VISIT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK IN WINTERBy Linda Aksomitis

http://aksomitis.com

http://guide2travel.ca

Snow Coach Tours• Only authorized snowmobiles and snow coaches may

enter Yellowstone National Park during the winter• Winter travel is regulated to protect the environment• A final winter use policy is expected to be in place for

winter 2012/13 - http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/winteruse.htm

Yellowstone Vacations/Buffalo Bus Tours

• Our snowcoach tour company • Guide – Doug Kiel – long time summer and winter guide

at Yellowstone• http://

www.yellowstonevacations.com/tours/yellowstone-national-park-winter-tours.aspx

• 1-800-426-7669• Tour name – Old Faithful Explorer

Leaving West Yellowstone at 8:30 a.m.

Riverside Road – see a bald eagle – pair has range in park

Following Madison River• Flows 180 miles to Three Forks, and joins with the

Gallatin & Jefferson Rivers to form the Missouri River• Madison runs for 19 miles through Yellowstone National

Park• Rivers don’t freeze over in the park• Water temperature upper 30s due to geysers• 70 to 100 million gallons of geyser water flow out of the

park each day

Firehole Falls – 40’ drop

Elk going down to Firehole River to drink

Elk on Firehole River

Lodgepole pine growing out of ryolite rock on Firehole River

Raven at the top of a dead pine

Nez Perce Creek followed by Chief Joseph in 1877

Lower Basin – 1st of 3 thermal basins – Fountain Paint Pots – some of hottest ground in park

Thermal kames – rounded piles of rock melted out of glacial ice over 40,000 years

Leather Pool (old name – White Sulphur Springs) – closed to walking due to bears

Fountain Paint Pots

Lodgepole pine dying due to changed flow of the hot water 150+ yrs ago

Roots pull in moisture and minerals from water, so trees whiten from silica in the water, then roots turn into “cement.” First stage of petrification or silacious forest – “bobby sox trees” and “silent dog forest.”

Whisky Flats – Bison grazing – 1st place in park that grizzles comes

Series of geysers: Rusty, Fountain, and Island.

Old Faithful Snow Lodge

Snowmobilers stopped at the lodge

Old Faithful erupting

Leaving Old Faithful – Black Sand Basin

Cliff Geyser

Excelsior Springs

Trumpeter Swans

Goodbye from Linda & David Aksomitis on our Yellowstone snowcoach tour!