 | | Lone Star Geyser |
Mid July proved to be a wonderful time to visit Yellowstone National Park.
Flowers were blooming and the grass was green. In spite of the 7,000-foot elevations, it was warm, pushing into the ninetys.
Our first day was spent along the shores of Yellowstone Lake, photographing the
Grand Loop Road. Yellowstone Lake is a large lake sitting at the
heart of Yellowstone's volcanic cadera, surrounded by dense evergreen forests. The Grand Loop Road winds along miles of the western
shore of the lake from the Geyser Basin area to the tourist community called
Lake.
 | | Natural Bridge |
Yellowstone has one natural bridge, which can be visited by a trail near
Bridge Bay of Yellowstone Lake. Spanning just 29 feet, it was cut out by a creek flowing through cracks in the volcanic rock. A one-mile
hike takes you from the road to the bridge on a wide paved trail (which was once a road). A narrow footpath climbs up into the rocks
around the bridge for an up-close view.
 | | Lone Star Geyser Trail |
A slightly more ambitious hike leads to the Lone Star Geyser.
A 2.7-mile-hike along the Firehole River also follows a paved
trail which used to be a road. This geyser is named for the fact that it is 3 miles from the nearest large geyser (Old Faithful).
It erupts in a 3 hour cycle. Our luck didn't hold on this hike and we barely missed its eruptions both on the way in and the way
back, except for one lone picture of the tail end of an eruption (seen above). We will tell the truth here. The horseflies and mosquitoes
were alarming on this trail.
 | | Cliff Geyser |
Also new to UntraveledRoad this year is the Black Sands Geyser Basin,
a collection of hot springs and small geysers close to Old Faithful. A short walk from a turnout off Grand Loop Road accesses
these features.
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