Cross Country Trip 3: Day 6

It was a crumby morning. We started late because the weather radar was showing rain ending about 11am.  The first hour or so it was raining as we left Cody on our way to Yellowstone National Park. By the time we got to through Shoshone National Forest, it was clear and sunny so we took our rain gear off. Luckily for us, it turned out to be a beautiful day!

Cody is about 50 miles east of the eastern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We got to the park and shortly after we saw a bison laying in a field which is always cool to see. We continued along the massive Yellowstone Lake and through the park. We stopped at Fishing Bridge General Store where I knew they had a cafeteria, because I was hungry! haha. We ate quick and tried to make our day at the park efficient. It helped that I was there before and knew what we should check out.

We did the main loop from the general store by heading north on Grand Loop Road along Yellowstone River and stopping along the way. The first big stop in the direction we went was Artist Point. From Artist Point, there is a spectacular view of the Lower Falls and the canyon. The canyon is also known as the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The walls of the canyon have been carved out by erosion over the years and they’re about 1,000 feet tall.

From there, we headed to Lower Falls. There is a nice little hike down to a concrete pad right where the waterfall begins. This is a sight to see! Its is a 308 foot waterfall that pours The mist that comes up from the fall leaves the canyon covered in green on the light colored rock formations of the canyon where the water breaks. The colors of the canyon are a result of hydrothermal alteration of rhyolite and rusting of iron in the rock as well.

Once we had enough, we hiked back up. It’s a little bit of a workout, but totally worth it! We hopped back on the bikes and made our way to Grand Prismatic Spring. Along the way I saw a bison coming out of the woods into a field so we stopped to check it out and get some photos and videos. Once he disappeared back into the woods, we continued on.

Further down the road, we passed Fountain Paint Pots and stopped to check it out. This was unique. It is essentially a hot spring with little water. So, hydrogen sulfide gas is emitted from the volcanic activity below the crust and rises through the muddy clay. When this happens, it forms muddy bubbles which bulge and burst. It’s really neat to see!

From there we headed to Grand Prismatic Spring. From an aerial view, this is an amazing hot spring to see. This spring is the largest in the United States and the third largest in the world. It is about 120 feet deep, about 370 feet long, and about 160 feet wide. There are bands of colors which look like a rainbow. This phenomenon happens due to temperature gradients in the water and the bacteria that live in each temperature gradient in the water. The bulk temperature of this spring is about 160 degrees Fahrenheit!

While walking around, we noticed there was a bison right alongside the road on the way to Old Faithful.  We got the cameras ready so we could get good photos of it. Unfortunately, as we got closer, it made its way further from the road, but we were still close enough to get a really good view.

We got to Old Faithful Geyser just after seeing the bison. We must have just missed the eruption, but hey, that’s why they call it Old Faithful! It’s predicted to erupt about every 90 minutes. There are about 500 geysers in total in the park, but most of them are unpredictable. We waited until the next eruption and just hanging out. In the distance we were watching a wicked thunderstorm. By the time Old Faithful erupted, the bulk of the storm passed in the distance. We JUST missed it.  The temperature also dropped to about 45 degrees. It’s not fun riding in cold, wet conditions.  

We left the park and headed to West Yellowstone. My cousin was on a cross country trip to Seattle and she happened to be in West Yellowstone too. So, we met up with her and had dinner with her and her friend at The Buffalo. They had delicious food and it was cool to be able to meet up my cousin in the same town while both adventuring this beautiful country. We only did about 190 miles, but it was another awesome day!

More photos: Day 6 Photos