Traveling with Laura

I saw a bear. End of story.

Just kidding. But I really did see a bear today. It was relatively close to me and super exciting as I was the first to see it and got to point it out to other people. More on that later.

I slept in ‘til 4 this morning and was in line for breakfast at the Yellowstone Grill when it opened at 7AM. My only breakfast for today of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and hash browns gave me some much-needed fuel for the day. Once I hit the road, I went back to the upper terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs because the clear blue sky this morning made the colors really pop.

Then it was off to the Norris Geyser Basin. Along the way, I encountered the tell-tale sign of wildlife nearby in Yellowstone: lines of cars pulled off on both sides of the road. Everyone was talking about the bear that had just disappeared into the woods. I waited around for a few minutes, hoping to catch a glimpse, before deciding to walk the short boardwalk to Clearwater Springs just down the road. I moved my car to the nearby pullout and headed down to see the spring. I took a few photos, looked up, and… there was the black bear along the tree line across the creek. It wasn’t super close, but it certainly wasn’t far either. At that point, I was more interested in retreating back up the boardwalk than in taking pictures. 

I waited by my car for a few minutes hoping the bear would reappear. And lo and behold, it did! Another car was just pulling into the turnout and I was giddy with excitement to share my sighting! As the young couple hurried over, the bear appeared a couple of times again and I was able to snap a few pictures (at a better distance this time) before it disappeared into the woods for good. I kept my eyes peeled for more bears along the way to Norris, but my bear encounters were over for the day. 

Norris Geyser Basin isn’t as popular as some of the others, but every time I turned a corner or saw something new, I was amazed. I’m glad I planned my days in the order I did because I feel like every day is better than the one before.

Norris is broken up into two basins with a loop walk around each. I started with the 0.6 mile loop around Porcelain Basin, an open area with all manner of springs, pools, geysers, and fumaroles. Every pool/spring was a wonder of colors and the constant sound of steam blowing out of the underground vents provided a great background “soundtrack”. 

The 1.6 mile loop around Back Basin wasn’t quite as impressive, but it was still an enjoyable walk and included the colorful Echinus Geyser as well as the impressive Steamboat Geyser (the highest eruption in the park, at 300 feet, but no eruptions during my visit). By the time I finished my walk, I was parched and tired.

But no rest for the weary… it was off to Artists Paintpots. These paintpots are a combination of springs, pools, geysers, and mudpots. The popular mudpots are really pools with less water, causing the would be pools to form a thick mud. The mud spurts up into the air constantly; my guidebook describes them as “flatulent outbursts”. The short 1.1 mile loop trail goes along the main level and then rises to the mudpots and overlooks of the entire area.

After leaving the paintpots, I was pretty much done for the day. I stopped at Beryl Spring and Gibbon Falls to take a few pictures and then drove the one-way Firehole Canyon Drive before heading to my new home base for the next three nights in West Yellowstone, Montana. I hate packing up and moving hotels, but one base just didn’t make sense to see such a large park. 

I took a quick swim in the hotel pool and then made my way to Bullwinkle’s for dinner. Another cheeseburger and local cider formed my main meal, but the huckleberry bread pudding was the star of the show!