Yellowstone National Park – Part Three: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

July 1, 2021 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

When we Arizonans hear “Grand Canyon,” we think of the big hole in the northern part of our state. But did you know that Yellowstone also has a Grand Canyon and it’s spectacular? In fact, the Canyon area of the national park is the second most visited area in the park, just behind Old Faithful.

Our first glimpse of the canyon was on our first day’s drive around the park. By the time we got to the south rim, we were tired and not interested in doing any kind of in-depth exploration. We took some pictures and moved on. But, we knew we had to return to do a full exploration of the north rim.

Once again, we arrived in the early morning to avoid the crowds and it was a good idea. In fact, at some overlooks we were the only people there! The early morning mist and low hanging clouds also added to the dramatic atmosphere. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is punctuated by two massive falls–upper and lower. Each fall has a trail that take you down over 500 feet to the brink of the falls. We did both.

The trails are short but steep, and the rewards are magnificent. To be able to stand atop a waterfall that is rushing downward right before your eyes is a real rush.

In addition to hiking the “brink” trails we also walked the north rim trail to the end. All along the 2 1/2 mile trail we could see into the canyon that has been carved by the Yellowstone River over millions of years. Words like “spectacular,” “magnificent,” and “incredible” are not enough to describe the grandeur of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

After we explored the canyon and strolled through the visitor center and gift shop, we headed to one more area that our guidebooks highly recommended: Artists Paint Pots. We had to wait out a hailstorm, but that just added to the mystery of this place. The Paint Pots thermal area features a one mile loop across boardwalks that pass colorful geothermal springs and mud pots, with the highlight being the boiling mud pots.

In fact, our guidebook called this feature the “giggliest” thermal feature in Yellowstone. Hopefully this video gives you a good idea of why it’s such a funny thing.

Does it feel like we’ve done a lot already? Well, we have and there’s still more to come. We’ll have another blog post coming your way soon to describe the fun things we did outside the park and to feature all the incredible animals we met during our Yellowstone travels.

Bryce Canyon National Park

June 21, 2021 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

Our nation has some incredible national parks and Bryce Canyon ranks up there as one of the most unique and naturally beautiful that we’ve visited so far. Punctuated by hoodoos, massive, beautifully-colored stone columns sculpted from thousands of years of erosion, Bryce in places reminded us of the man-madeTerra Cotta warriors we saw in China. Lined up one after the other, the fluted walls can be seen from the roadside but are best explored on foot. We did both.

First we drove the length of the park using this cool app called Just Ahead, which provides GPS-guided audio narration that plays automatically as you travel down the road. We’ve used this tool before, and it really helps provide an introduction to the park and its history.

From Rainbow Point in the south we worked our way back north stopping at ten overlooks along the way. Each viewpoint was different from the last. One included a massive stone arch; another provided sweeping views all the way to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive was a great way to get oriented to the park, and it helped us plan the next two days.

The next morning we were in the park by 6:00 a.m. in an attempt to avoid the heat and the crowds. We succeeded and were rewarded with a spectacular sunrise and cooler weather.

The premier hike in Bryce Canyon National Park is the Queens Garden/Navajo Loop Trail. The three mile walk took us through massive hoodoo “forests,” stone arches, and snaking switchbacks which provided incredible views of the landscape.

The hike culminates in the climb up Wall Street, a steep, narrow canyon which has been fortified with stones to support the trail. It’s a popular spot in the park, so we were glad to get in and out relatively early.

Even though it was very dry we found water at Mossy Cave. The short hike to small waterfall featured a large cave that is covered with icicles in the winter. No ice this time of year, however. In fact, many people were playing in the water. We skipped that.

One of the most appealing features in Bryce Canyon is the five mile shared-use path that runs from outside the park to Inspiration Point. We loaded up the bikes, hitched up the dogs, and pedaled the path through the forest and into the park to see the sights from another perspective.

Along the way we could see the canyon rim, the lodge, and other park features. The dogs really seemed to enjoy it. Mia, in fact, slept most of the way!

Bryce Canyon National Park is one not to miss, even though it’s not massive. You can probably do the park in a day or two, but don’t rush. The incredible views change with the time of day and with the weather. That’s why we hope to return during a different season to see it again.

Crater Lake National Park

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 / marniesteve / 2 Comments

Crater Lake was formed over 7,500 years ago when a large eruption caused Mount Mazama to collapse and then fill with rain and snowmelt. This was our 20th National Park visit.We took a day to explore the highlights of Crater Lake National Park and probably could have spent more time if the Visitors Centers and other amenities had not been closed due to COVID-19. The nice thing about visiting at this time is that the crowds are thin and it’s easy to get in and out of what would otherwise be crowded attractions. At some times we were the only people at the lookouts.
We entered the park from the north where we are staying for a few days. The Lake Lemolo/Crater Lake North KOA has been a great base from which to explore the area. We are about 13 miles north of the National Park and right on the shores of a nice little reservoir in the middle of the Cascades.To explore the National Park we followed the advice of Michael Joseph Oswald who wrote the book Your Guide to the National Parks and drove the Crater Lake Rim Road in a clockwise direction. This gave us the opportunity to easily pull off to the right to see many views of the beautiful lake.

Crater Lake is America’s deepest lake at 1,943 feet. At one point the mountain that created it stood at over 12,000 feet, but it collapsed after a major eruption and created the crater that became the lake. And, yes, in mid-July there is still a bit of snow along the rim.

Why is it so blue? It’s not because of its depth or mineral content. Instead, it’s because blue wavelengths are reflected back instead of being absorbed by the depths of the lake. Sunlight is able to penetrate deeply into the water and the lake’s magnificent, intense blues are due to its great depth and clarity.We drove the 33 mile rim trail and stopped at all the highlights. There are waterfalls, overlooks and sweeping views. One side road took us to the Pinnacles, unique formations of pumice spires, created by erosion along a steep-sided canyon. Some of the cones are especially tall, tapering to a sharp point. Super cool. We also did a short hike, the Castle Crest Wildflower Trail, which featured the annual display of wildflowers that inhabit the area. It was only a half-mile trail, which was fine with us injured travelers.

We are picnic-lunching every day and it’s really fun to pack our food (Lentil Ceviche on the menu today) and find the perfect place to dine. Today we found a spot right on the rim where we set out our ground cover and enjoyed the views. Steve decided it was also a good place for a photo shoot.

There’s a lot more to explore at Crater Lake had we been up to hiking and/or biking at our usual pace. Considering Steve’s broken collarbone and my ailing foot, we took it easy and appreciated the views. We did spend a little time on the trails around the campground.