On the Road, Part III: Further explorations

With our Subaru seemingly in good order, we returned to Yellowstone on Saturday, Aug. 29 to explore further the national park. Why did the bison cross the road? To bring traffic to a halt, obviously:

Our route this day took us past the turnoff to Old Faithful and onward to Yellowstone Lake, at 7733 feet (2357 meters) the largest alpine lake in the U.S. Sand Point provided a good vantage point of the water, as well as across to the Absaroka Range:

Another great spot to take in the view was in front of the general store near the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, where we stopped to have lunch:

Fishing Bridge was once a popular destination for anglers, but fishing was stopped in the early 1970's in order to save the declining cutthroat trout population. Now it's a place to see grizzly bears in the spring when they come down to the water to look for fish. Fortunately for us no bears showed up while we were there:

Our next stop was at Mud Volcano, an active thermal area of mud and sulfur pits. Dragon's Mouth Spring has a very Chinese-sounding name; its eruptions resemble waves coming ashore:

One of several odoriferous mud pots:

Continuing our drive along the loop road, we soon came across a herd of bison grazing in the distance:

So engrossed was I in taking pictures of the beasts that I failed to notice that some members of the herd had parked themselves right next to the road:

On we drove, our next stop being the Canyon Village Visitor Education Center. The main reason for stopping there was so our daughter could earn her Junior Ranger badge. The park service has a program whereby kids are given activities to complete in order to receive a badge. Amber had picked up her activity booklet the day before at the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center and had enthusiastically set about doing all the tasks, such as going on walks, describing things she had seen and answering questions. The last remaining activity was to listen to a ranger give a presentation; here, Amber learned about some of the animals who make Yellowstone National Park their home:

Mission accomplished. Amber was very proud to receive her badge:

The highlight of our day came when we reached the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where the Yellowstone River plunges over some spectacular waterfalls as it carves its way through the canyon. From Grand Loop Road, we took South Rim Drive to Uncle Tom's Trail, where a 500-foot (152 meters) walk led to a viewpoint over the falls:

More great views were had further down the road at Artist Point:

Not content with looking at the canyon from its southern vantage point, we crossed over to the North Rim Drive and Lookout Point. Another 500-foot trail led down to the falls, to the place where Thomas Moran sketched one of his famous canyon paintings:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Falls

As it was beginning to get dark, it was time to return to town. After years in the crowded metropolises of Asia, it felt simply wonderful to be back in the open spaces of the American West once again:

On our last night in West Yellowstone, we dined on baby-back ribs at Buckaroo Bill's and took a walk through town, before retiring to our hotel room. Our stay was too brief; Yellowstone National Park is just too huge to see in only two days. We'd seen a lot (Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone), but we reluctantly had to leave out the Lamar Valley and Mammoth Hot Springs, among other sites in the park. It was time to move on:

To be continued...

On the Road, Part II: First Day in Yellowstone

With our Subaru in the shop being seen to, we rented a Chevrolet for the day and entered Yellowstone National Park (and the state of Wyoming) from its West Entrance. Yellowstone was the first national park to be established in the U.S. (in 1872, the first anywhere, actually), and is known for having the world's greatest concentration of geysers, as well as the largest high-altitude lake in the United States and, ominously, sitting atop a supervolcano that may one day cover the western U.S. in a suffocating layer of ash and plunge the rest of the world into a prolonged period of winter. For the time being, however, all that geothermal activity combines with its stunning natural scenery and diverse collection of wildlife (bison, grizzly bears, wolves etc.) to make Yellowstone a must-see for any visitor to America (and there were plenty of Chinese taking in the sights while we were there).

Going along the 142-mile (229 kilometers) scenic Grand Loop Road, it wasn't long before we encountered our first bison:

Approaching geyser country:

Old Faithful: what is there to say about Yellowstone's most iconic geyser? Spewing between 3700 to 8400 gallons (14,000-32,000 liters) of water 100-180 feet (30-55 meters) high every 35 to 120 minutes, we only had to wait about 20 minutes for the geyser to do its stuff:

While impressive, Old Faithful was eclipsed (in my opinion, anyway) by Beehive Geyser, which only erupts once a day and which we were fortunate enough to see shortly after Old Faithful had given its performance:

Taking a walk through the Upper Geyser Basin, we came across the curiously named Chinese Spring:

The clarity of many of the springs was inviting, though you would be boiled alive should you try to enter one:

Castle Geyser has been erupting for thousands of years; in comparison, Old Faithful's cone may only be a few hundred years old and still growing:

Countless eruptions of silica and other minerals have stained the ground around many of the geysers and springs:

The day was hot and sunny, and the sky was clear; it short, it was perfect. My wife might disagree with my climate assessments:

Solitary Geyser erupts every 4-8 minutes:

The view of the geyser basin from Observation Hill:

Historic Old Faithful Inn is close to...you know what. I tried to make reservations for us there, but all the hotels within the national park were booked solid for the dates we would be there:

After several hours exploring the area around Old Faithful, we got back in the car and headed back to West Yellowstone, making several stops along the way. Here, Amber checks the water temperature and is surprised to find it was warm from spring water trickling into the river:

The Midway Geyser Basin has two notable attractions. The first is the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring, with an expanse of 370 feet (113 meters):

The other is Excelsior Pool, the clear blue waters of which reminded me of a tropical beach. Only with a lot of steam:

Every hour 4000 gallons (15,142 liters) of hot water flow out of Excelsior Pool and into the Firehole River:

There were more geysers and springs to check out on the drive back to town...:

...as well as some wildlife:

Back in West Yellowstone (and in Montana), we were relieved to learn our 2007 Subaru still had some life in it, but we were warned to keep an eye on the oil level if we wanted to continue our cross-country trek. After dinner, Pamela retired to our hotel room (the sheer scale of Yellowstone exhausted her), while Amber and I took a walk through the small town, finishing the evening off with a scoop of huckleberry ice cream. Huckleberry takes many forms in Montana - in addition to ice cream, we sampled huckleberry fudge, pie, soda and taffy while we were in Big Sky country:

Back at our hotel and no doubt that we were in the West:

To be continued...

