18.05.2012 – 18.05.2012  6 °C

Today we left OF and headed north towards Mammoth Springs (the northern most point of the park). I’m feeling really ordinary today so I’m not too sure how much walking around I’m going to be doing (my left hip twinges every time I walk L). Our drive took us up the western side of the Yellowstone, passed the whole OF basin and then up thru the Norris basin to Mammoth.

Today’s trip was more geysers and hot springs (I just can’t get over how much of this park is geothermal) and first stop was to the most famous of them all the Grand Prismatic. The GP is a huge hot spring pool that has incredible colours.. deep blue, to aqua, to pale green, to pale yellow and out to deep orange. I know this because I’ve seen photos, I couldn’t tell this by our walk! Today it is a really cold day and so the pool is covered in thick billowing steam that makes it almost impossible to see the beauty of the lake. Oh well! At least I know what it can look like when you get the right conditions.

The highlight of my day was when we saw a black bear down in the gulley looking for something in the dirt! Our first black bear sighting!!! Of course, us and everyone else went nuts shooting photos, causing the usual ‘bear’ traffic jam!!!

For the rest of the day I made the decision to stay put in the car. It’s really cold and my hip is absolutely killing me every time I walk so I can’t tell you about the other hot springs that M&D went looking at.. If I had to guess I’d say more bluey/ orangey pools billowing steam, mud pots bubbling away and small geysers shooting up to the heavens!!

We finally arrived at our digs, Mammoth Lodge, mid afternoon and immediately found ourselves some lunch (another bowl of soup to help me warm up). The lodge was first built in the late 1800s and the part we are staying in was built just before the first world war. The lodge is littered with old photos of women in their finest perched on the travertines (which is why this part of the park was populated) and riding push bikes along roads with a backdrop of sheer mountains. The corridor leading off from our room looks just like a hospital corridor from a WWI movie!! Actually, a very beautiful, stately old building! The rest of my afternoon was taken up by the boring activities of blogging, reading my book and resting my poor old hip.

Song of the Day– Duran Duran, Girls on Film!