FUN-travel: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone Safari – Day 4
May 27, 2018 by Susan Clarke
Today’s Animal Adventure…Up Close & Personal!
Mammoth Hot Springs
- 1st sighting – Moose & calf…
…feasting on fresh green…
…really tall willows.
- Rest of the Day– RFOD…
…Really Far Off & Distant…
…can’t even begin…
…to get near these critters!
- 2nd sighting –thru the Lamar Valley…
…Wylie Coyote…
…slinking across the lower valley slopes.
- 3rd sighting – herd of bison…
…& “red doggies”…newborn calves.
- 4th sighting – Gray Wolf pack…
…w/den of 6 black pups…
…roaming high on the ridge.
FUN-fact – Dead center of picture is gray wolf, then go up to 11:30 to see the black pup & continue up to top at 12:30 to see 2nd wolf walking down. (sorry it’s so blurry!)
Bison & Red Doggies Relaxing
Old Faithful
- Mammoth Hot Springs – so different from other thermal areas…
…because limestone is relatively soft rock…
…& allows travertine formations to grow much faster…
….than other sinter formations…
…best described as looking like a cave…
…turned inside out.
- Grand Prismatic Hot Spring – Old Faithful may be more famous…
…but the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring…
…is the most photographed…
….thermal feature in Yellowstone…
…& that’s because of its…
…crazy-bright colors & enormous size.
Not so FF – the trail that overlooks the hot spring was closed…& on top of that…
…we got pummeled with hail on the path leading to it!
What We Didn’t Get to See!
- Old Faithful – named for its frequent and somewhat predictable eruptions.
- Late afternoon… ended up back in Jackson… where we started
On Path to Grand Prismatic Hot Spring
FUN-fact – Not only is Yellowstone one of the largest active volcanoes on earth, it is also home to over 10,000 hydrothermal areas (hot springs, mud pots, & fumaroles) & includes more than 300 active geysers.