Sensory Overload Sunday-Part 2

Sensory overload is what we experienced Sunday afternoon on our drive through the northeast section of Yellowstone, then on to the Beartooth Highway.  This was our first trip through the Yellowstone gates, and we were awed by the sights.  (By the way, the ranger at the gate was from Ft. Wayne, IN!)  Every time we turned a corner, there was something new and different.  Yellowstone is the nation's first national park, and we are so fortunate the land has been preserved for all of us to enjoy.  I can only imagine what those who discovered the park had to say at the first sight of these natural treasures.

We were first struck by the massive size of the park.  Then as we began to see the different highlights, we were struck by the diversity of things to explore and experience in this quarter of the park.

Yellowstone Lake is North America's largest high-altitude lake.  It has 141 miles of shoreline, and its deepest point is 410 ft. --just beautiful!

Then, we saw the LeHardy Rapids, and Spot took a break.  This is where you will often see trout, however we didn't see any today.  (Spot really enjoyed the trip from his "back seat bed" where he could lounge and still see out the windows.) 

 

We did spot bison, just laying by the road looking at the cars pass by.  Then we saw a few more, and then many more, and  we saw a large herd in the distance as we were leaving the park.  They are huge and kinda ugly, but neat to see "up close and personal"!
 

 



Dragon's Mouth spring
 

The mudpots in the Mud Volcano area were eerie (and stinky from the sulphur smell) but fascinating to watch and hear.  Jim took some videos that we are going to try to share so that you can hear the bubbling ground.  It's amazing to think that these weird things are just part of nature, and continue to bubble and boil each day.  They are very acidic (the ranger said worse than battery acid).


The waterfalls were beautiful, and amazing to think of that water continuing to flow without a supply from a spigot.  I was also amazed by the sound of the falls rushing over the gorge.  This is a view of Upper Falls.

The Beartooth Highway has been designated a scenic byway, and was described by Charles Kuralt as America's most beautiful highway.  It extends between the northeast entrance to the park, and goes to the  crest of the Beartooth mountain range, via a narrow, winding and very curvy road and on to Red Lodge.  At the highest point, we were at 10,947 ft above sea level! 





Although the roads were clear, we were driving through snow covered areas, through switchbacks (aka hairpin turns), where you end up facing the opposite direction in a single turn.  At times, we could see three levels of road on the mountainside, and there were steep dropoffs into a canyon below. The views were breathtaking, and a little scary at times.  We went through Wyoming, Montana and Wyoming again. 




We saw lots and lots of snow...this area gets 200 inches of snow per year.  Jim has some awesome video that we will try to get posted in the next day or so (as soon as we do some editing and figure out how to get it posted).

 

 

We stopped at Red Lodge, an old mining town, and ski resort where Jim posed for a photo with his "Red Lodge Road Trip" tshirt loaned by a good buddy who traveled through Beartooth Pass and left his footprints here!








Whew...what a wonderful, exhilerating, sensory-filled, exhausting day. On the way back, our path was lighted by the supermoon.  After 9 hours and over 300 miles, we arrived home about 11 pm.  Believe it our not, we didn't even have time to stop and eat. 
We are struggling with internet connectivity, but will keep trying to get the blog posted.  The internet must also be on sensory overload !