Returning to the Past: Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Series Resumes!

 So, way back in 2021- in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic - I decided to take advantage of an opportunity to go to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks.  Road Trip!!  I love them. 

Unusually for me, I posted several posts regarding my trip within three months of the actual trip!  Then I got derailed by my mental health, namely anxiety and depression, and didn't post again until January 2022.  At that point, I got derailed kind of permanently by those same issues; I just had a photo editing block and a writing block.  I just couldn't do it even though the memories and reminders of my trip brought me great happiness and pleasure.  It didn't help that my computer was getting older and was less and less able to handle my photo editing software...and just life in general I guess.  Just like me.

Well, I'm back.  With a new computer and a healthier mentality, I'm ready to revisit one of the most amazing experiences of my life. 

Check out my earlier posts!

Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons Day 1, Jenny Lake Campground, Elk Herd

Beautiful Jenny Lake, Foxes and Bears

Lovely Vistas full of Bison and Horses

Mormon Row, Pronghorn Antelope, and Ravens

Wildlife Art, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Colter Bay, and Ground Squirrels

Colter Bay to South Yellowstone

Black Sand Basin and Bison

More Bison, Old Faithful, Biscuit Basin, and Beginning of Artemisia Trail Hike

And with that, we are caught up! 

It was on the gorgeous, bright morning of May 19, 2021, when I decided that I was going to hike the Artemisia Trail from Biscuit Basin to Morning Glory Pool.

I decided to try something slightly different for me and video the sights along the trail.  Mainly, as I mention in the video, because I was hiking solo and this gave me a reason to talk to myself which helps scare off bears.  Not that I was too worried about bears as this hike is pretty popular and suitable for many skill levels.  Including overweight and out of shape level - like me! And it's about .9 mile each direction although you can walk all the way to Old Faithful.

Here is the sign at the trailhead which shows most of the trails, geysers, and pools in the Upper Geyser Basin which includes Old Faithful, Black Sand Basin, and Biscuit Basin.

I mostly took video on this hike but did take a few pictures on my Nikons.  This is Gem Pool - a lookalike to Morning Glory but both beautiful in their own way.  

Gem Pool closeup:

Not sure what this pool is called...  I have the picture labeled Blue Pool with Yellow Border.  Descriptive!

This is the Firehole River which runs parallel to the trail from Biscuit Basin to Morning Glory Pool. 

These next two photos are from the bridge over the Firehole River after is turns left to cross the Artemisia Trail.  First view is downriver and second is upriver. 

And now...the famed Morning Glory Pool!  Simply gorgeous.  

Some closeups...  Including what I called the "galaxy inside the pool" - the sparkly blue-green center. 

And one last shot of the Firehole River.  This is the view from the highway.  I ended up walking along the road so I could get this lovely shot.  haha

After the hike, I decided to drive to West Yellowstone.  I saw some animals on my way there! Yay!  Including some Red Dogs - AKA baby bison.  

On the road to the West Yellowstone Gate, I saw some elk in a meadow in the woods.  I pulled over (of course) and got out of my car to have a look see.  I noticed the elk were looking away from me, further towards the tree line.  As I looked, I saw that there were a couple of coyotes and the elk were keeping a watchful eye on their movements. 

Amazing.  I love coyotes and I was happy to see them.  I would see a whole pack later in my trip.  But we'll save that.  

I headed into West Yellowstone to go to the Grizzley & Wolf Discovery Center.  I stopped at a market in town and bought an air mattress for my tent and a 6-pack of Huckleberry Honey Ale of which I drank a can later in my campsite.  It was yummy!

I also bought dinner at a restaurant that I can't remember four years later (eye roll).  I wish I could.  I tried to search on Google and there are a few restaurants that look similar to what I remember but I couldn't see the dish I remember.  But all I remember was meat with a Huckleberry bbq sauce.  Delicious.  

I spilled the sauce in the front passenger seat of my car and on the floor which caused me to have a panic attack about bears.  I cleaned it the best I could but you could still see and smell it quite a bit.  I went up to the Madison campground headquarters and talked to a ranger about it.  She could obviously see how worried about it I was and I explained that I neglected to bring bear spray with me and now that my car smelled like a restaurant, I was panicking.  

She was so kind.  She talked me off the ledge and gave me a can of bear spray and explained the do's and don'ts of bear spray.   She really reassured me and stopped me from hightailing it home.  

On that note, I'll end this post.  I do have some photos from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center but I'll put those in a later post.  But I will say that it was really informational and cool to see the rescued animals. I definitely recommend.  

xoxo

Nikon D600 Nikkor 28-300 mm

Nikon D7200 Sigma Contemporary 150-600 mm

Google Pixel 4 for video

Yellowstone is Calling...And I'm back baby. Let's Visit Gorgeous Biscuit Basin and Go on an "Easy" Hike to Morning Glory Pool

You know what to do...Click on the links!!

The Gorgeous Views of Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons with Elk Herd Cameos!

