Mimi and Maumau, Martine and DD Return! Or the Denver-Denver Loop of the 4 Friends (page 9 of 17)

Hi there! 🙂 MM: It’s true you’ll need to plan a bit more for the routes inside the park because of the construction work, but you know, for us, it was the weather that completely messed up our plans even though everything was all set!!! I see you’re doing some solid prep, so don’t worry—you’ll have the places in your head, and when the time comes, you’ll adapt if needed to make the best of it. That said, you *definitely* need to plan enough nights to be able to juggle things around!!! Gilles: I saw you didn’t have great weather either!!! I’m complaining, I’m complaining, but I’m exaggerating—we had very little rain during those three weeks!!!

Lower Geyser Basin We hit the road again. Given the color of the sky, we need to head somewhere the lack of sun will bother us the least. So, off to Madison and the Lower Geyser Basin. The road winds through the pine trees and follows the Gibbon River. We spot the fumaroles in the distance. Beryl Spring



The rain starts, and we skip Gibbon Falls, hoping it’ll have stopped by the time we come back. In the car, I grumble about this lousy weather!!! Normally, I’m the optimistic type who always sees the glass half full, but right now, I can tell you it’s completely empty!!! Mimi and the guys stay positive!! There’s nothing we can do about it anyway. Between showers, we stop for a picnic near Madison Campground.

We’re still amazed by the size of these "RVs."

Firehole Canyon Drive After Madison, we take a one-way side road that overlooks the Firehole River and the Firehole Falls Firehole Lake Drive This 5.5 km one-way road is in a less crowded area. The geysers, springs, and lakes are right next to the parking lots, and the site is really pretty. Firehole Spring Not much is left of the trees attacked by acid and heat.

We admire its bubbling. And its beautiful ochre and green hues. Then suddenly, I spot a column shooting up high in the distance. I rush to Mimi, turn her around, and cover her eyes. "Don’t look, don’t look—Old Faithful is erupting in the distance!!!" Disaster!!! - She didn’t want to see it before the big day, and there it is, shooting liters of water into the sky in the distance!!! Oh well, now that it’s here, we might as well admire it!!!! Uh... it’s way too small for Old Faithful, and anyway, where are the buildings and, most importantly, where’s the crowd?! It can’t possibly be it!!! What an idiot I am!!!!! It’s just the lovely White Dome Geyser welcoming us. This nearly 4-meter cone is one of the tallest in the park, and it erupts roughly every 30 minutes. Surprise Spring Great Fountain Geyser White Dome Geyser The rain starts again!! This time, we’ll wait for its next eruption from inside the car, up close.



We head back toward the lakes. We won’t get out of the car to photograph Hot Lake and Firehole Lake because they’re covered in steam. Young Hopeful Geyser

It’s time to head to our accommodation. We take the road back through Madison, Norris, and finally Canyon Village. We find our hotel after a bit of searching. We go in. Good grief, so many people!!! It feels almost like going through immigration when you arrive in the U.S.!!! Eventually, there are enough staff, and we get our key quickly. Our bungalow is on the edge of the forest. After dropping off our bags, we take a little stroll to the Visitor Center and the shops. We have dinner in a nice atmosphere at the Fountain Grill in the General Store: 4 burgers for $92, and we finish with a huge, delicious ice cream at the Ice Creamery (next to the cafeteria) for $20 for the four of us. Cozy in the hot water of my bathtub and under the red, dim lighting of our bathroom (perfect for relaxing), I think back on our day and everything we’ve seen!!! We covered a lot of miles, but we loved every minute. Still, it’d be nice if the sun came back!!! Today, it didn’t show its face at all, and tomorrow we’re meeting up with the Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful (the real one this time!!). The last thing we need is for the rain to turn into snow!!!!

Hello

The photos accurately reflect reality and are beautiful. It’s a bit of a shame about the weather, but you adapt really well and quickly—it’s not that easy with four people.

A lot of people often forget we’re in the mountains.

The park is located on the Yellowstone Plateau, at an average altitude of 2,400 m, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, which range from 2,700 to 3,400 m in elevation.

