Mammoth Springs, Roosevelt Gate, and a Few Little Stops

                                                    

 9.13.2023

Yellowstone National Park

Mileage: Just the truck

Today after one quick stop we started in the Mammoth Springs area of the park.  We stopped by here yesterday on our way home.  We passed these two along the side of the road as we entered the park.  

Our first stop was Virginia Cascades.  This is a short drive off the road that cuts through the center of the park.  We learned from our Guidealong app that the road that runs by this waterfall was actually part of the original road into the park.  It is a very narrow one way road now.  I can't imagine trying to pass other cars or stagecoaches.

Mammoth Springs is one of the major hubs of the park.  This is where park headquarters are located along with housing for many of the workers in the park.  There were many elk in the area.  This guy was hanging out near the road.

We had a quick lunch and then hiked around the springs.  This formation is called Liberty Cap.

White terraces were created by the spring.  It is amazing how white they are.  Storms were rolling into the area as we were walking.

As we walked back into the village there were many elk this time.  Some were even laying on the front porch of a house.

This guy was laying next to the dining room of the hotel.

We wandered into the hotel.

This impressive US map is made of many different types of wood.

We wanted to see the Roosevelt Arch so we took the steep windy drive to Gardiner.  This is the replacement road for the road that was washed out by the flood of 2022.   (I was wrong in yesterday's blog).

Near the arch there were lots more pronghorn and elk.

The sign that we pass everyday on our way into the park is always too busy for us to stop.  So, we finally got a picture with the sign near Gardiner.

We passed back through Mammoth Springs to the scenic drive.  By this time the storm was in full force so our stops were very brief.  We missed getting to hike around the top of the formation.

This is the Orange Mound formed by a spring.

This last section is called Angel Terrace.

After the scenic drive we started back to West Yellowstone.  It was raining.  We took a short drive through boulders that were part of an old rock fall.

Our next stop was Golden Gate.  It is hard to tell with the rain, but the rocks here are a golden color.

There is also a waterfall at this stop.

Sheepeater Cliff is an example of columnar basalt deposits.  These were cool to see.  This is the same formation as Devil's Tower only much smaller.

We stopped by the Obsidian Exhibit.  This exhibit is on the National Register of Historic Places as it is one of the original exhibits in the park.

This is the obsidian cliff highlighted by the exhibit.  You can't get near the cliff anymore as folks were helping themselves to the obsidian.

Roaring Mountain is full of fumeroles.  It was fun to see the steam coming out of the mountain.

Through the raindrops we saw the Norris Basin from the overlook.

There are a couple more features along the road that we plan to visit tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be better.

Comet hung out in the RV today and was very happy to see us when we got home!