Windy
days are better because the steam is
blown away quicker.

Some bubble material up and over
the edge, creating a crater apperance

Some have grass and trees growing
right up to the edge

A panoramic view of one of the fields. Each puff of steam, is a hotspot with either a hot pool, small geyser or just a steam vent.

The water is crystal clear because it is too hot for any type of bacteria or algae to grow. When they are calm, like this one, you can see to the bottom.

This is what people expect Old Faithfull
to look like, but this is just another
ordinary geyser.

The geyser field with a nice dark blue river running through it

Heading to Old Faithful. You can visit
Yellowstone without seeing it.

People are 3 and 4 deep waiting for
it to blow.
 

That is the best picture I got of her erupting. It was sort of a let-down.

How about some bison wandering around. On two different trips into the park, traffic was backed up for miles while people stopped to take pictures. Sometimes, I think out of spite, the bison would walk down the road so as to stop traffic entirely. If you visit, make sure you have enough gas to travel less than 5 mph for several miles while waiting on these things. They are very large animals but seem peaceful.

It will take at least 2 more posts to finish up with Yellowstone. Tomorrow is moving day but I'll still have posts for Yellowstone.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.