But judging by your gear, you weren’t caught off guard.

Hey Gilles 🙂 Ha, ha, ha, since I’m such a cold wimp, I planned for warmth and really pushed the other three to bring warm clothes too.

As for adapting, the four of us get along great, and since the others haven’t planned anything for the trip, they trust me completely and follow me blindly. See you later

At Alex (Bladkaizer)’s request—we chatted in a private message and I couldn’t send a photo in my reply—I’m posting my original Yellowstone itinerary with the weather-related tweaks. Martine🙂

Thank youuuuuuuu!😎

Thanks for your reply! Can you tell me when you booked your flight tickets? Because if I reserve the nights at Yellowstone in late May or early June, I won’t know my departure dates yet. I did a simulation, but I’m not sure if it’ll be the same in 2021!! Hope I’m not bothering you! See you soon

Hey Marimichelle 🙂 Just remember, no one will ever bother me with questions!! I’ve asked enough of them to happily answer any that come my way!!! For a departure on September 2nd, back in October we first booked our flight tickets after figuring out how many nights we’d stay, then the car, and finally the accommodations. By the end of October, everything was all set!! Keep it up!!! Martine 🙂

The red light in the bathroom is due to a heat lamp

Hi Jean Luc 🙂 Ha, ha, ha!!! In my great innocence, I thought that red light above the bathtub was for travelers to relax! Anyway, it was really nice. Martine 🙂

Day 11: September 12 – Canyon Village to West Yellowstone Yellowstone Lodge: West Yellowstone – 485 € with breakfast for 2 nights in a shared room (4 people) Just under 1 km from the city center. Perfectly located for the west entrance of the park. With a pool and jacuzzi. Excellent breakfast and adorable welcome. We were upgraded to a family suite with two well-separated bedrooms. At 7:30 AM, we leave Canyon Village. Ugh!!! It’s only 4 °C and the sky is still completely gray. Who stole the sun???? We pass the sign leading to the south shore of the river!! It’s not this morning that we’ll visit it!!! Luckily, we planned for 5 nights because it really allowed us to juggle the sites. We’re happy to see Hayden Valley again and follow the river. Look, look!!! A bison in the water!!! To our great surprise, it’s in the middle of the river, which is quite wide at this spot, and it’s swimming!!! It calmly gets out and starts walking in front of us. What’s it going to do? Cross the road and head into the forest? Nope!! It decides to take a little walk with us!!! A turn to the left

A turn to the right We’re following behind at a safe distance, waiting for the right moment to pass it. That’s Yellowstone for you!! When a bison decides to take its time, well, you take it with it!!! Otherwise, watch out for the car rental deposit!!! And besides, they’re at home here!!! His majesty finally deigns to move to the right then heads into the woods. One last look!! What a beautiful encounter!!! We continue on the road. The rain we had yesterday has painted the mountain peaks white on the other side of the lake.

As we go further, the sun comes back and the gray sky gives way to a magnificent blue!!

Quick stop at Kepler Cascade along the Firehole River. So cute with its black rocks and pine trees.

Midway Geyser Basin. It’s early in the morning, and it’s a safe bet that the Grand Prismatic will be covered in steam!! Oh well, the sun is out, and we don’t know if it’ll stay, so we’ll give it a shot!! Grand Prismatic

We leave the car in the parking lot and take the little bridge over the Firehole River and here we are on the boardwalks that let us get as close as possible. The hot water flows from the pools into the river.

We turn left and follow the large Excelsior Geyser, very deep with its pretty light blue color.

We approach the Grand Prismatic in its pine setting.

With a diameter of over 110 m and 37 m deep, it’s the largest known hot spring in the U.S., and its rainbow hues make it one of Yellowstone’s stars. Darn, just as I suspected, the difference between the water temperature in the pool (70 °C) and the air makes its surface completely covered in steam, and we can only guess at the colors that characterize it through the mist.

Still, no regrets!!! We’re in awe of the colorful flames surrounding it. The shades of ochre and russet where the water is cooler are stunning!!! The thermophilic bacteria are doing an amazing job.