Jenny Lake and Foxes and Bears!

Wild West, Abandoned Cabins, and Bison!

Mormon Row - Beautiful Barns and Pronghorn Antelope!

National Museum of Wildlife Art - Amazing Sculptures in a Glorious Outdoor Setting!

Colter Bay at Grand Teton National Park & Snow! South Entrance of Yellowstone to Black Sand Basin!

Beautiful Geyers of Black Sand Basin!

Okay!  On with the story of my amazing adventure in Yellowstone National Park!  Quick refresher:  I set off from California to visit a place I haven't been since childhood - solo as usual!  

Great fun was had, amazing sights were seen in both Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP.  Anxiety was felt and my first solo nights were successful!

And now, on my first full day in Yellowstone National Park, I was up early and excited to hit the road, see some more sights, and - hopefully - get a little exercise.  

I absolutely loved being there at this time of year!  The colder (than summer) air means that the steam rising from the vents is easier to see and looks so cool!

I was heading to catch the morning eruption of Old Faithful so I was on the right side of the road to get a picture or two of the bison herd in front of the Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring. 

All those little dots are bison in various sized. I didn't notice it at the time, but there are even BABIES out there!  

Some, like me, were a little on the sleepy side.  

Some people at the far end of the turnout left, so I was able to move a bit closer to the herd for more photos.

Is it just me or is this bison pregnant?  

They all have horns so I don't know how else to tell boys from girls.

Here's a closer look.  

This is when I first noticed the babies!  

Yes, there is one in the next photo...hiding behind it's mom (dad?).

But I couldn't linger to take more photos as I had someplace to be.  

There was a park ranger standing near the meadow with binoculars, looking across the road and up a nearby hill. I asked her if the bison herd was usually there and she said it had been there for awhile and would probably hang out all day, but couldn't promise.

 I asked her what she was looking for and she said that about 15 minutes prior, a bear had crossed the road nearby and ran up the hill.  She was hoping to see where it was heading.  

Darn!  I just missed it!

But I had to press on and hope the bison decided to wait for me to come back this way because  Old Faithful was predicted to blow at 6:35 and I was on my way! I got there and found a pretty close parking spot because it was so early (I guess).  I was hustling up the walk way and, to my surprise, the geyser was already going off!  

Holy chit!  Luckily my camera was slung across my chest so I was able to snap a quick shot as I walked up!  It was pretty amazing and the eruption seemed to last for a pretty good bit.  I guess it was on the upper end of the 1-5 minutes per eruption.  

I debated about hanging around to see the next eruption but it wasn't for awhile according to the board in front of the visitor center. 

I walked around for a bit while I was trying to decide and got this cool photo of one of the other geysers in the area.  I don't know which one it is though.  

The birder in me (very amateur as we all know) was happy to see a heron soaring over the forest near Old Faithful.  I didn't see a ton of birds and the few pictures I tried to get are a little on the shitty side.  Especially the one mountain bluebird I saw.  lol  I'm still going to post them though.  

Well, I decided not to wait around because I wanted to visit Biscuit Basin and, hopefully, go on a little easy hike.  Which I did.  And the videos?  They're a little hilarious.  lol  But that's going to be in the next post. 

So first, it's Biscuit Basin!  

With sleeping bison right in the parking lot!! Well, just beside the parking lot anyway.  Like within 10 yards!  I cropped the bottom of this photo right at the asphalt line.  So cool!

So, so very cool to see these huge creatures up close!  

It was so amazing to be in such a beautiful place on such a beautiful morning!  Words cannot even describe honestly.  But pictures can!

Black Opal Pool and Black Diamond Pool

Golden ground!  I swear the terraced ground around the springs and geysers looked like real gold in the morning light.  So gorgeous!

Sapphire Pool with stunning gold and green runoff

Sapphire Pool with it's aqua to azure depths.  So clear and gorgeous!  There are random bubbles in there too...see if you can spot them.  

Jewel Geyser

Shell Geyser (closeup) - You can see the clamshell appearance of the sinter surrounding the opening which gives this geyser it's name. 

Silver Globe Cave Geyser

After walking the loop at Biscuit Basin, I decided that I did, indeed, want to try the little hike from the Artemesia Trailhead to Morning Glory Pool.  

Since I am more than a little out of shape and the altitude at the trailhead is approximately 7,300'  compared to the 80' where I live, I was slightly apprehensive.  But I love walking in the outdoors and would never forgive myself if I came to Yellowstone and DIDN'T try to hike.  

So I decided to go for it.  I mean, I could always turn around, right?

This is the hike which is about .9 miles each way from trailhead to Morning Glory.  You can keep going all the way to Old Faithful and even farther!  I hope to do that next time.  :)  So each way was probably about 1.25 from the parking lot of Biscuit Basin where I left my car. 

