Road Trip 2019: July 3, 2019
Despite its beauty, all 2.2 million acres of it, Yellowstone National Park is a Supervolcano that will potentially blow its top over the next 40,000 years. So scientist predict. The effect would be catastrophic and the ash could block out the sun for 10 years.
Early accounts of Yellowstone’s geysers, hot springs and fumaroles were often dismissed as frontier legends, but scientists now know that they are the result of a “supervolcano” located beneath the park. The system is still considered active and contains a reservoir of magma big enough fill the Grand Canyon several times over. While scientists are not concerned about an eruption occurring any time soon—the last was some 640,000 years ago—the volcano is powerful enough to potentially shroud much of the continental United States in ash.
We have spent two days in the park and have gotten a good taste for what the park has to offer. If you are a lover nature, love hiking, camping, fishing, exploring, climbing, photography, geysers and science; this is the place for you. Todd and I could easily spend a month here and still long for more.
Despite its size and as overwhelming it may look, it is not. Just driving though the park will leave you in awe. Here is how we did it. This was our two day itinerary:
Day One: Arrived at park entrance 1:00PM
- We entered the park on the North entrance, Gardiner, MT. Highly reccommend entering this way. I base my preference not only on beauty, but convenience and the stinking cute town of Gardiner. Also, its the only entrance that brings you a short couple of miles into the parks action, Mammoth Hot Springs.
- We Drove a few miles out to Mammoth Hot Springs. Restrooms, visitor center, restaurants and gasoline are available here. One thing for certain, they do not overcharge for anything in the park. The gas was a few cents higher, but understandable, once you consider the trek to get it into the park.
- Drove through the park to the East entrance/exit. Taking in wildlife and wonderful photo opportunities. There are many well marked nooks and crannies heading out of any one of the 5 exits/entrances. The dirve into Cody is most beautiful, with grand views of the Yellowstone Lake, which resembles the ocean, breathtaking. It was a bit of a hairy ride through the mountain range, but a small price to pay.
Day Two: Arrived at park entrance 9:30AM
- Photos at Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This is a must see. Whether you hike it or drive about it and take photos. This part of the park offers breathtaking views of the eroded canyon and stunning waterfalls. We chose to hike and take photos.
- We hiked the South Rim to Artist’s Point. This is a great hike for the family and rated easy at 2.6 miles.
Not a physically challenging trail, but Artists Point is one of the most spectacular natural views in the United States. Absolutely gorgeous!
- Norris Geyser Basin is a spectacular 1.6 mile loop on an elevated boardwalk. I felt as if I were walking around after the apocalypse.
- Grand Prismatic Springs located at Midway Geyser Basin was my favorite. The smell was horrible, but quite a sensation. It felt as if you were in a caldron.
- Old Faithful she was right on time! She blows approx every 90 minutes. I reccommend downloading the app for Yellowstone, it is a handy tool.
- We then returned to Cody, via the east exit.
There is no easy way to see the park, it is a park that calls out to you and guides you as you drive. DO NOT get hung up on trying to see every geyser. Pick a few that appeal to you and complete those. Take some walks and always be on the lookout for wildlife and enjoy what nature has afforded us.
Tonight we had dinner at a wonderful Mexican Restaurant named, Zapata’s in Cody. It really was wondrful and extremley reasonable. I had a lobster enchilada and Todd had some amazing beef tacos.
The night ended with an amazing electrical storm that threw out our little cabins electricity for a moment and shook the wee structure.
Thanks for following our road trip. Get out there and see America!
Tomorrow we gather our friends at Yellowstone Regional and off to another adventure!
Peace xo
Somewhere in America 