Oct 11 - SNOW in Tetons and Yellowstone

Thankfully we had booked a guided trip of Yellowstone for the day. Our guide, Rowan Laing, of VIP Adventure Travel, picked us up at our hotel at 7 a.m. He had a very nice, 4 wheel drive, Ford Excursion and we were his only passengers. We could tell there was a light dusting of snow as we left the hotel. The further we drove north, the more apparent it became that this was not a DUSTING. We had SNOW! We entered the Teton Park and as we drove through we began to see an abundance of wildlife. We saw several herds of bison, one of which was actually on the roadway. We saw several herds of elk, also one on the roadway and we saw a beautiful coyote (I thought he was a wolf but the guide said he was a coyote.) We were not able to see the Teton Mountains due to the amount of snow that was falling at the time. As we entered Yellowstone the park ranger advised that no one was allowed without snow tires. James and I had already decided we would never have made it that far due to the snow on the road and this confirmed that we would not even be allowed in the park. We were so glad that we booked this guided trip. One of our first stops was the Geyser Basin. Here there were small geysers everywhere. The steam was so heavy and the snowfall was so heavy that you couldn’t see the actual bases of the geysers. This was our first experience with “hot spots.” These are areas where the ground is very warm due to underground geysers. As you can see, melts immediately from these areas. Occasionally, these geysers burst through and form a gaping hole of bowling water and steam. The park service had built a parking area near the geyser field and one of the “hot spots” erupted. The only thing that could be done was to fence the area for the safety of visitors. That makes you a little uncomfortable to walk across a “hot spot.” From there we stopped at the Mud Volcano where, in 1870, explorers watched as Mud Volcano spewed mud into the treetops, shaking the ground with each eruption. Two years later it was a pool of bubbling muddy water. The Volcano had blown itself apart! There we also saw (and smelled) the Sulphur Cauldron. This is more of the mud from the volcano that mixes with hydrogen sulfide gas from the volcano magma chamber and produces that rotten-egg smell. The gas is then turned into sulfuric acid that breaks the rocks down into mud. Our guide pointed out that no one would want a mud pack facial from this mud! From there we went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. It was beautiful in the snow. The trees are beautiful spruce pines that hold the snow in elegance. I wish my pictures could really show the beauty of the park in the snow. God is so good to provide such a beautiful blanket for the park. We saw the upper falls and the lower falls from viewpoints that would only be known to someone as knowledgeable of the park as our guide. Again, we were so grateful that we had booked this trip. From the falls we went to Lake Village where the historic Lake Yellowstone Hotel is located. This was built in the 1920s and is on the Register of Historic Buildings, being the oldest standing hotel in Yellowstone. It is traditionally painted that bright yellow and I read it is also yellow on the inside. As we came through Craig Pass, headed to Old Faithful, our guide noticed that the road was marked closed going back through the Pass. Our guide called ahead to the geyser information area to find out when the next event was anticipated and our timing was perfect. We only stood outside about 5 minutes before the geyser erupted but it was the coldest of the entire time. The temperature had actually risen to 23 (we started at 14) but the wind was really blowing as you can tell from the pictures of the geyser’s steam. After seeing Old Faithful (which was 1 minute later than anticipated) we ate lunch at the lodge and warmed up a little. While we were in the area of Old Faithful, our guide learned that Craig Pass was indeed closed. This meant we would go an alternate route out of the Park. On our way out we stopped at Grand Prismatic Spring, reported to be the world’s largest hot spring. The steam from the stream had frozen in large icicles on the walking bridge. From there we went to Fountain Paint Pot. Here the small geysers have created a large “mud pie” and the colors are beautiful. I know my pictures can’t do it justice. We exited through the West Entrance in Montana, drove through part of Idaho, back to Wyoming and to Jackson Hole (about a 100 mile loop due to the pass being closed!) That is where we got the picture of the sun behind the clouds on the plains. It wasn’t sundown but the sky at the horizon was a beautiful color. Only God can paint the beauty we saw today.