Today we going to hike North Rim. On the way we stopped at Hayden Valley and saw a white pelican. The valley was filled with bison--they were everywhere! It was drizzling as we started out on our 8 mile hike. We were able to walk down to the falls (and yeah we had to hike back up!!). The rain let up a bit and then set in for the rest of the hike. It really wasn't bad until the half hour.
We stopped by the Ranger Museum on our way back to the campground. And then we saw the biggest rainbow I've ever seen.
David then told me he had "bad news" for me. The "news" was since the rain had stopped, we were doing to go to the Mud Volcano Trail. UGH!! It would be fascinating IF they didn't smell so bad. The mudpots are the most acidic in the park. They bubble and explode through the mud. The Dragon's Mouth Spring was loud! The Crow thought the steam was "snorts of an angry bull bison".
We hiked around the mud cauldron and the Mud Geyser on our way to see the Churning Cauldron. This was a very "cool" feature even though the average temperature is 164 degrees! The Sour Lake looks pretty but the water would burn your skin like battery acid.
The "gag me" smell is from the hydrogen sulfide gas. I just read that if you "feel sick" you should leave immediately! Too bad for me that I didn't read that warning sooner. :)
Day 9 Washburn Mountain
Today was the day we were to hike 3 miles UP to the top of Mount Washburn. The hike was 7.4 miles and had an elevation change of 1600 feet. There is a herd of mountain sheep that live there but of course they were NOT there when we reached the top. The view was amazing as you can see the whole park from the Fire Tower perched on top of the mountain.
I did get to see a pika, which looks like a small guinea pig. He gives a very sharp whistle when he feels threatened.
Later that afternoon we went to the Norris geyser basin to see the thermals, mudpots and geysers.
There is a pack of wolves that live near Hayden Valley. At dusk you will see photographers and wildlife lovers on the hills looking for the pack to come out. We went there tonight to see if we were lucky enough to spy them. There was a coyote on the side of the road. People were stopping and peering at him from the edge of the road. The coyote paid no attention to all of us. He calmly laid down and then preceded to hunt. We also saw a bison swim across the river! As we were waiting for the wolves, a bison herd caused a huge traffic jam! The bison don't "moo" but utter a grunting belching sound. The ranger had her hands full trying to move traffic along AND get the bison to move across the road. Fun to watch! Elk were grazing a long the tree line. We waited for about 90 more minutes (almost dark) and then gave it up.
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