Yellowstone, Day 3

We had driven along the shore of Yellowstone Lake more than once over the past two days, but today we were scheduled to take a boat ride on the lake aboard the Lake Yellowstone Scenicruiser. 

 

The lake is nestled between the surrounding ridges at an elevation of 7,733 feet, which makes it the largest high elevation lake in North America.  It is 20 miles long and 14 miles wide, and our journey today on the Lake Queen II was an interesting and informative one.  Captain Ken started off, and then introduced Ranger Harlan, who has been a Park Ranger for 51 years and had a wealth of stories to tell us about campers, bears, and fishing.

 

The biggest problem in the lake in recent years has been the introduction (deliberately, according to Ranger Harlan) of lake trout.  These large predatory trout prey on the native cutthroat trout, and as a result the lake has had to start a Native Fish Program to remove them.  A total of 3.7 million nonnative lake trout have been removed since 1995.

At the far end of the lake, we saw the ruins of an ill-fated steamship that once took passengers to the Lake Hotel but ultimately proved to be unprofitable and unsafe.  It was an enjoyable cruise with a small group of interested passengers, and we especially enjoyed hearing Ranger Harlan spin some outlandish yarns. 

For lunch, we walked down to a table near the launch site and enjoyed another picnic, the clear lake water reflecting back a cloudless sky.  Afterward we drove to the Norris Geyser Basin, which our tour the day before had not had time to include.  The area is the hottest, oldest, and most dynamic of the Park’s thermal areas.  We learned that the highest temperature recorded in the Park was measured here a relatively short distance from the surface – 459°F – and we also learned the difference between the four types of thermal features:  geysers, mudpots, hot springs, and fumaroles.  We took a walk around an area that seemed like the set of a movie on another planet.

Our last stop was Gibbon Falls, an 84-foot waterfall dropping over the remains of the Yellowstone caldera rim.

It must have been this evening – I failed to make a note in my journal – that on the road back to Canyon Village, we spotted this beautiful elk, grazing calmly by the side of the road.  Early evening is a good time to see these creatures in the Park.

I did make a note of what we had for dinner when we returned to The Eatery at Canyon Village.  Perched on old-timey lunch counter stools, we enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches – always a good choice!