now here's something you rarely see a popular national park and no lineup
hello not too bad
yes after traveling to the coast it was time to visit an old faithful spot that
I'm very familiar with thank you how are the campgrounds doing I was thinking of
the mammoth campground I know it's first-come first-serve Oh
perfect okay thank you very much thanks
of the five entrances I chose the west entrance near Idaho Falls
well in Yellowstone there's only two guarantees: one is you're gonna see lots
of wildlife, and two you're gonna get stuck in traffic somehow and I'm stuck
in traffic now because of road construction which is ongoing it never
seems to end in Yellowstone and I've been here a couple of times before the
same thing happens it's the extremes in temperatures the
frost it's the traffic and it's the constant upgrades which is good news it
means they're paying attention to the roads but it does mean every once in a
while you're just gonna have to stop open your window and smell the pines
as you can see by the snow banks this was not peak season which is my primary
reason for being here. I've already experienced the tourist season so what
about the cool months? I found a place to camp the night and waited for the
morning sun to warm things up a little
well despite the Sun winter is in the air and this is probably one of my last
nice days I'm going to see. and if you look in the background you can probably tell that I'm not boondocking
I'm actually in a paid campsite and this is mammoth campsite at Yellowstone Park
it's a beautiful place although you know
I prefer boondocking and the reason I didn't boondock this particular time
especially because it's Yellowstone is there is no boondocking in Yellowstone
you'd have to go outside the park to actually boondock. now when I was coming in here
there is an area just to the west that has some dirt roads that
apparently you can boondock but when I thought about it it just didn't seem
very practical for several reasons first of all was economics that although it's
noisier here there's trucks and all that to park outside the park and drive in
all the time I don't save anything because I'd be using a lot more gas whoa
like that trucks using boy he's noisy uh and it would take up more of my time and
the other reason is when I came in the roads were snowy and muddy and did I
really want to camp out in some remote place where I could potentially get
stuck it's certainly going to be a mess whereas here that's about if it if it
does start raining or snowing the roads are plowed so there's a little bit more
safety in that regard but boy it's a noisy spot and that's one thing I'm not
really used to hopefully you can hear what I'm saying
other reasons were I'd be leaving my my trailer unattended because especially in
a place like Yellowstone I'm gonna be with my Jeep all ovr the park
and there's a lot of places where you cannot park a trailer in Yellowstone
so it's best you leave it somewhere now the fact that I'd be leaving my trailer the entire day
I'd feel more safe it being in a secure area
where there's an attendant and all that then out in the middle of nowhere
especially the fact that there's probably still a few bears out so
I weighed all the you know the pros and the cons and I decided it was best just to simply
camp you know in on in the campground in Yellowstone and because it's late in
season the good news is there were places available whereas if it's in peak season, there's not
now here's the bad news most of the campsites are closed after summer
and even many shops in Mammoth Hot Springs have this familiar sign.
then there's the third problem much of
Yellowstone is no longer accessible when the snow arrives
the park has official road closures starting with den Raven Pass on October 13th
until most part roads are closed on November 2nd the only road open year
round is the one from the north entrance near Mammoth Hot Springs and goes east to Cooke City.
with that in mind my own visit was restricted to October
despite having access to most of the park I decided to just concentrate on certain areas
my first destination was the Norris Geyser Basin
the steamboat geyser is the most impressive in Yellowstone as well as the least predictable
that's amazing. Look at the pressure
apparently there are two vents but from this angle I just see one
but the best reaction was from the little kids on the trail
sometimes this geyser can blast water 300 feet in the air an impressive
display of the force of nature
well geysers can really give you an adrenaline rush there are also lots of
sites that have the opposite effect this pool reminds me of a relaxing sauna
perhaps a mud bath as well? nope! the temperatures are lethal but the bubbles are fun to watch
the Norris Geyser Basin is definitely worth the hike
my next stop was a little place called the artists paint pots
and it was pretty apparent where they got their name from
there was one big advantage of being there in cold air as it made the mist dance above the rainbow stream
while some parts of the park were saturated in color others didn't seem to have any color at all
like the steam jets of the Roaring Mountain
forgive me for passing up Old Faithful but there is just too many tourists for my taste
I did however brave the crowds for one attraction that can't be missed
the immersive experience of the Grand Prismatic Spring
now the best viewpoint of the spring is from space as you've probably seen on Google Maps
but as drones are banned and rightly so you must experience the thrill from the boardwalk
this is the largest hot spring in the United States but size isn't the only impressive detail
a walk through the mist reveals a rainbow of brilliant colors
the stunning display of colors are the result of microbes that form mats
each temperature a different palette. Add a little wind and you have a symphony
geothermal Springs are just as deadly as they are beautiful
a mix of toxins, viruses and searing heat. admire but don't touch
did you notice something was missing? the animals!
as I said in the intro they're everywhere especially near the roads and every sighting tourists seem to want to
slam on the brakes and take a cell phone picture sure wish they'd pull over first!
this young buck had it made as the hot springs kept the grass green throughout the fall
now he just needed a nice comfortable spot to relax and chew his cud
Being that I was camped by Mammoth Hot Springs I kinda took it for "granite"
but it was actually travertine a limestone deposit of the mineral springs over time
the intricate detail of the terraces is stunning
but it's the colors and textures that most people marvel at
well you can't visit Yellowstone and not kind of wonder where it got its name from
well it's the eroded sandstone cliffs on the edge of the Yellowstone River to the east
Its gorges are just gorgeous. I had to say that!
with the addition of the canyons and the waterfalls it's just another example of
how varied and diverse the landscape is here
the open range of the Lamar Valley is perfect grazing land for bison and the
vast rolling hills are for me a special treat
Do you hear that? it's so subtle. And here it's so rare. It's a little bit of wind,
a few animals, this is when I love being out in the wilderness. And that's not very easy in Yellowstone
because during the summer months especially when there's so many tourists
all you can hear is the traffic noise
so there are definitely some big advantages of coming out to Yellowstone in the colder seasons
so it's my last morning in the park with just enough time for a quick cup of coffee
before I pack up and head onward
the great thing about Yellowstone is there's always something you didn't see
or just looks different depending on the season.
As I follow the Yellowstone River north it's not as much looking back as it is saying we will meet again
I hope you enjoyed this video and we'll check out my others as well