 

On the road, Part I: Bremerton to West Yellowstone, via Coeur d'Alene

We made it. After twelve days and approximately 3200 miles (5150 kilometers), we pulled into Falls Church, Virginia on Monday evening, Labor Day. My Russian class officially started the following day, though studies don't begin in earnest until tomorrow. Having first suffered through Mandarin Chinese at the Foreign Service Institute more than two years ago, people here think I'm masochistic for taking on Russian, though the choice wasn't mine (I was supposed to study Lithuanian, but the position at the embassy in Vilnius was later changed to a Russian-speaking one). The next six months are going to be brutal, but I'm determined to get through the ordeal as quickly as possible so as move on to the next post.

But back to the road. Had I the literary skills, I would write a long paragraph or two (or more) on how the lure of the open road underlies and defines the American character, but even though I've read Jack Kerouac (and not just On the Road), I don't have the ability to accurately write down how I feel. Suffice it to say, I love long road trips, provided I'm the one behind the wheel. By myself and with unlimited time on my hands, I would stop at every historical marker and roadside attraction I would come across, as I would motor down the highways and byways of this country, avoiding the interstates whenever possible. However, with a Labor Day deadline and two easily bored traveling companions, it wasn't easy combining a long drive across a continent with enough stops to relieve the tedium. For my wife, America was just too big to comprehend. For my daughter, she occupied her time in the car with an iPad, or else spent the time reading ghost stories or doing mazes, and only looking out the window when I would point something out to her. For me, however, it was a chance to see parts of the country I'd never visited, to eat at roadside diners and try local beers (after the day's driving had been completed, it should be noted), to interact with people in my native tongue along the way. I don't think Pamela ever wants to go on a drive like the one we took, but I'm more than willing to do something like this again!

We began our journey in the early morning hours of Wednesday, August 26, taking the car ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. Mt. Rainier looked majestic as the sun was coming up:

As we left Seattle behind and made our way into the interior of Washington along I-90, the air quality started to deteriorate, thanks to a number of brush fires blazing away in the drought-stricken West. The haze was noticeable as we stopped to admire the view of the Columbia River:

In the same area, Amber and I climbed up the hill to see the Wild Horses Monument:

After several hours of driving through the Eastern Washington Scablands, it was with some sense of relief when we stopped off in Spokane to stretch our legs. The hometown of Bing Crosby, the city of 210,000 (Washington's biggest after Seattle) is an oasis of cafes and culture in the desert that somehow hosted the 1974 World's Fair. The former site of the expo is now Riverfront Park, built along the Spokane Falls, a series of scenic rapids and waterfalls best viewed from the 1911 Monroe Street Bridge (the longest concrete arch in the U.S.):

America is the land of over-sized sculptures; Riverside Park has its giant Radio Flyer Wagon:

Spokane's symbol is the 1902 clocktower (151 feet/46 meters), originally part of a railway depot and now located in the center of the park:

With its fashionable downtown area, numerous bike trails and easy access to hiking and cross-country skiing trails, Spokane seems like a nice enough place to live, but we still had daylight left and headed back onto I-90 and drove on further, crossing the state line into Idaho. We ended up spending the night at a Best Western in Coeur d'Alene. 

The next day (Thursday), we continued going east on the freeway, with the smoke from the brush fires getting thicker as we drove across the Idaho spoon-handle and into Montana. It was as if we were still in China! To break up the monotony of the drive, we stopped for lunch in Missoula. Montana has changed a lot from the way I remember it when I drove through the state in 1999. Instead of cowboys and saloons, Missoula is a city of trendy cafes and vegetarian restaurants, of vintage clothing stores and shops selling Tibetan arts and crafts, of galleries and handmade chocolates, a city of young hipsters and old hipsters-at-heart. We had lunch at the cool Catalyst Cafe & Espresso Bar; I highly recommend the miso mushroom soup: 

Missoula's hipness is complemented by the historic buildings located in its downtown core:

The surrounding mountains were shrouded in smoke; the "M" on Mt. Sentinel was barely visible:

After spending time in the city center, it was back in the car and onward toward Yellowstone National Park, our ultimate destination on this day. Exiting the freeway for the drive there, we had a scare when the Check Engine light came on, the cruise control disengaged and the Subaru's engine started to shudder, followed later by the oil lamp icon blinking on and off. Which was a shame as the concerns over the car distracted our attention from the absolutely beautiful Montana countryside we were driving through; stunning, but so isolated that it would be last place you would want to have a vehicle break down in. We eventually limped into West Yellowstone, Montana and checked into the Stage Coach Inn, which would be our home for the next three nights. I would leave my car with a local mechanic the next day while we visited the geysers of Yellowstone, learning later that our engine was almost empty of oil; the mechanic was amazed we had made it that far in one piece. The Subaru would consume numerous quarts of motor oil over the following days as we made our way across the U.S.

To be continued...