Grand Loop Road from Yellowstone Lake to the Canyon

In early September we had just a day and a half to spend in Yellowstone National Park. The first day was our half day. The second day after spending some time exploring Upper Geyser Basin, we took the Grand Loop Road down to Yellowstone Lake. We were running out of daylight and really wanted to see the view from Artist Point before the sunset, so we stopped only very briefly here and there to take pictures, and we made it to Artist Point just in time. Here are some of the pictures we took of our drive.

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake

Yellowstone Lake seems huge as you drive along the north shore and gaze out to a distant horizon of wooded shoreline. It is about 15 miles wide and 20 to 30 miles long with more than 100 miles of shoreline. The north shore that we drove along is fairly level for quite a ways after you get around the area known as West Thumb. After that level stretch, the lake extends northward again and the road curves up and along the Yellowstone River, the only outlet for the lake. The south section of the lake consists of two long arms (or fingers?), and the west side has a largish rounded extension that reminded early explorers of a thumb; hence the name West Thumb.

Turning north, we came to a place where we could get down to the banks
of the river. There was a fisherman up the stream a bit.

Yellowstone River, looking north, downstream

Me and my son

My son, looking for things to photograph . . .

. . . such as these flowers

The Yellowstone River flows northward into the Hayden Valley. We saw lots of bison (American buffalo) there.

You can just see Mt Washburn in the far distance

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Bison herd

Lower Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Looking through the trees upstream

Looking downstream into the setting sun

The yellow stone that gives the
Park its name: Yellowstone

The setting sunlight in the trees

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

July 1920

Laura Boedefeld and her prospective
son-in-law Fred Andrews, July 1920

My son, standing in his great-great grandmother's
and great-grandfather's positions of 99 years ago

That yellow stone again

It's a deep canyon!

103 years ago, Bee Boedefeld wrote about the trees stretching away
in the distance looking like a carpet that you could walk over

Late glow of the setting sun

Sunset over the Gibbon River

This is on the rim of the Yellowstone Caldera

The Path from Old Faithful to Geysers Camp

Old Faithful Inn - 1916

In 1916, Bee Boedefeld and her friends working for Wylie Camping Company in Yellowstone National Park walked from their home camp, Geysers, to Old Faithful Inn and back. They spoke of “crossing the formation”—meaning the fragile ground between thermal features—and this past summer I found that the old path they used is the same as the one where the boardwalk is now. I took the paved Continental Divide path, which is the old road that in 1916 the horse-drawn wagons and the few automobiles used, and where the bridge crosses the Firehole River next to Castle Geyser, I joined the path my grandmother traversed.

The Continental Divide path, which was the old road

Castle Geyser (right) and little Tortoise Shell Geyser (left)
The path across the river and along the base of the hills goes off to the left.

The boardwalk follows the same path as was here in 1916.

Crossing the Firehole River, looking back toward Geyser Hill

Crossing the Firehole River, looking forward toward the road

Looking to the left over my shoulder, there's South Scalloped Spring

The path loops around some thermal features next to the forest.
This is Spasmodic Geyser, delightful in its washing-machine rhythm.

Liberty Pool

Across the way and down the path, heading toward Turban Geyser,
right next to Grand Geyser. Turban is erupting.

Belgian Pool. I wonder how it got its name?

Heading toward more geysers.

Turban Geyser

Grand Geyser is very large

Turban slows down

Some brand-new thermal features are forming next to the path in this area

Economic Geyser on the right of the trail

Wave Pool, just beyond Economic Geyser

Beauty Pool

Explanations, naturally, would not have been here in 1916!

Chromatic Pool

Looking toward the location of the Wylie Geysers camp next to Giant

Coming back to the Firehole River on the way toward Geysers

Crossing the Firehole again

Looking upstream

Looking downstream

Oblong Geyser

The path to Giant Geyser

Giant Geyser in the distance

The view toward the hill where Geysers dance pavilion sat, and the
grounds where Daisy, Splendid, Comet, etc. are

That hill is where some of the tents of Geysers Camp sat

Giant Geyser, with Mastiff steaming to our left

I notice Riverside erupting just down the river from Giant

Grotto Geyser, which was just to the side of Geysers Camp

Grotto Geyser and its indicator geyser

Riverside, still erupting

Grotto Fountain, next to Grotto Geyser

A Golden Mantel Ground Squirrel decides to race

Full speed ahead!

Squirrel wins the race!

Spa Geyser, next to Grotto

Riverside Geyser

Riverside, said in 1916 to be very
romantic by moonlight!

View toward Biscuit Basin from Riverside

Back to Grotto Geyser

One of the clearings that used to house the Geysers Camp in 1916

The woods next to Grotto where the Geysers Camp buildings sat in 1916

The view of the path going around Grotto

The path toward Giant from Grotto

A hot pool between Grotto and Giant, looking toward the Firehole River

The field and woods where the Camp would have been

View to the south and west

In 1916, Bee Boedefeld and her friends called their tent the
“Deaux Drop Inn”

This is a three-part post. Click here for the first half day that we were able to spend in the Park. Click here for the final part, after we left Old Faithful Inn the second time.