National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED - Page 18 - PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel
National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED
About This Page: This is a discussion on National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED within the Globetrotting: General Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; More great pictures!...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by patclairesmom
The buffalo are truely an awesome sight to see. We saw 2, both sitting close to the road. Has there been more fires in Yellowstone? I had thought that most of the fire evidence was from the fire in 1988.
There have been numerous fires - both natural and man made. The Park Service only controls fires that threaten man-made structures now, since fire is a natural part of the ecosystem.
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Meeting Jacques in January 1976!! My first WDW trip.
So your minivan was equipped for off-road driving?! Just kidding. (we did a lot of that in Arizona this summer too. eh, it's a rental) Aren't those buffalo interesting? They still do that - just sit by the road. My parents have some photos from our trip in 1982 where they were sitting in the road. Litearlly. Caused a bit of a traffic jam too. But made for some great pictures!!
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You're really in the right place at the right time on this trip... great weather, and the native wildlife greeting you along the way. Seems like an odd spot for him to settle for a rest. He must have known you were coming!
I think he must've heard me, because literally just before we saw him, I was complaining that we hadn't seen much wildlife!
The buffalo are truely an awesome sight to see. We saw 2, both sitting close to the road. Has there been more fires in Yellowstone? I had thought that most of the fire evidence was from the fire in 1988.
That was the big one, but I think, to be honest, there are fires every year. While we were there, there was a list of fires burning - and there was a huge one to the southeast of Yellowstone Lake. We were told it had been burning for (I think) three weeks by the time we got there. Generally, they let them burn themselves out, unless it's endangering humans/wildlife.
There have been numerous fires - both natural and man made. The Park Service only controls fires that threaten man-made structures now, since fire is a natural part of the ecosystem.
Aaaah... Terri got there first with an answer - glad to know I was right!
So your minivan was equipped for off-road driving?! Just kidding. (we did a lot of that in Arizona this summer too. eh, it's a rental) Aren't those buffalo interesting? They still do that - just sit by the road. My parents have some photos from our trip in 1982 where they were sitting in the road. Litearlly. Caused a bit of a traffic jam too. But made for some great pictures!!
Well, it seemed to do fine... I was fascinated by the buffalo - another animal I now love!
You wait - there's going to be something similar to what you described coming up over the next few days....
Friday 9 September – part three: more beautiful scenes
We found our way briefly back on to the main road, once we finished with that drive, then went to see the Petrified Tree, but it was a bit of a hike, so we just took photos from the car park area. Already, it was hot and Mark in particular was struggling, as the whole park appears to be at altitude and was leaving him pretty breathless. We were both drinking a lot, as every time we got out of the car, we felt parched.
As you can see, the car didn’t exactly emerge unscathed from our foray down the dirt road...
We carried on past Tower-Roosevelt, as sadly everything there was now closed for the season. They had only started to close things this past week, which was ironic, as the area was certainly feeling the heat today!
Our next stop was for the Calcite Springs overlook and this was just stunning. The water beneath us was such beautiful colours.
We stopped again a little further down the road at the Tower Falls Overlook. It was getting very hard to move very far, very fast, as either we’d see stunning scenery and stop to view it or we’d spot another overlook and get out to explore. As you can see, this one had a few more facilities....
On the way down to Canyon Village, we stopped in this valley, which according to the sign is the preserve of bears. Thankfully, we didn’t see any, but I think Mark was a bit disappointed by that. Me? I was perfectly happy with my bear up a tree sighting in Alaska
Next: this just gives me something else to worry about!
So many different kinds of scenery in the area! I'm impressed with how much you can see from the roads and overlooks and without hiking a trail. Too bad some areas were already closed, but I guess you trade that for the lower crowd levels.
So many different kinds of scenery in the area! I'm impressed with how much you can see from the roads and overlooks and without hiking a trail. Too bad some areas were already closed, but I guess you trade that for the lower crowd levels.
I was delighted with how much we could see with very little effort. I'm sure if you make the effort, the scenery is even more stunning, but we just didn't have the energy. And you're right about the lower crowd levels being a trade-off. I would hate to visit Yellowstone in the peak season.
Friday 9 September – part four: this just gives me something else to worry about!
We drove up Mount Washburn, with the scenery changing as we climbed up...
Another stopping point showed us the heart of the caldera, where the massive eruption took place millions of years ago. We would be learning more about this in a moment...
We headed into Canyon Village and to their Visitor Centre.
In here, you learnt all about Yellowstone’s history with both volcanoes and earthquakes. As I said to Mark, I’m not sure this is something I should see – it just gives me another thing to worry about... It was fascinating reading and I really enjoyed the video about all the studying that they do here to predict earthquakes and eruptions. I bet this is one amazing place to study!
We drove over to Canyon Lodge, looking for something to eat, as it was nearly 2:00pm already. We looked at the cafeteria, but there wasn’t much on the menu for me. We tried the deli next door, but again, nothing grabbed me. Finally, we looked at the menu for the dining room and that looked good to me.
In we went and what a beautiful setting this was:
We both ended up going for the soup and salad buffet, where you could have as much as you like of either. It was very good and just what we needed to keep us going, as after all, our dinner would be in five hours’ time!
We headed out through the gift shop, where I found a T-shirt I liked. If I thought I was getting away lightly, I was wrong. I spotted a Christmas ornament for $5, so had to have that as well, then Mark informed me that there was a Yellowstone 12x12 scrapbook. Ok, then – sold! I also found some stickers and a die-cut, but as I spent over $50, at least I got a reusable bag free of charge...
All full again, we hit the road for the best section of today’s trip. We set off on the North Rim Drive, visiting the various lookout points on the way. They all offered stunning views of the Yellowstone River, hurtling on its high speed journey far below us. It was amazing to hear its roar, often way before you could actually see anything. We started at Lookout Point...
Next: I like seeing animals, but not that close! :
About This Page: This is a discussion on National parks, natural beauty and a bit of Disney wonder! COMPLETED within the Globetrotting: General Trip Reports, part of the PassPorter Community - Boards & Forums on Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel; More great pictures!...
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Just kidding. (we did a lot of that in Arizona this summer too. 
eh, it's a rental) Aren't those buffalo interesting? They still do that - just sit by the road. My parents have some photos from our trip in 1982 where they were sitting in the road. Litearlly. Caused a bit of a traffic jam too. But made for some great pictures!! 
I was fascinated by the buffalo - another animal I now love! 
Thankfully, we didn’t see any, but I think Mark was a bit disappointed by that. Me? I was perfectly happy with my bear up a tree sighting in Alaska 
And you're right about the lower crowd levels being a trade-off. I would hate to visit Yellowstone in the peak season. 
We looked at the cafeteria, but there wasn’t much on the menu for me. We tried the deli next door, but again, nothing grabbed me. Finally, we looked at the menu for the dining room and that looked good to me. 
I spotted a Christmas ornament for $5, so had to have that as well, then Mark informed me that there was a Yellowstone 12x12 scrapbook. Ok, then – sold! 
: 
me and my family at katie's sweet 16
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