Road Work Ahead. Be Prepared To Stop.

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Road Trip Day 28

OK, I didn't have great internet in West Yellowstone. I had to sit in the garden between my trailer style room and the owner's motor-home. I did get the blogs posted though and booked a room here in Jackson, Wyoming.

I chose Jackson, because I am going south to Denver so I needed to be headed that way. The closest option is Jackson as there is nothing between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park which adjoins it to the south.

None of this is a problem really, but it has made for a tiring day. Here's why...

Road Closed

The roads in Yellowstone are shaped much like a figure of eight with a loop north and south. I was staying to the west of the lower loop and saw most of the areas on that loop yesterday. Today, to make the most of this wonderful park I wanted to visit places on the east side, all the way up to the northern loop where I wanted to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Unfortunately the part of the south loop which would have allowed relatively easy crossing to that side was closed for the season for construction work. So, I had to retrace my steps from yesterday and make around a 100 mile detour on slow moving tourist roads to get there. I took it on the chin and tried not to get annoyed, but at times I just wanted to get going.

Anyway, enough moaning and route talk (again).

I now present Misty's Hydrothermal Awards, 2009.

Award for the Most Interesting Geyser

One thing I have definitely learned is that not all geysers are the same. They each have very different characteristics in terms of duration, frequency, size and shape of eruption.

Old Faithful is very regular and predictable, plus it shoots up in a spectacular fountain making it a perfect tourist hot spot (sorry). In many ways though, by comparison to others I have seen these last couple of days, it is quite plain.

There are short ones, loud ones, cone shaped ones, cute ones and a lot of completely unpredictable ones.

Of all the geysers I have seen though, I do have a clear favourite. Cliff Geyser at Black Sand Basin has a very different look to most as it is right next to a river, but has created it's own enclosure, sort of like a shower tray. The spout sits in the middle of the tray and at the start of it's eruption cycle the "shower tray" is empty. The geyser then burbles along and the tray slowly fills up. As it fills, the gas and steam of the geyser has more and more water in the way meaning that the eruption gets progressively larger and more impressive.

I've no idea if my description makes any sense, but trust me, Cliff Geyser is very clever and worthy of my Most Interesting Geyser award.

Biggest Hot Spring

Difficult one to contend this really, but I agree with the statistics and give Biggest Hot Spring to Prismatic Spring. It is 63 metres across, deep blue water and is surrounded by brightly coloured bacteria mats. The steam made close up photos difficult, but this long shot with folks in front gives an idea of scale.

Most Sinister Spring

Dragon's Mouth Spring in the Mud Volcano Area is almost disturbingly strange. The spring itself rises inside a cave in a hillside. This enclosure makes the water and steam literally belch out. The sound is genuinely scary and each deep bellow is accompanied by sulphurous gas and steam and an angry wave of water pushes out into the pool. Definitely the most unsettling of the many features I saw.

Most Stomach Churning Smell

I almost gave this to Sulphur Caldron which is the most Acidic Hot Spring but it's location down a slope some way from the view point means that you don't get the full effect. It's a sight to behold really, a huge pit full of yellowish, stinking, boiling acid.

However, that is only the runner up. The award goes to Black Dragon Cauldron which is simply revolting. The smell is utterly obnoxious. Also, it's very muddy as well as full of water so it looks even more primeval. Really, very unpleasant indeed. Sadly I only have video footage of the award winner and I am behind with video uploads so the winner will have to go unseen in this blog.

Second Grandest Canyon

The last award is a special category and is in special recognition of the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone". The Yellowstone River has cut down through the lurid yellow rock which makes up much of the Yellowstone Caldera. It is extremely beautiful and very much like a small version of the famed Grand Canyon. As I overheard one ranger say, "our Grand Canyon is in many ways better as you can see the other side and the river at the bottom". I think he's stretching a point, but it certainly is very beautiful and uniquely striking.

There are two huge sets of falls in the canyon as well as pinnacles formed by fumaroles (like the ones I saw at Crater Lake) and some hot springs pouring down the sides in places. I'm glad now that I drove all the way around the loop to see it.

Paved Road Ends 28 Miles

After all I had seen in Yellowstone there is still a vast amount I haven't seen. You could easily spend a week here and have bits you've not seen. Time was up though and I had to turn south and on with my journey.

I returned the way I had come until I got to the south entrance road which leads down to Jackson, Wyoming and through Grand Teton National Park. I hadn't even heard of this park until a week or so ago, but when I read about the mountains there it became a destination rather than just something to drive through.

The minor downside of this decision though turns out to be that there are major road works on the connecting road. They forewarned us of the end of the paved road which is no problem for The Beast, but the delay was around 20 minutes in a stationary queue of traffic as we waited for the "Pilot Car" to arrive and guide us through around 6 to 8 miles of construction work.

142 Miles Per Day

When I got in my rental car in Los Angeles 28 days ago I rest the trip counter. Here's what it read as I drove through Grand Teton National Park to Jackson.

There's a bit of glare on the dial and the decimal point isn't showing up, but trust me when I tell you I've driven my 2008 Dodge Charger over 4,000 miles in those 28 days.

Sneak Preview

As I've said, I drove through Grand Teton to get to my hotel. This brief sneak preview has whetted my appetite for tomorrow.

Goodnight.

View Driving Day 28 in a larger map

Stats - Day Fifty-Four

Distance travelled - 201 miles - West Yellowstone, MT to Jackson, WY via Canyon Village, Yellowstone National Park

State count - 21 + DC + B.C.

Room numbers stayed in - 203, 1, 148, 212, 205, 210, 246, 118, 3, 145, 229, 111, 207, 206, 40, 605, "Cowboy", 35, 11, 18, 262