Yellowstone Park: Day One

We left Gardiner the next morning, July 12th, and headed into Yellowstone Park. I didn't get a picture of Roosevelt's Arch as we entered the Park but this is what it said...

"For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People"

Just driving by Mammoth (above). We didn't stop on account of the rain and the crammed parking areas but maybe next time. Our day consisted of driving to our next camping location, The Fishing Bridge RV Park, with beautiful views all along the way. Below is a view of the Yellowstone running very high...

After we got settled in to our new camping area, we headed out to the nearest attraction... The Mud Volcano area. See the hillside in the picture below scattered with dead trees? It used to be a densely forested area but in 1978, a swarm of earthquakes shook the area. Soil temperatures skyrocketed, killing many of the trees...
Here we are checking out the Dragons Caldron. It's a mudpot that roared into existence in 1948, blowing trees out by their roots and forever changing a once forested, quiet hillside. For several decades it erupted in explosive 10-20 foot bursts of black mud. Over the years it has moved 200 feet to the southeast and become relatively quiet...

Have you ever stood only a few feet from a boiling, bubbling lake and wondered just how it is possible? Here is a video I took of it...

In 1870, explorers stood in awe as this mud volcano spewed mud into the treetops, shaking the ground with each eruption. Two years later, it was a pool of bubbling, muddy water. Mud Volcano had blown itself up! Here it sits today...

Back at the campground, after supper, we headed out on a walk to the nearest store...
Playing tourist...
It was a beautiful evening at the end of a very good day...


Benefit... enjoyment...Yes! Amazing...completely awesome...YES!!!
Thank you Mr. Roosevelt!

I couldn't wait to see what "Day Two" would bring,
Alison