Sept 19

The early morning sun hitting the Teton Range. A little snow has been added to the peaks everyday since we arrived.

My favorite spot in Yellowstone (so far)

The Yellowstone River flows out of Yellowstone Lake and meanders it's way through the Hayden Valley. I love high mountain meadows surrounded by higher peaks. All of the buffalo we saw were a bonus, but I don't think I would ever want to take a nap here, eventhough the grass was really inviting.

The snow-covered Absaroka Mountains seen from the outlet of Yellowstone Lake.

Yellowstone Lake

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River is 20 miles long, reaches 1200' feet deep at its deepest point and ranges between 1500' and 4000' across. The Upper Falls are 109' high.

To reach the viewpoint at the base of the Lower Falls you have to hike 1/2 mile down 328 very steep steps.

The Lower Falls are 308' high.

Looking downstream at the canyon walls.

Yellowstone, 9/18

Firehole Canyon Falls

The entrance to Firehole Canyon. There is a swimming hole in the canyon; it is the only legal place to take a dip in Yellowstone. Despite the chilly temperatures (about 55 degrees), we did see a kid skinny-dipping. The water temperature in the river is higher than normal because of all of the heated springs that empty into it.

This is the north rim of the Yellowstone Caldera (in case you don't know, Yellowstone sits on the most active volcanic hotspot in North America) near Madison Junction.

More Yellowstone hotspots, 9/18

A pool in the Upper Geyser Basin; the temperature of the water is close to boiling.

Emerald Pool in the Black Sand Basin.

A mudpot (yes, boiling mud) at the Fountain Paint Pot Area.

A view of Fountain Paint Pot.

Old Faithful, 9/18

I have decided that Old Faithful is not my kind of scene (too many people, too much stuff built around it), but I could not go to Yellowstone for the first time and not stop to see it. Fortunately, we arrived right before it erupted. We were standing on the back side of the geyser and were hit with the foul, sulfur-smelling steam. Still, it was a great sight to see.

Yellowstone, 9/18

Looking down into Lewis Canyon; it is over 300' deep. The trees on either side of the canyon were destroyed in the wildfires of 1988. Those fires burned over 800,000 acres of Yellowstone (most of the southern and western parts of the park). Eventhough it appears to be total devasation in this picture, the lodgepole pines started to grow back almost immediately after the fires and most are now between 12-20 feet tall.

I cannot remember the name of this waterfall. Dea might, but she is asleep already.

On the way to Yellowstone, 9/18

Morning clouds over the Tetons

We were held up by a buffalo-induced traffic jam (this would not be the last we saw of the buffalo this day).

Teton Mountain Lodge

This is our home for the week. The lodge is located west of Jackson at the Jackson Hole Ski Resort. Our room is nice, but the mattress is really uncomfortable. I do love the dual shower heads, though. Also, we are driving the blue Subaru Outback; it gets much better gas mileage than the older model we have at home. Intersetingly enough, 37% of registered cars in Jackson County are Subarus; the rest appear to be diesel-powered pick-ups.

Grand Teton National Park, Sept 17

This was our first clear view of the Teton range, driving north from Jackson, WY.

The view from the east shore of Jenny Lake. In the middle is cascade canyon, carved by glaciers. Mount St. John (11430') is on the right and Teewinot Mountain (12325') is on the left. Teewinot was the Shoshone name for the range; it means "many pinnacles.".

This is the Teton Range viewed from the Snake River Overlook (you can see the river in the foreground). I have had an Ansel Adams print of this exact spot since I was in college, and it provided the inspiration for this trip.

Happy Birthday, Deandra!