Exploring Yellowstone West

Posted by Les

                                                      The West Loop Geyser Basin

We pretty much covered the sights coming up the East Loop in Yellowstone on our way to Gardiner (sort of  like going counter clockwise from 6:00 to 12:00).  The next day we set out to work our way from the north    entrance to the south entrance (going counter clockwise from 12:00 to 6:00).  Then of course, we had to        back track north to our cottage in Gardiner.  The western half of the park is mostly about the geysers,        boiling mud pits and sulpher ponds.  They were colorful and mysterious - but really stinky, unless you like
     the smell of rotten eggs.  Actually, these geological wonders were all over the park, even in the big lake,
           though the western half was highly concentrated with them in every shape, size and description.
    

The Roosevelt Arch, built in 1903, was the first and only entrance for many years.

     The construction of Fort Yellowstone was funded early on by Congress, and the US Army dispatched            a unit of soldiers who were commissioned with the task of protecting the park from wildlife poaching,
                            and the careless use of the landscape, its minerals and natural wonders.

                         

       

                         

       

  The town of Yellowstone, Wyoming is also the site of the iconic Mammouth Springs, where underground           volcanic activity forces boiling mineral water to the surface.  The result over thousands of years is the                                                                 formation of travertine deposits.

                           

     

                          

      

The old Fort nestled below the springs.

                                         
                                  

Got a close up of a local resident having lunch.

                           

   

These formations were all over the place and too many to photograph.
They look like giant layer cakes that flopped and had really bad icing jobs.