Yellowstone — Day 2
I don’t have a lot to write about Day 2 of our Yellowstone bike trip because the pictures tell most of the story. We biked about 30 miles, but that took us almost all of the daylight hours since we stopped at the Norris Geyser Basin, Canyon Village, the Mud Volcano, Sulfur Cauldron, and any spot where people were congregated to stare at wildlife. We camped at the Bridge Bay campsite that night.
Without further ado, I’ll just share some pictures:
The nice thing about biking in Yellowstone is that there is always a campsite for you. The park reserves spots for bike-in or hike-in campers. Our spot on the first night was right in between two guys from the Netherlands and two girls from Switzerland. I'm pretty sure in the morning there was one guy from the Netherlands and one girl from Switzerland on either side of us. 🙂
Mini-bears!
Mike loves the signs at Yellowstone. You've already seen a boy scout enjoying a steam bath (the "It's Gonna Blow!" post), so I chose the one with the dog this time.
Is this not one of the most surreal landscapes you've ever seen?
Dead trees; ultra-blue, deadly-hot pools; and steam erupting from the ground -- can you imagine what the first explorers to see this must have thought?
So pretty! I'd dive right in if I wouldn't boil to my death as a result...
A low-level shot of some thermophiles loving the temps in the hot springs.
What a colorful stream!
I love the colors, but I also find the shapes of the pools to be fascinating.
All of the pictures so far (besides the tent) were taken at the Norris Geyser Basin, less than a mile from our campsite.
Here's one of those animal sightings I mentioned: a bison!
I was a little nervous to bike past him since he was right next to the road, but he seemed pretty chill.
Here's an animal-sighting traffic jam. What was everyone looking at?
Grizzly Bears! Sort of... I could see them a bit better with our binoculars, but not much better. This was our only bear sighting of the trip.
Whenever we saw a bunch of cars, we got excited, thinking we'd see something really cool. The visitors are just as likely to get all hyped up over deer as they are for grizzlies, though.
Bubbly, muddy goodness!
That hill in the background is one edge of the Yellowstone caldera, and it has been slowly rising and bulging in recent years.
A Yellowstone marmot. The marmots on top of the Grand Teton were bigger.
See those dead trees? They didn't die from the chemicals in the soil or the air, they died from the smell of the sulfur.
Exactly.
The Mud Volcano! Luckily it didn't erupt while we were standing next to it.
Well, that’s it for Day 2 of the bike around Yellowstone. Come back for more Roadtrip pics as well as some more recent pics of fall trips Mike and I have taken.
Traveling Applejax 
very cool pictures! never knew yellowstone had all that craziness.
Great pictures–you guys surely have some wonderful adventures. You guys can publish some great books when you have time to write!