Three Seasons In Yellowstone National Park - The Winter

Mammoth Hotspring

'It had snowed and most of the southern routes in the park were closed. My friend accidentally drove our car into an unpaved, wet mountain trail hardly wide enough for a car. I was pukish, dazed, scared out of my wits. My anxious stare fixed itself straight ahead, hoping against hope that the bad stretch would end and the road would widen but to my utter dismay, the road kept getting steeper, narrower, and wetter. I found my pulse racing as the trail reached a sudden dead end. A snow track meant for snowmobiles lay ahead of us with a big warning sign, 'Do not loiter, wild animals around'. A black bear instantly paid a visit to my already terrified thoughts and before I could voice it aloud, I noticed my friend attempting to take a three-point turn. 'Jeez, is he out of his mind? There's not enough room?, horrified, I blurted out, 'STOP!! I want to walk back. I was late by seconds, he had already made the move. Stupefied, I surveyed the mountain on one side and the deep canyon on the other while my nervous hands clutched onto his jacket, my eyes wide open and my last breath stuck in my throat. A teeny weeny mistake and we might never be found. There was a slight skid on the snowy sludge and I went blank. Surprisingly, my friend remained calm and composed. He seemed to be in absolute control of the car, he had no choice but to be and I am grateful he was. I was a nervous wreck :P The next many minutes were one of the longest and scariest in my life. Miraculously, his remarkable display of sangfroid brought us back to safe ground.' 

One of my favorite places on earth is Yellowstone National Park. Seated on the Yellowstone caldera, the largest active supervolcano of North America, it is the first national park in the USA and one of the first in the world. It had been a silly wish of mine to enter the park through all its five gates. I could manage three gates in three seasons so far. My first visit to the park was in late February when only the North gate through Gardiner, Montana is kept open. 

We traveled by road from Fargo, North Dakota, via Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, North Dakota, and Billings, Montana, and returned via Mount Rushmore and the Badlands National Park, South Dakota. It was a 17-hour drive from Fargo to Gardiner including the breaks at Billings and Theodore National Park. Of the five-day vacation, we stayed three days in Gardiner and one day in Rapid City, South Dakota on our way back.

The Majestic Rockies

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

The Roosevelt Gate, North Entrance to Yellowstone

The green section of the road is open all year round and the only section accessible in winter. Parts of the other roads are open only to Snowmobiles and Snow vehicles.

Elk, Big horn sheep, and the Pronghorn

A Mule doe, a Bison herd, and a Bison

The winter visit meant lots of animals, probably because there were fewer visitors compared to summer and autumn or maybe we just got lucky. We saw a black bear, a red fox, a bald eagle from a distance, and herds of bison, elks, pronghorns, mule deer, big horn sheep, and also black-billed magpies. 

One of the major attractions of the park is the Mammoth Hot Springs on Travertine Hill. It is one of the largest complexes of hot springs. The white, orange, red, and green formations with bubbling steam are one of nature's magnificent wonders.

Travertine terrace with orange-yellow sulphur melts

The Mammoth Terrace is the world's largest calcium carbonate-depositing spring

From the park, we drove down to Cooke City, a small town of barely 10 families. This town can be accessed, only through Yellowstone's north-east gate all year round and between May and October from the east through Beartooth highway, which is considered one of the most scenic routes in the US. Beartooth Pass remains open for only 5 months a year because of its high elevation and snow blocks. It is the only route to enter Yellowstone through the North-east gate.

Lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta var. latifalia - these pines are twisted in other parts, hence the nomenclature 'contorta' but the rocky mountain variety grows straight) make up 80% of the canopy in Yellowstone. Interesting article on why the forest fires are important in the park: article

Scenic drives to Cooke city

       

Yellowstone River on the way from Gardiner, high sulfur content makes the water yellowish. The early French trappers who discovered the Yellowstone geothermal region, named it roche jaune (yellow rock) and hence, the name Yellowstone.

Soda Butte, an extinct geyser

Most of the park's geothermal basins and the caldera are located in the south and are accessible only after April depending on the weather and road conditions but that does not make a winter trip futile. Yellowstone is nature's treasure trove. Absolutely breathtaking. One can spend time in nature's gorgeous lap, camping, trekking, or animal sighting. There are a few lodges in the park, which should be pre-booked or one can stay in lodges in the entry port towns. We stayed in the Gardiner entry port for the north entrance. We regretted not camping. Perhaps next time. Someday I would love to come camp in an RV :)

The valleys and...

...the creeks

Three Seasons in Yellowstone National Park - Summer -  East gate >> Part 2

Three Seasons in Yellowstone National Park - Fall - South gate >> Part 3