The cold morning was dominated by vistas of ‘smoking water’ as the warm Madison River misted in the cold air. Given that it was sunny we tried to take photos which reflected the picturesque scenery, but it wasn’t easy. Making our way up the Gibson Pass towards mammoth Springs we stopped at Gibbons Falls and the Artists Paint Pots. Again, these features were something to marvel at but faded a little in comparison to the spectacular views at Kingman Pass and the tumbling calcifications of Mammoth Springs itself.
The town of Mammoths Springs had it originals as a military outpost, Fort Yellowstone, built to protect the park in the late 1800’s. It is a pretty settlement and at the time was host to a stag elk and his harem. This caused much interest from tourist and the attention of a park ranger trying to keep tourists safe. The Visitor Centre was very interesting, and we spent too much time immersed in the history of the place.
The afternoon took us off through the wonderful landscape of the Blacktail Deer Plateau and a off road drive in search of wolves and bear. We found plenty of bison as we drove from Tower Creek along the Chittenden Road up Mount Washburn to the Dunraven Pass. “Wolf!” was the sudden cry from Sabine. A hurried turn around and park in a layby resulted in Sabine frantically waving to us as she peered over the edge of a drop off where she had made the sighting. It wasn’t wolf, it was a black bear, who, on being alerted by the commotion decided to depart into the forest. None the less there was excitement for the rest of the drive back at the experience.
We finished the day with a walk around the South Rim of the Yellowstone River Canyon. Very spectacular! The falls were running and the yellow of the canyon walls gave understanding to how the river and park got their names. A long day was completed by arrival home in the dark, hungry and in need of sleep