Nature Always Wears the Color of the Spirit

The Adventures of Mark and Sam: Part 2

Day 2//Part 2: Yellowstone East

Driving from the Tetons to Yellowstone is a very short drive; had we left straight from our lodging, it would have only taken us about 60-90 minutes. Again, we used the GyPSy guide to help us find some turn offs and stops along the way to the Grand Loop. The Grand Loop is basically a big circle that connects to all the major stop offs of the park. We started going clockwise and opted to check Old Faithful off of our list.

Old Faithful:

Surprisingly, for a Saturday, this visitor center was not obnoxiously crowded. We walked up at pretty much the perfect time as I read to arrive about 30 minutes before the projected time of the geyser to erupt. We landed a front and center spot and waited patiently. There was a ranger that answered questions and presented how geysers actually work. At pretty much the exact predicted time, Old Faithful erupted. It was a very cool experience and site to see.

After we watched the geyser, we went into the Old Faithful Inn for some lunch and then opted to walk around the premises a little longer. Our GyPSy guide had recommended climbing Upper Geyser Basin to see Old Faithful from a higher point so we decided to give it a try as we calculated there should be another eruption shortly.

As mentioned before, we were front and center for the first show….but this was by far the better view. Seeing it at that view gave it such a more grand vision and I will honestly not ever forget that moment.

Next we continued up the south west side of the Grand Loop to see Grand Prismatic and Fairy Falls. We learned that the Prismatic colors are formed based on the bacteria that is found in the hot spring. Again, we viewed it from a higher lookout point and were able to absorb all its beauty and colors. From the Prismatic overlook we took a flat hike down to Fairy Falls.

By this point we felt that we had explored the park enough for the day and started our journey to the Pahaska TeePee Resort. From the Prismatic Overlook to our lodging, it took about an hour and a half...but we were able to see some gorgeous views along our way, such as the Yellowstone Lake and Pumice Point Lookout.

Arriving at the TeePee Resort, I just prayed that there would be a hot shower for me to use--I didn’t even care about electricity at this point :). This resort was really just so so cool when we arrived. I feel like when you embark on a trip like this you cannot expect to stay in a 5 star hotel with room service and amenities. The whole point is to FEEL the whole experience...this lodging did exactly that. The lodging all looked like big wooden TeePees which was so awesome and I must add….their water pressure was the perfect temperature & pressure.

We opted to eat at the lodge (there was really not any other option) and it began down pouring. We were happy to get a seat at the bar and a nice beer to replenish our carbs from the day….until the power went completely out. We could do nothing but laugh about the situation….it turned on in about 20 minutes (or in about one slowly sipped beer). We ordered a Bison Burger & an Elk Quesadilla...both were delicious!

Total Mileage: 9.43

Total Elevation Climbed: 1431 feet

Day 3: Yellowstone East

If you ask Mark, this was his favorite day of the trip. I would definitely agree with him that this day was really just filled with everything we could have asked for. We began our day around 7 AM and headed to the east side visitor center where we found out that Huckleberry is our new favorite fruit and tastes amazing as a popcorn flavor.

On our way in along a construction ridden road, I spotted a big brown “something” up ahead. As we approached, we realized it was a Bison. What a really “woahhhhh” moment we had….just driving up the road and having a 2,000 pound animal walking alongside.

Our first few stops included Lehardy Rapids, Mud Volcanos, and the Hayden Valley. We took the North Rim Road to check out some falls views at Lookout & Inspiration Point before stopping in the Canyon Village Visitor Center to recharge a bit.

We next drove about 30 minutes up to the Lamar Valley. The Lamar Valley is where all of the Bison hang out during rutting season--which just so happened to begin around our time visiting. It was a gorgeous valley with greens as far as the eye could see and endless Bison. We pulled off at a random overlook filled with Bison down a little lower in the valley.

As we walked up to look for the Bison, we overheard people talking about a wolf in the fields as well. Sure enough, there was a lonesome black wolf hanging out in the valley. As we walked up, we saw one of the most amazing things of the trip. The wolf began walking away from the Bison area towards what we thought were 3 deer...but quickly found out were Pronghorn Antelope due to the speed that we witnessed. Pronghorn Antelope are actually the second fastest land animals, but they have much more endurance than the cheetah. We learned that they can run at speeds of up to 60 MPH. Watching this chase was honestly like watching a track event. People were cheering, adrenaline was up, and we were all patiently waiting to see how it would end. The Pronghorn ended up outrunning the wolf and escaping to safe grounds.

We continued to explore the Lamar Valley for a little longer...driving along the road and stopping to take in all of the beauty of the Bison. On our way back down the east side of the Grand Loop, we had some time left in our day so we opted to take the Mt. Washburn Trail. This was a little longer than a 6 mile hike with about a 1300 foot elevation gain resting 10,219 ft. above sea level. This hike was beautiful but honestly really difficult because of the elevation levels. This was certainly not something I was thinking about prior to the trip, however, coming from about 6 weeks living at Sea Level to 10,000+ feet above was tough on our lungs. It was worth every step and breath of the way to see the beautiful views at the top!

After the hike, we headed back to Pahaska where we ate some dinner and turned in for the night.

Total Mileage: 9.43

Total Elevation Gained: 1431 feet