If you look closely at these flames, it feels like seeing a whole network of blood vessels. These are the veins of the Grand Prismatic revealing themselves to us!! Every detail amazes us. Looking closely at the base of the rising steam, it seems the rainbow colors are still very much present!! We continue our walk on the boardwalks and finish our loop by following Turquoise Pool The wind picks up, and the surface of Turquoise Pool gets choppy while the red ring around it stands out.

and Opal Pool. There’s a lot of steam today, and it’s going to prevent us from properly appreciating the Grand Prismatic from the overlook above it. We decide to plan it for tomorrow around 1 PM, when the temperature is highest. At that time, it’ll be warmer, and we’ll have a better chance of seeing it uncovered. Alright, off to Upper Geyser Basin!!! We’ll stop along the way to see the different pools.

Wow, your photos are gorgeous! From the outside, we're thinking, "Hope we get to see them too," because if we get snow like last June, we won't see all that! You're planning 5 days in the park—does that mean 3 nights outside and 2 nights at Canyon Village? Thanks for this amazing recap!

Upper Geyser Basin We follow the Firehole River and its meanders again. Biscuit Basin It took us a little over half an hour to walk the small loop. We once again take wooden boardwalks to stroll among the geysers and colorful pools. After crossing the Firehole River, there’s almost no vegetation left in this very flat basin, except for the pine trees at the foot of the small rocky hills that frame it. A kind of dry, sparse grass struggles to grow through the light sand, the acid-burned trees, and the rocks surrounding the geysers. The area is tiny but extremely active. In bursts, the apparent calm disappears, and it starts bubbling and spraying, with the smell of sulfur returning. Steam rises from all sides. The blue of the sky stands out!!! It’s magnificent. From the start, we were spoiled by the colors of the pools, and it just keeps going!!! So many shades of blue, green!!!! Black Opal Pool Black Diamond Pool A touch of green with the water flows.



Sapphire Pool It’s said to be one of the most beautiful in the park. Its depth explains its incredible shades of blue. The water is so crystal clear you just want to dive in!! Jewel Geyser And suddenly, it erupts! Shell Geyser

Avoca Spring Dormant West Geyser Very beautiful with its resemblance to Morning Glory Pool. West Mustard East Mustard Black Pearl Geyser The small loop now finished, we pass by the stunning Sapphire Pool again.

Black Diamond Black Opal What a treat this Biscuit Basin was!!! We were absolutely dazzled!!! And the sun finally came back!!!! Okay, that’s enough!!! The day is far from over!!! We’ve got to keep going!!!

Hi Martine, I'm totally charmed by your latest photos. It's true that the sun changes everything, but if there's one thing we can't change, it's the weather.

It's funny: I feel like you guys saw more geysers, pools... than we did. There are names I don't remember reading. Looks like I'll have to go back 😉

Waiting for the Grand Prismatic from above—I hope you saw it in the sun. See you soon

Good evening, girls! 🙂

MM, I really hope you get some beautiful sunshine. With snow, it must be stunning too. We were lucky with the weather. And as Françoise said, it makes a big difference—especially for the colors—but there’s nothing we can do about it. We split our accommodations like this:

One in Cooke City (where we’d already spent nearly half a day in the park before) One in Gardiner One in Canyon Village (the only one inside the park) Two in West Yellowstone

That made for 4 and a half days in the park.

For Françoise: There were pools or geysers that didn’t have names, and I managed to find some of them by digging around online with Google Earth and blogs, comparing photos with mine!! 😕 That’s why it’s taking me so long to write this up!!!

Thanks for your sweet messages. Have a great evening! Martine 🙂

We continue on the road to Old Faithful. Black Sand Basin. We missed l’Opalescent Geyser without seeing it, which you access via a small footbridge to the right before reaching the parking lot. The short walk of barely 1 km is also accessible to everyone, but unlike Biscuit Basin, it’s not a loop. A few very active and noisy geysers, large pools of clear blue or green water surrounded by yellow-orange circles, white tree skeletons, pine trees in the background—this little basin is quite pretty too, with its water trickling into the river in colorful streams. There are very few people, it’s peaceful and serene!!! We left the Firehole River and walked along Iron Creek Spring. Spouter Geyser Streams

Cliff Geyser It starts erupting just as we pass by.



