Wednesday, September 18, 2013

West Trip....Day 5

According to Kathy, the only thing better than a cup of coffee is two cups of coffee!
 
The Grand Teton Mountain Range
 
Today we will take in some vistas of the Grand Teton Mountains as we make our way north to Yellowstone.
The Tetons are part of the Rocky Mountain Range. They are quite different from most other national parks in this country having sharp, jagged peaks that resemble mountains in Switzerland.
 
I could have done two posts on this day but I'll try to cram it all into one.  We had so much to see on this day that by the end of the day we were two hours behind schedule.
 
 What makes these mountains so unique from others is they rise straight up from the valley floor. There are no foothills so this creates a stark contrast from flat land to striking peaks.
 
 
The tallest and most recognizable mountain in the range is Grand Teton. This peak is 13,770 feet. Mount Owen to the right is the second highest at 12,928 feet. Middle Teton to the left is 12,804 feet and South Teton on the far left is 12,514.
 
 The Teton Glacier is tucked in between the peaks of Grand Teton, Mount Owen and Teewinot Mountain know as the Cathedral Group.
 

Middle Teton and the Black Dike.

 
 
 
 
Jenny Lake lays at the base of the main Teton peaks. Jenny Lake is one of seven lakes in the park and the beautiful blue color comes from melting glaciers.

 
 
Mount Moran from Jenny Lake elevation 12,605.

Jackson Lake
 
Now we are entering Yellowstone. Yellowstone gained it's National Park status on March 1, 1872 making it the first and oldest park in the US and covers 3,400 square miles.
Since we are only here for one day we can only hit a few of the highlights in this area. Unfortunately for me I could spend a week here!

 We entered Yellowstone at the south entrance at an elevation of 6,886 feet. The road follows the scenic Lewis River and Canyon which is still showing forest fire damage from 1988.
 
 
Duck Lake in foreground and Yellowstone Lake in the background.

No visit to Yellowstone is complete without seeing Old Faithful Geyser but unfortunately rain was moving in leaving a cloudy background which makes the geyser hard to see.

 Yellowstone's iconic geyser shoots up to 180 feet in the air releasing steam that is 350 degrees. The amount of water discharged from Old Faithful ranges from 3,700 to 8,400 gallons depending on the duration of the eruption.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is an amazing, must see feature in the park. It is roughly 20 miles long, depth 800 to 1200 feet, width is 1500 to 4000. The canyon was formed by erosion rather than by glaciation.
 
 Iron and Oxides in the rocks have painted the canyon various shades of yellow, orange and red.
 
Lower Falls
 Lower Falls is one of hundreds of waterfalls in Yellowstone. I love waterfalls and hiking and that is why I could spend a week here. There's so much to see you can't do it justice in one day.
 

 
 After the canyon we entered a part of Yellowstone with rolling hills and wide open views and occasionally a wildlife sighting.
Mostly bison but we also saw elk, pronghorn, and bear.
 
 
 
 Our last stop in Yellowstone is the Mammoth Hot Springs. Our time is very limited here because somewhere during the course of the day we got two hours behind our schedule.
 Hot water bubbling up from the ground, has formed terraces and covered them with calcium carbonate. The water travels underground from the Norris Geyser Basin by a fault line that runs through limestone. The superhot water has cooled to about 170 degrees before surfacing here at Mammoth Hot Springs.
 
The landscape looks like you are on another planet.
 
 
 
 
 
"For The Benefit And Enjoyment Of The People"
This is the arch at the northern entrance/exit. It was dedicated when Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone. I certainly did enjoy it and it is on my bucket list to do an extended trip to this area.
 
As soon as we exited Yellowstone we arrived in Gardiner Montana and this is where we spent the night.
Up next Montana.....Big Sky Country
 

13 comments:

  1. Pearl, This post is awesome. I like all the information you give. Makes so I don't have to research everything. I can't tell you how often I go through my pictures. So hard to pick out photos for a book. I was trying to keep it at 400 photos. Traveling 5,700 miles, that's hard. Already can't wait for your next post. You do such a wonderful job.

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    1. You should do this trip blogging Carolyn. You would have more time than I do!

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  2. Great photos.... We were there a year ago--and there were wildfires all around, making it very hard to see the Tetons... We spent 6 days in Yellowstone/Tetons --and could have stayed longer. We did however see ALOT (everything you saw plus much more)---and I think we saw 20 waterfalls there...Did lots of hiking and saw so much. Yellowstone is my favorite place I have EVER visited... We want to go back especially to see the Tetons when it is CLEAR.....

    Thanks for your photos.. Brought back so many memories.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. I really wish we would have had more time in Yellowstone. I would love to see all the waterfalls.

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  3. Such beautiful photo's!! I especially like Lake Jenny with the mountains behind. Such beauty! I have never heard of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone before, interesting... and breath taking!

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    1. Lake Jenny was so beautiful. I don't think I had ever heard of the Grand Canyon in Yellowstone before either.

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  4. I never, ever tire of looking at pictures like that. I've been all over the US and Canada and still think the Tetons are the prettiest mountains I've seen. We've been to Yellowstone/Tetons 3 or 4 times and I would love to go back again. After Alaska, that is probably my favorite place in the USA to visit.

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    1. According to your blog it looks like you have done a lot of traveling. Hope to do that someday!

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  5. Your pictures are fabulous! I enjoyed looking at them all. We were out there in the 70's and then the 90's and just loved it. The last time we had spent the whole day in Yellowstone but as we left we went the way you came in. The Tetons didn't make our list to visit but we saw them in the distance. I do want to go back there.
    Thank-you for visiting my blog, Liz

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    1. Thanks Liz.....I really enjoy your blog. I'm a huge fan of flowers!

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  6. Your pictures are fabulous! I enjoyed looking at them all. We were out there in the 70's and then the 90's and just loved it. The last time we had spent the whole day in Yellowstone but as we left we went the way you came in. The Tetons didn't make our list to visit but we saw them in the distance. I do want to go back there.
    Thank-you for visiting my blog, Liz

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  7. Hello from Michigan. ALL your photos are Most Wonderful, and Gorgeous...I love Our NP and seeing all your beautiful photos reminded me of trip out there last year.. Your photos turned out much nicer than mine... VBg Hugs Judy

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    1. Thank You Judy. I'm sure your photos were beautiful!

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