Cowing Around: Grand American Tour Day 21: Yellowstone National Park

Chilly morning at Yellowstone.

Two degree Celsius. That’s the temperature of Yellowstone in the morning of early September. I never expect to have to break out my winter jacket for this trip, but I did. It was quite a surprise. Well, it was sort of a pleasant surprise because I have not had such crisp air for a long time. The air actually smelled like tea. I guess it’s the dew in the air mixed with the fresh prairie grass in the surrounding area.

Yellowstone National Park is much bigger than any national park I’ve visited on this trip. It’s the first national park in the world, therefore is a significant in history of man’s appreciation of his environment. In another words, Yellowstone contributed to the birth of countless national parks all over the world.

Yellowstone is also a super volcano, constantly brewing water like a ever boiling tea kettle. Over 2/3 of the world’s known geysers are found here, so there was plenty of rotten eggs to smell.

Another thing that I really want to see at Yellowstone, which I haven’t got to witness much on this trip, is wildlife. Moose, bear, wolves, eagles, bison, elk….. I want them all!!! Well, there were plenty of bisons. I mean, PLENTY! Definitely not nearly as much as before when there were millions of them. These are interesting creatures. Big head with tough body, yet acts like a gentle beast. Of course, no one dares to piss one off, so when they march in the middle of the road creating miles of stuck traffic, everyone just kept it to themselves.

Otherwise, that was it. Not a whole lot of elks to be seen. The bears and wolves and moose are further north and east of the park, and all I saw was ravens instead of eagles. In this respect, I was quite disappointed, but it’s Yellowstone. It’s always good.

Also, since Yellowstone is still recovering from the fire in the late 80s, there are a lot of young trees on the slopes of the mountains. In a way, it looks like an aftermath of a disaster, but shows youth instead of age, just like the ever gushing geysers.

The last spot we wanted to check out before the sky gets dark is the Mammoth Springs. It’s a big rock with various spots of springs and mud holes, and from the pictures in the brochure, it’s like a giant fountain. Then we got there, and…. I think someone forgot to turn on the tap.

Water? Trickles of them. Most of the springs are dried up. I guess the geysers do change from time to time, and what we are seeing are just the left overs. Ouch! Seriously, someone turn on the damn tap!!!

So the night wasn’t in our favor too in terms of trying to capture some starry night photos. The clouds moved in and blanketed the sky. Oh well, I will just try to enjoy the crisp rotten egg smell in the air.