Green Spring and its rust

Emerald Pool Its rare, sublime colors enchanted us.

Come on, one more!!!! Cinnamon Spouter However, the air is still cold, and like with Grand Prismatic, it meets the hot water and creates steam that floods the large surfaces of Sunset Lake and Rainbow Pool preventing us from fully enjoying the colors, even when cheating to get a higher vantage point!!!!

Hi Martine, I was waiting for the sun to come back over Yellowstone to finally get around to checking out your trip report 😉 And I’m not disappointed—it really makes me want to go! A place with that many "pools" can’t be too bad to visit 😎

The adventures of the gang are always so fun to follow.

Wow, there are an incredible number of "pool" shots and so many beautiful photos! So yes, you’ll definitely need 5 days in the park, planning for 2 to 3 nights outside! Honestly, we’re loving your story and photos! Thanks again to you

Hi there! 🙂 Pascal, have you noticed how well-behaved we are this year?!! We're so captivated by the wonders we're discovering that we don't even think about goofing around!! MM: every site holds surprises for us!!! And when it comes to photos, it's so much easier to get great shots in places this magical. You're absolutely right to plan plenty of time on-site because several things can force you to change your plans (weather, full parking lots, roadworks, or animals on the road), and it'd be a real shame to miss out on some spots because you didn't have enough time. Martine 🙂

Old Faithful. From basin to basin, we finally arrived in the area of Yellowstone’s most popular attraction. Right away, the vibe is clear—the parking lot is packed. The guys drop us off at the visitor center door and head back out to try to find a spot. Mimi and I check the sign with the next eruption time. This sacred monster wakes up every 60 to 90 minutes with the regularity of a clock. Its jet can shoot up to 50 meters high, blasting between 14,000 and 30,000 liters of 100 °C water, and it’s supposed to go off in about twenty minutes. If the guys don’t take too long, we should be able to catch the next one before heading up to the viewpoint. After the zen vibe of Black Sand Basin, all these tourists (which we’re part of) sitting at a safe distance on and around a two-tiered wooden amphitheater almost make us dizzy. But hey, not everyone can hike for long, and the seats are a good thing for our older friends!!! Plus, the organization has to be strict to manage and contain the crowds rushing in. We scope out where the wind’s coming from so the steam clouds don’t block the jet, and we settle in. It’s all calm, just puffing away. It starts to rise.

It reaches a pretty good height.





In no time, it’s hard to tell where the jet ends, the steam begins, and where the clouds are.

I move toward the big blue sky to try to get a better view, but it’s barely any better. It’s already starting to come back down.

The show lasted less than 3 minutes. Was it the crowd? Either way, with all the theatrical setup around it, it wasn’t our favorite geyser by a long shot!!! The next eruption should happen in 1 to 1.5 hours. We’ve got time to climb up to the viewpoint on Geyser Hill for a different angle of the area. Observation Point Trail We cross the Firehole River on a small bridge and quickly reach a little trail that zigzags up a steep climb through the pine trees for about 800 meters. This little hike isn’t as easy as it looks—the trail is rocky, but taking it slow makes it doable. At the fork, we took the loop to the right to go up and came back down the other side. On the way down, it seemed like the path was wider and less steep if we’d gone up on the left side. After about thirty minutes, we reach the flat area where we wait a good while behind the log railing that overlooks the geyser and the building behind it. It’s nice in the sun, there aren’t many people, and we’re comfortable. Down below, the crowd, sparse at first, starts to gather.

After a few false alarms, the steam gets thicker. And the water column starts to rise.



Again, we’re not that impressed because it’s hard to gauge the height of the jet with the dense steam cloud swirling around it. We don’t regret climbing up to the observation point at all, and we head back down to continue our walk and discover the rest of the geothermal features around Old Faithful