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| Mammoth Hotspring |
'It had snowed and most of the southern routes in the park were close. 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 snow mobile 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? Theres 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 on to his jacket, my eyes wide open and the 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 super volcano of North America, it is the first national park in 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 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 hrs 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.
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| The Majestic Rockies |
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
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| The Roosevelt Gate, North Entrance to Yellowstone |
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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 Snow mobiles and Snow vehicles.
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| Elk, Big horn sheep and the Pronghorn |
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| A Mule doe, Bison herd and a Bison |
The winter visit meant lots of animals, probably because there were fewer visitors compared to summer and autumn or may be we just got lucky. We saw a black bear, a red fox, a bald eagle from a distance and herds of bisons, 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, green formations with bubbling steam is one of nature's magnificent wonders.
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| Travertine terrace with orange yellow sulphur melts |
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| 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 north-east gate all year round and between may-october from the east through Beartooth highway, which is considered as one of the most scenic routes of 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.
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| 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 |
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| Scenic drives to Cooke city |
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| Yellowstone river on the way from Gardiner, high sulphur content makes the water yellowish. The early french trappers who discovered yellowstone geothermal region, named it roche jaune (yellow rock) and hence, the name yellowstone. |
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| Soda Butte, an extinct geyser |
Most of the parks geothermal basins and the caldera are located in the south which are accessible only after april depending on the weather and road conditions but that does not make a winter trip futile. Yellowstone is a natures 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 Gardiner entry port for the north entrance. We regretted not camping. Perhaps next time. Someday I would love to come camp in a RV :)
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| The valleys and... |
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...the creeks
Three seasons in Yellowstone National Park - Summer - East gate >> Part 2
Three seasons in Yellowstone National Park - Fall - South gate >> Part 3
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