John Colter Trail 1807 — 1808

Day 27: September 9th, 2005 Lake Village — Canyon Village

First I put all my stuff into my car in order to be able to check out at the hotel directly after my breakfast. All in all I will have breakfast at the hotel toady — I definitely don’t need this self service restaurant again today!

Lucky me, I am able to receive a table only after a short waiting time — and this one is even directly at the window! The service is also excellent and you can tell, that there is style around — with the interior and also with the service. And instead the prices are really reasonable. Only the coffee is a bit expensive compared to the rest. But therefore it really tastes like a coffee!

Around 10am I pay and check out. Then I walk over to my car and drive off. Because my gas gauge is already pretty low, I first drive over to fishing bridge to gas up.

Around a quarter past ten I leave for my first destination of today: The Mud Volcano.

Here things are already way more busy. And everything is set up for the tourists. All trails to the sizzling mud places are paved. When looking at the bison in the middle of the area, I really start to wonder, if they have placed it here as an attraction…

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Currently there is mixed weather and it does not really look promising. Therefore I am not in danger to catch a sunburn today. Despite all of this, I am still able to get some nice shots and videos of the sizzling mud masses. Then I continue my drive to Canyon Lodge and the Yellowstone River water falls.

Grand Loop Rd, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Loop Rd, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Loop Rd, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Loop Rd, Yellowstone National Park, WY

First I drive to the parking lot for the Lower Falls.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, WY

The tourist crowds there are really a killer. But you can follow a small hiking trail to Point Sublime, which takes you along the canyon rim. This trail offers numerous picturesque views of the beautiful landscape. Together with the dark thunderstorm clouds this offers a very interesting picture. Hopefully it will not start to rain, while I am still on the trail. Beside my sweater and a bottle of water I have nothing taken with me for this short hike…

Lower Falls, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park, WY

After I reach Point Sublime I turn around again and unfortunately hit light rain. I try to take shelter until the worst has passed. Then I hike on. Now it is just drizzling a bit and I hurry up to not be caught by the next rain shower.

Upper Falls, Yellowstone River, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Still dry I reach my car and put camera and tripod in. Then I drive over to the Upper Falls parking lot. There are also some hiking trails. But the weather looks so bad, that I don’t plan to do any big hikes. On the other hand, there are no good options for video taping at this tourist hot spots. And the few good places are immediately occupied. This time, there is really someone video taping the water fall for more than 5 minutes! As the next thunderstorm clouds are approaching and start to cover the last sun beams, I give it up to wait any longer and try to find a different location. I am able to find one quite okay, but now the sun is completely covered by clouds…

Grand Loop Rd, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Just before it is starting to rain I am back at my car. Because there is now no possibility for further visits and hikes, I drive directly to the check in — at a quarter past three! There I have a cabin again. But this one is way more remote and in the middle of the forest. The rooms are giant and absolutely cozy.

Canyon Lodge, Yellowstone National Park, WY

At the cabin I first check my video taping of today. But to my surprise it really stops to rain and the sun comes out a bit. So I first drive the N Rim Dr, just to see, which viewpoints are around here. However, everything is extremely crowded and I continue to the main road for another attempt on the Upper Falls. But the moment I am ready to go, the clouds close up again and I can cancel my plan once more.

So I drive back and use the opportunity to make a stopover at the local gift shop. All in all I still need a whole bunch of post cards to satisfy my post card duty back home. Then I drive back to my cabin and check the new video taping.

Around a quarter past six I leave for dinner. The restaurant is also beside the gift shop. There I check again for some nice shirts, before I walk over to the dining room around a quarter to seven. But there is an absolute peak right now and I must wait almost to half past seven until I receive my table. But this time I have real food with real service!

Around a quarter past eight I pay and drive back to my cabin. There I prepare my trip for tomorrow. Due to the weather changes and the general changed route due to booking issues, there is not much left from my original planning. Then I feed my GPS with new coordinates, before I go to bed.