VanNice Travels: September 2015

MORNING ON THE MADISON RIVER

Me photographing photographers photographing elk! Hee-hee!

Majestic five-point Rocky Mountain Elk.

SULPHUR CALDRON

Oh my, didn't stay long... imagine the smell of "rotten eggs" as you look at these photos of Sulphur Caldron!

Sulphur Caldron has a pH of 1-2 which is about as acidic as car battery acid!

ARTISTS' PAINTPOTS

MUD VOLCANO

In 1870 explorers stood in awe as Mud Volcano spewed mud into the treetops, shaking the ground with each eruption. Two years later it was a pool of bubbling, muddy water. Mud Volcano had blown itself apart!

DRAGON'S MOUTH

Buffalo tree.

LAKE YELLOWSTONE HOTEL

The next time I visit Yellowstone I think I'll stay here! It's off the beaten path, has amazing views of Lake Yellowstone, and I could definitely relax in a big easy chair in the solarium!

Lake Yellowstone Hotel was built in 1891 but re-designed and expanded by Robert Reamer, architect of Old Faithful Inn, in 1903. He added the Ionic Portico seen here.

This buffalo was so busy grazing at the hotel that he didn't even lift his head!

One of three portico windows stacked one above the other.

View of Lake Yellowstone from the hotel.

Island not far offshore, also viewed from Lake Yellowstone Hotel.

GULL POINT DRIVE

We took Gull Point Drive to see the hotel from across Lake Yellowstone.

Hot springs on the edge of the lake.

Another hot spot!

VIEWS OF LAKE YELLOWSTONE

A buffalo at lake's edge; it seemed unlikely to find a buffalo here after seeing so many out on the grasslands of Yellowstone.

View from Lake Yellowstone Visitor Center.

Beach...

Buffalo traffic jam - we saw lots of these while in Yellowstone!

FIRE HOLE LAKE DRIVE

Surprise, buffalo tracks!

And we arrived just in time to enjoy the show! Great Fountain Geyser is the only predictable geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin, erupting every 9 to 15 hours.

Starting to boil...

and steam...

Hearty Harebell wildflower blooming very near geyser pool.

First a trickle...

More...

And now a waterfall!

Billowing steam went so high into the sky I couldn't photograph the top and the geyser hole below. This geyser's maximum height ranges from 75 feet to over 220 feet. A geyser enthusiast sitting next to us estimated it was 125 feet the day we watched.

We watched this amazing geyser from a viewing platform with people from all over the world. The eruption lasted about an hour. It was so interesting to watch the gradual transformation as each circular pool filled with water until the final explosion and then the recession. I think we enjoyed it more than Old Faithful!

WEST THUMB GEYSER BASIN