quest for the west, adventures by disney, 8/25/09 - 8/31/09

Re: quest for the west, 8/27/09, day 3, jenny lake to yellowstone

arrived at the old faithful snow lodge, built in 1999, still national park style, no air conditioning in the rooms, no phone, no tv, there was a little electronic withdrawal going on in the group

435, 436, 437, 438, all inside the snow lodge

440. across the way towards the old faithful inn, the original yellowstone lodging option

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

a couple inside the old faithful inn, i'll have more from there the next day's thread, some tourists have been overheard remarking " oh it's just like wilderness lodge" no people, this is the original, wilderness lodge is a carefully themed representation of the great park lodges and railroad inns

456, 457, 458, 459

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

and we close out our day with an evening eruption of old faithful, now since the 85 earthquake, not so faithful, now every 92 minutes, +- 10 minutes

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

craig, it actually doesn't matter which side of the bars, i did a long stretch on the installment plan, 8 hrs at a time, and no the famed hat did not make the trip, it's actually not practical in strong sunlight and constant wind, that wind is why i'm not wearing my usual straw hat in many photos

so here's a series of morning eruption of old faithful, it's actually not the largest, nor the loudest of the geysers, it's timing is what has given it all the adorations and made it a national park symbol

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

so it's a full day of geysers and other geothermals, at 0915 we were led by erika, a naturalist guide, for a narrated walk around the old faithful geyser basin, and just as an aside, we were blessed with phenomenal luck for weather, about 5 minutes of rain the whole trip

493 the firehole river, winding it's way through the basin

498 old faithfull in from the boardwalk elevation

501 another hotspring

503 the firehole again, we'll see it a few more times

505 looking across the basin area, it's circled by a loop boardwalk, which is where we are taking these all from


[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

508 anemone geyser, they have named a lot of them, and right about here i realized i ought to photo the signs so labeling this production would be easier

506, 507 the geyser

513, a lot of them have these little mini eruptions, or of the constant bubbling variety, height of eruption requires an underground restriction in the plumbing so pressure builds up, then vents through the outlet

516 the overflow runs across the ground, making the mineral deposits and cones, etc



[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

518, 524 i guess i like to photograph steam vents, i took enough of these shots

525, 527 some more of the colorful thermo bacteria and runoff

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

528 beehive geyser

529 and there's why

531 and there's why you stay on the boardwalk, that thin crust, if that gives way and you fall in, instant 3rd and 4th degree burns, probably dead from scalding in seconds, not a pretty, the boardwalk is laid on cross pieces, not on anything driven into the subsurface

532 some more colorful bubbly goodness

533 out across the river again


[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

everywhere you look is active geothermal, so i'm just going to let this set speak for itself

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

543 trees die from the heavy minerals and other toxins in the runoffs

the next 4 are more hot springs with bacterial coloration



[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

552, 553, 554 tardy geyser

555, 556 spasmodic geyser, very accurate naming




[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

560, 561, 563 scalloped spring

567 riverbank



[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

569 the firehole river, i don't usually stand up and scream, hey that's my photo, but this is one i will put out anywhere for public view, i like this photo

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

572 hotspring

573, 574, 576, 577, 587, 580, all views of castle geyser, here's where we got very lucky, it goes off every 12 - 15 hours, not as closely predictable as faithful, but is larger, more volume, has a more distinct vent and lasts 25 - 40 minutes



[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

at this point i'm still shooting hot springs and geysers, there is so much variation, and so many different angles, colors, etc, it's the closest environment i've seen to disney as far as being target rich for photography

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

last post this evening, i'll try to finish this day by wednesday, as i head to loudon, nh for the sprint race. so days 5 & 6 will probably have to wait for next week

597, 601, ; it's now mid afternoon, we are riding the bus up to the fountain paintpot are, here's some bacteria flavored hot spring runoff into the firehole

603, 605, 606 a really large hot spring, biggest i've ever seen

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

so now we are off the bus at the fountain paint pot area,

635, 636, silex spring

633, 639, 641, 643, fountain paint pots



[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

652, 653, spasm geyser, apparently having a less painful day, no spasms while i was there

648, 647, volcanic tableland, the name for this terrain

644, 645, a fumarole, difference from a geyser? ; pressure and height of eruption

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]

 

654, 655, 657, 659, clepsydra geyser, i thought this one was really pretty and it was erupting, ; so another lucky moment

661, one of the restored white motor coaches, from the 1940's, at one time the park had gotten rid of all these, and then eventually this company was able to find and rescue 8 of them, the coach bodies were fitted to custom mounts on ford f-450 frames, and today they can be seen in several park locations

[attachments posted prior to 4/27/2010 have been deleted by admin. be sure to link images to make sure they don't get removed]