Adventures to Oregon: Day 4 Yellowstone Part II

Ok, here we go, I think we had just entered Yellowstone in the last post…. so, after we stopped to view the dead tree forest and Yellowstone Lake, we were on our way to Fishing Bridge, when we saw cars stopped on the sides of the road ahead of us. When you are in Yellowstone, this usually means there are animals of some kind to look at, so, we stopped, and amazingly enough, we saw a herd of Bison grazing and resting on this meadow area just accross the road from the lake. Not onlyh was there Bison, but something we noticed was that the air stunk of sulphur, and there were steam vents spouting steam near the inlet to the lake. I knew that Yellowstone was a very large volcanic area, but didn’t expect to see steam vents that soon.

As we continued to drive, we came to Fishing Bridge…. very cool. I really loved this spot. Here is a little history I found on the internet about Fishing Bridge: The original bridge was built in 1902. It was a rough-hewn corduroy log bridge with a slightly different alignment than the current bridge. The existing bridge was built in 1937. The Fishing Bridge was historically a tremendously popular place to fish. Angling from the bridge was quite good, due to the fact that it was a major spawning area for cutthroat trout. However, because of the decline of the cutthroat population (in part, a result of this practice), the bridge was closed to fishing in 1973. Since that time, it has become a popular place to observe fish. It is at the location where the Yellowstone River emerges from Yellowstone Lake. it was neat to read the history and why no one is allowed to fish from fishing bridge….which stinks because it would be a really great place to fish. The bridge is also a great place to take photos of the lake…. the day we were there, I got some great shots of the lake, it was so calm, the water was like glass.

Of course, now that we are in Yellowstone, there was Murphy’s Law….my camera must have known that I really wanted to take some great pictures, and immediately started acting up…. as a result, some pictures seem really foggy and overexposed. (sorry) But apparently, this is an intermittent problem, because after a lens change a little later in the day, it stopped acting up. But, in the meantime…. we were dealing with it. So, here are some pictures of the bridge, from the bridge and of Tim, Taylor, Em and Maddie on the bridge. From the bridge you can see lots of Cuthroat Trout just resting in the water.

After Fishing Bridge, we are now on our way to see the Mud Volcano, and on our way there, we stop to see the LeHardy rapids on the Yellowstone River. It was so beautiful walking through the tall pines on the way to the rivers edge. Maddie had the best seat in the house as we took the short hike through the woods…makes me want to be a kid again. Taylor loves the water, he even put his hand in the river….. ICY COLD!!!

Here is some more information about our next stop, along with pictures. I am wishing that I could post the smell that came along with the sights at the mud volcano…..SULPHURIC ACID…. what a smell, I have been wondering since, why God would have a need to create such an offensive odor. It was a hundred times worse than the smell of the shower in Whispering Pines campground…. those of you from Michigan know what I am talking about! Anyway, I promised you that I would post some more info about the mud volcano, and here it is: Temperature 184°F Dimensions 27×36 feet. Depth 17 feet. The 1871 Hayden Expedition named this thermal feature. At that time Mud Volcano was a very active mud spring with bellowing and exploding mud. In later years since its discovery it has not shown the same forcefulness. However, minor earthquake tremors during 1979 increased heat and water activity and Mud Volcano began bursting from the crater, spilling mud across the boardwalks. This activity decreased shortly thereafter and it has since been a quiet caldron with occasional churning caused by rising gases.

The Dragon’s Mouth was another of the many little Mud pots… or Mud volcanoes that we saw near Sulphur Springs. As we were standing on the wooden walkways, which they tell you to stay on, because you could damage the landscape… or fall into the steaming hot earth, and get burned, I was thinking to myself… while reading the information board, …”the mud volcano has not had an eruption in many years, but it is unpredictable as to when the next explosion might take place” And I am the idiot along with all of these other idiots standing out here watching this MUD VOLCANO bubble and shoot hot mud from this big hole in the ground, on a WOOD walkway, about 15 feet from the actual hole….how crazy is that? I am definitely not too smart, but I have to say, it was SOOOOOO awesome to watch these thick mud holes bubble and growl and steam. The sound was like the Ocean crashing against rock cliffs. A photo below of the Dragon’s Mouth and some info about it: Temperature 170.2°F Dimensions 18×30 feet. Depth 16 feet. Dragon’s Mouth is a turbulent hot spring with a cavernous mouth. Water sloshes rhythmically in and out of the cavern giving the impression of a large overflow; however, the actual discharge is quite small. Much of the activity and energy is located within the cavern. As hot water rises to the surface, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor gases expand creating a pressure explosion in the cavern. The resulting activity is sloshing, belching, and steaming.



I feel like I am hosting a TV show…. “Tune in next time to see spectacular waterfalls, geysers, hot springs, and beautiful mountain ranges, as we explore Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, with the Palmer family.” There is still so much more to see, we will show you more in the next post!