Bird

Yellowstone: A Memory

There was plenty to see at Yellowstone. Here is a video I put together of some of the footage I got with my digital camera.

Animals of Yellowstone

There are so many animals to encounter at Yellowstone National Park. From bison blocking traffic to "whistle pigs," sneaking into your cabin in search of food, the beasts make themselves visible quite often.

Here, a pair of pronghorn were grazing in a valley as I drove by.

People often create traffic blockages in Yellowstone by stopping in the road to look at animals. The more people there are at the scene, the more dangerous the animal, it seems. However, the more dangerous the creature, the more difficult it is to see it.

That's the way it was for me, anyway.

Most of the wildlife is seen from the road, though only 2% of
the park is visible.

On one drive, I caught a picture of these fine birds. I'm not sure, but I believe they are pelicans. If anyone out there knows otherwise, please drop me a note!

Below left, a uinta ground squirrel, apparantly posing for the camera. On the bottom right, a squirrel of the type which I am more familiar with.

Look out!

High Places of Yellowstone

Sears Tower

I had to visit Sears Tower when I was in Chicago last summer.









You can really get an idea of how big the city actually is from the top of the tower...

Trees and Grass

Mammoth Hot Springs

I took a walk around the thermal features of Mammoth Hot Springs (or the Terraces, as we called them) once during my stay at Yellowstone last summer. It's a great place to be, in the northern part of the park.

I was blown away by the things I saw!

"The main attraction at Mammoth Hot Springs is the terraces. Heat, water, limestone, and rock fracture combine to create the terraces. Travertine is deposited as white rock, however the microorganisms and living bacteria create beautiful shades of oranges, pinks, yellows, greens, and browns. The Mammoth Hot springs are constantly changing. As formations grow, water is forced to flow in different directions. The constant changes in water and mineral deposits create a living sculpture. Mammoth Hot Springs is divided into two sections, the lower terraces, and the Upper terrace Loop." --YellowstoneParkNet.Com

The 3rd picture from the top of this post shows a dormant section of the terraces. It resembles a set of stairs or shelves.

On the right, you see a shot over one of the springs. Notice the plants growing in the water here. Are they thriving, or will they die?

I found this article at Annals of Botany, an international plant science journal, while browsing the web. It seems that there are certain plants that prosper in these hot waters.

What other extreme environments will we discover life? Mars perhaps? Unfortunately, you won't find any pictures taken, personally, by myself, of Mars.


Some of the interesting things we can see here, on Earth, can be stranger or more beautiful than any other planet we've seen so far, in my opinion.

For example, this is a picture of a fumarole.

"Fumarole, FYOO muh rohl, is a hole or vent in the ground that gives off volcanic gases. Most fumaroles occur in inactive volcanic regions, such as Yellowstone National Park. The gases given off are mainly steam mixed with small amounts of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, and sulfuric acid." --HowStuffWorks

If you've never been to Mammoth Hot Springs, you don't know what you're missing. The place left a huge impression on me. I recommend taking a walk up the terraces when it's cold enough to see your breath. This makes it easier to see the hot steam and gases coming out of the fumaroles and other geothermal features at Mammoth.

If you don't go there at least once, you're wasting your whole life!