Coyote

We stepped out of the car and walked on the snow.  It crackled.  It was a very distinct sound, something I never heard before.  Snow was falling again.  I looked up and let snow fall on my face.  It was pleasantly cold on my skin.  I removed my gloves and opened my palms.  Snow crystals melted as quickly as they make contact.  They say no two snow crystals are alike.  And how many are there in each snowfall?  Remarkable!   As we were driving towards Grant Village on Lake Country, a coyote loped across a meadow.  We stopped, but not long enough to see him find and catch his dinner.  What could it be?  And what must he be thinking of us and our sudden intrusion into his peaceful world? 

Wildfire

At Madison junction I noticed new growth of lodgepole pines interspersed by the eerie charred remains of their predecessors that were consumed by the wildfires of 1988.  At the time, Armageddon has fallen, eating up more than half of Yellowstone.  There were over 25,000 firefighters and thousands of soldiers were called in to help the civilian crews.  Smoke columns from the park became visible as far as 500 miles away, and ash fell over 100 miles away. 

To emphasize the immensity of the ‘88 wildfires, Dan Sholly, Chief Ranger, of Yellowstone NP noted that - “All the land features – rivers, canyons, meadows – that usually stop a forest fire’s progress were proving to be worthless. This was a barbarian of a forest fire – ruthless and unpredictable.”  He continued in saying that - “Every single one of our predictions had turned out to be wrong, as well as those of five of the top fire-behavior specialists in the world.  The problem was that no one had ever seen fire behavior like this before.  The book on projecting wildfire was seemingly being re-written by Satan himself.” 

Volcanic

Fumaroles or steam vents are the hottest hydrothermal features in the Yellowstone. They have so little water that they all flash into steam before reaching the surface.  They hiss and emit vapors rich in sulfuric acid that breaks rocks, turning it down into clay to form mud pots.  Hot springs are the most common hydrothermal features.  Due to their natural plumbing, and circulation called convection, they are prevented from erupting.  Superheated water cools as it reaches the surface, then sinks, and is replaced by hotter water from below.  Geysers on the other hand are a type of geothermal feature that erupt scalding hot water. Old Faithful is the most famous and goes up to over 100 feet.  But it is hardly the most spectacular when compared with one like Steamboat Geyser, the world’s largest.  The rangers at the park said that when Steamboat erupts, it roars like a tornado for hours and throws up a boiling plume over 380 feet, expelling over a million gallons of water.  New Zealand and Iceland are known for geysers, but nowhere are there as many as in Yellowstone.

Grizzly

Back in the car, we turned east to Roosevelt Country to visit Tower Falls.  On the way to the lookout, we passed by a sign that says our safety was not guaranteed if we went on the trail.  It means that in Yellowstone’s backcountry, man is no longer number one, and that out there, are things a lot more powerful.  Our eyes suddenly became as alert as our feet because right here, grizzly bears wander when they’re hungry.  Its powerful jaws can crack bones and one swing of its paw can cause instant decapitation.   

Old Faithful

In the morning we got up early to our first amazing experience with Old Faithful geyser.  With an average of 92 minutes interval, we were in for the predicted 7:17am eruption that may last just over 2 minutes.  It was already a few minutes past 7 o’clock and people started to gather on the platform for the show to begin.  The walkways surrounding it as well as the benches were frosted, so it’s slippery and very cold.  Mist let out from our mouths as we exhale.  Then we heard the unmistakable gurgling sound underneath, and the steady rising of water from its vent.  Within seconds water shot a hundred feet vertically up.  Our gaze followed, and for a time nothing else mattered.  Nature does that to you.