The "grand canyon of Yellowstone" is what keeps people coming to Canyon Country--a deep, creamy yellow canyon carved by the Yellowstone River, direct from where it starts miles away at a placid Lake Yellowstone, before it becomes a raging force down two falls (Upper and Lower), and wends north to ultimately meet the Missouri. Other highlights are Hayden Valley, a lovely green swath full of bison this time of year, and a particularly pungent collection of hot springs.
All artists love Lower Falls, here seen from a north rim pullout. There are also lots of viewing places down near the head (brink) of the falls along a winding trail down. The south side of the canyon offers its own views, some with boardwalk steps that cling to the side of the canyon.
Yellowstone Canyon, as seen from the brink of Lower Falls. The sun that day was glorious.
A bison jam in Hayden Valley: traffic is stopped for two miles in both directions.
Bison were meandering across the road toward grazing lands along the river. They do this a lot--back and forth throughout the day.
Although it ultimately took us 40 minutes to get past the moving blockade, it was hard to get irritated at the delay...I'd rather stop for bison than for 5 0'clock traffic any day.
Two babies. The caramel-brown one is younger, a later arrival that may have trouble in the winter if it doesn't get really strong really soon.
No worries for this crowd even with cars piling up on the road. The dust cloud is from a bison rolling in a wallow.
This pair forced us to a halt by walking directly in front of our truck--and stopping! Note the size difference of the male (back) and the female (front). She looked straight at us as they paused for a bit, then they slowly moved on as if hitched together. Those two people up ahead are park employees. They show up at heavy traffic stoppages to make sure animals like bison and bears aren't harassed by photo-hungry tourists and that no one is injured; they don't do much to hurry or guide the animals along. Critters run the show in Yellowstone.
The pair paused and looked at us again near the other side of the road. Still no moving for our truck until they were completely off the pavement...with the male's butt within scritching distance through my window (no, I didn't).
The bison seemed to enjoy walk into traffic and stopping. This one held up the line for several minutes. Another stood in front of a motorhome for more than ten minutes before it decided to move on. Generally neither lane of traffic could move, because a bison is just as likely to turn around and go back as to continue the way it is facing. A little later another one stopped in the road because its right forefoot was sore...it held it up gingerly and finally limped away and paused again just a short distance from the road for another rest.
Canyon Country has its own set of hot springs and fumaroles with interesting names like Mud Volcano and Sour Spring. This is Dragon's Mouth, a wonderfully noisy and active spring that spits water through the opening in belching, steaming waves. The entire area is highly sulfurous, making a great stench as well.
Bison own the land...even along a walk that thousands of people use to reach other springs in the area. This one just hung around his wallow, chewing cud and flicking dust onto his back with his tail.
I could have been at a zoo taking his photo, except that there's no fence between us. Thank goodness for zooms.
Churning Caldron [sic], one of the many appropriately named hot springs in this area. This spring was really fun to watch--it boiled up incessantly like some soup gone mad.
Sulfur Spring, one of the world's most acidic bodies of water. It's pH is like battery acid. The gorgeous hills in the backdrop are at the edge of Yellowstone's famous caldera--volcanic crater--that extends for miles. That hill there is actually still rising and falling like an inflating and deflating balloon because of the volcanic action that continues beneath Yellowstone.
Another view of the Yellowstone River. Beyond the falls, it's generally shallow, wide, and quiet, with very few rapids.
All artists love Lower Falls, here seen from a north rim pullout. There are also lots of viewing places down near the head (brink) of the falls along a winding trail down. The south side of the canyon offers its own views, some with boardwalk steps that cling to the side of the canyon.
Yellowstone Canyon, as seen from the brink of Lower Falls. The sun that day was glorious.
A bison jam in Hayden Valley: traffic is stopped for two miles in both directions.
Bison were meandering across the road toward grazing lands along the river. They do this a lot--back and forth throughout the day.
Although it ultimately took us 40 minutes to get past the moving blockade, it was hard to get irritated at the delay...I'd rather stop for bison than for 5 0'clock traffic any day.
Two babies. The caramel-brown one is younger, a later arrival that may have trouble in the winter if it doesn't get really strong really soon.
No worries for this crowd even with cars piling up on the road. The dust cloud is from a bison rolling in a wallow.
This pair forced us to a halt by walking directly in front of our truck--and stopping! Note the size difference of the male (back) and the female (front). She looked straight at us as they paused for a bit, then they slowly moved on as if hitched together. Those two people up ahead are park employees. They show up at heavy traffic stoppages to make sure animals like bison and bears aren't harassed by photo-hungry tourists and that no one is injured; they don't do much to hurry or guide the animals along. Critters run the show in Yellowstone.
The pair paused and looked at us again near the other side of the road. Still no moving for our truck until they were completely off the pavement...with the male's butt within scritching distance through my window (no, I didn't).
The bison seemed to enjoy walk into traffic and stopping. This one held up the line for several minutes. Another stood in front of a motorhome for more than ten minutes before it decided to move on. Generally neither lane of traffic could move, because a bison is just as likely to turn around and go back as to continue the way it is facing. A little later another one stopped in the road because its right forefoot was sore...it held it up gingerly and finally limped away and paused again just a short distance from the road for another rest.
Canyon Country has its own set of hot springs and fumaroles with interesting names like Mud Volcano and Sour Spring. This is Dragon's Mouth, a wonderfully noisy and active spring that spits water through the opening in belching, steaming waves. The entire area is highly sulfurous, making a great stench as well.
Bison own the land...even along a walk that thousands of people use to reach other springs in the area. This one just hung around his wallow, chewing cud and flicking dust onto his back with his tail.
I could have been at a zoo taking his photo, except that there's no fence between us. Thank goodness for zooms.
Churning Caldron [sic], one of the many appropriately named hot springs in this area. This spring was really fun to watch--it boiled up incessantly like some soup gone mad.
Sulfur Spring, one of the world's most acidic bodies of water. It's pH is like battery acid. The gorgeous hills in the backdrop are at the edge of Yellowstone's famous caldera--volcanic crater--that extends for miles. That hill there is actually still rising and falling like an inflating and deflating balloon because of the volcanic action that continues beneath Yellowstone.
Another view of the Yellowstone River. Beyond the falls, it's generally shallow, wide, and quiet, with very few rapids.