But that adventure is deserving of it's own post.  :)  Which shall be up MUCH sooner than this one was.  haha  See you soon!

xoxo

Nikon D600 with Nikkor 28-300 & Nikon D7200 with Sigma Contemporary 150-600

Yellowstone! Gorgeous Geysers at Black Sand Basin and Bison! May 18, 2021

 While Grand Teton National Park was amazing beyond my wildest expectation, I was finally in Yellowstone!  I hadn't been since I was a child and don't really have many memories of it.  I've ALWAYS wanted to go back.  And I finally made it!

But before we get into that, be sure to check out my previous entries documenting the beauty and must see places in Grand Teton National Park!  

Click on the links below for easy access:

The Gorgeous Views of Jackson Hole and the Grand Tetons with Elk Herd Cameos!

Jenny Lake and Foxes and Bears!

Wild West, Abandoned Cabins, and Bison!

Mormon Row - Beautiful Barns and Pronghorn Antelope!

National Museum of Wildlife Art - Amazing Sculptures in a Glorious Outdoor Setting!

Colter Bay at Grand Teton National Park & Snow! South Entrance of Yellowstone to Black Sand Basin!

As I mentioned in my previous posts, my anxieties were in my head a bit and I was worrying a lot about my reservation at Madison campground being messed up and whether not not I had a space reserved for that night (the confirmation email only said night of the 19th).  

So I was kind of rushing through southern Yellowstone and telling myself not to make any more stops in case the campground wasn't staffed when I got there and I had no space.  My fears weren't completely out of left field because of the confirmation email and also because when I had arrived at Jenny Lake the night before, the staff had gone and it was about the same time.  

But when I saw the steam rising from Black Sand Basin, I truly couldn't resist and turned right in.  

I was so glad I did!

Not only to get out of my car and see these crazy amazing geological features, but also because the first thing I saw when I got out of my car was a bison sleeping in the trees!  My first Yellowstone bison!  And it seemed so close!  But in actuality, I was far enough away that I couldn't get a great picture.  haha

And then it was time to explore the basin.  It was so beautiful!  Truly the blue sky, the fluffy clouds, along with the amazing features on the ground are too much for words to describe. I made a little video so you can feel what it was like from the moment I got out of the car.  The audio is from the Yellowstone Sound Library and is Black Sand Pool. 

It really sounded pretty much like that!  In fact, there is some of my own audio in the video, but I can't stand hearing myself breathe and talk in these so I cut most of it out. haha  I need to quit talking so much.  lol 

It was so gorgeous that of course I had to take a bunch of photos too.  

Here are a couple maps of the area:

This is Spouter Geyser which is also in the video. 

And this is the Cliff Geyser!  This round pool on the edge of Iron Spring Creek - forming a "cliff" over the water (hence the name) - fills with boiling water and then...

...it erupts! I think it can get as high as 40 feet, but this was obviously one of the more minor eruptions. 

I'm sorry that I can't remember exactly what each of these are named exactly, but I'm going to take my best guess.  I believe this is the Opalescent pool.  

I took this close up of the lovely gold runoff!  It doesn't do it justice as to how it looked like liquid gold shimmering in the sunlight. 

Rainbow Pool

And/Or Sunset Lake

Another close up shot of gorgeous, misty blue and pink runoff.

Here is a very short video of Sunset Lake and Rainbow Pool:

This is another view of Cliff Geyser!  This time with a bigger eruption and more of Iron Spring Creek.

So cool. 

So much fun to walk along the windy boardwalk and watch and listen as the water churns, boils, and steams!  I considered stopping at Midway Geyser basin, but my feet were a little bit sore and I was a little bit tired so I decided to press on, not knowing how long it might take me to get to Madison. 

I did get this amazing shot of Grand Prismatic Spring boardwalk with the steam rising around the lines of people. I absolutely love this dramatic black and white edit!

Here is a version in color in case you prefer.  :-)  

The bright water in front is runoff into Iron Spring Creek.  

Along the way, I had a wonderful encounter with a lone bison.  I say lone, but he wasn't lonely as he was covered with little birdies!

After this amazing encounter, I made it to Madison Campground, were I confirmed that I had a wonderful camp site for both nights!  I went and got settled in, pitched my tent, etc., and then decided that I was going to head back out since there were a few hours of daylight left.

But, when I got to the main road in the campground, my plans were derailed by an entire herd of bison blocking the road and coming through in droves!  There were at least 20 bison and as I pulled up, one was butted by another one and stumbled down the small embankment! 

As I saw this, I put my car in park and grabbed a phone and started filming!  It was soooo cool!  Then I went back to my campsite and warned a few people that I saw out and about that there was a herd of bison coming through.  Some people who had the bison come straight through their sites had to grab children and dash into tents and RVs.  It was wild!

I put together a little video of my bison encounters - including a very short clip of two bison play fighting!  Wow!  Hope you enjoy!

See ya next post when I see even more bison, visit Grand Prismatic, and hike to Morning Glory Pool!

xoxo

Nikon D600 with Nikor 28-300 lens & Nikon D7200 with Sigma Contemporary 150-600 lens

Videos by LG V40 ThinQ & Google Pixel 3