Devil's Tower National Monument

After visiting Mount Rushmore, I drove into Wyoming. I wanted to sleep at Devil's Tower NM. One old guy told me to visit it last July, when I went to Yellowstone. He told me, in his opinion, Devil's Tower was the most impressive sight in Wyoming. Due to time limitations, I could not go at that time. But now, I was near, and I did not mind departing a little bit from my original plan (Dakotas) if that meant visiting a truly cool place.



I arrived there at night and the campground was open! Good news! and it was for free. Actually, it was supposed to be closed, but the last days had been pretty good in terms of weather and it had been temporarily opened again. I tried to plant my tent there but surprise! my new backpacking tent did not come with the right instructions! Those it came with were completely wrong! So, I was there, in the middle of Wyoming, really tired after driving quite a lot that day and with a tent I had never used before. It took me more than 30 minutes and the help of my neighbors to finally plant it... but it worked.

The night was too cold. It reached temperatures near zero degrees. I woke up at around 6am, shivering due to the cold temperatures. Just in time for the sun rise!



This is the first time I saw Devil's Tower. It looks ghostly under this light.



The place was completely empty. I was the only one visiting it before sun rise... Only deers were around at that time.



The light kept on changing and it was really spectacular! The sky seems to be on fire, and those colors really suit the strange shape of Devil's Tower.




When the sunrise was over, so was the show. The sky was covered in clouds and it was time to try to get some good photos with me in them ;)



Another perspective on Devil's Tower.



After a good while, the sun really started to come out when I was leaving the place. At that time, I saw this prairie dog town. Nice panorama.



Then, it was time to leave. I was going to drive to Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota. A long drive...

Do you know the names?

I am just back from a 3-day roadtrip weekend a bit far from California, but still within the USA. Somebody knows the names of the places in this photos? Give it a try and leave your answer in the comments... For space geeks (not the Moon), for geeks in general (not Mordor) :P

Where and what are these places??

Yellowstone NP (VIII). More geyser areas...

There are many geyser areas North of Old Faithful area. There is where I spent my last hours in Yellowstone. I think the next photos are self explanatory and not much rests to be said about this wonderful place Yellowstone is. Therefore, I left you alone with my shots ;)

Black Sand Basin:





Biscuit Basin:







Fountain Paint Pots and Lower Geyser Basin:




Firehole Lake Drive:





After that, it was around 6.30 pm and I was more than 22h away from Pasadena!! I started my way back... quite a LONG way!

Yellowstone NP (VII). Old Faithful

Old Faithful is one of the most predictable geysers in the world. It erupts around every 90 minutes and predictions for the next eruption are really accurate. Check this one out: they give a time plus minus 10 minutes!! That's accurate!



Of course, many people gather around the geyser waiting to see a safe eruption. Safe because you know it will happen, unlike most of the other geysers.



After some waiting, the geyser went off in time. Good! Faithful! ;) The eruption was really high. Not only is it really regular, but also quite spectacular.



Near Old Faithful, there are many geysers and pools with beautiful colors.



Some small geysers went off as I passed by!



More pools and nice scenery:




Some geysers are also quite regular but the possible time for eruptions is quite long... I do not know if I would feel like waiting for 4 hours...



This one is Beauty Pool...



... and this one Chromatic Pool.



Some strange shaped geyser whose name I do not remember, with some smaller one erupting behind.



Grotto Geyser also started erupting when I passed by! That one was pretty cool and long!!



At the end of the hike lied one of the most beautiful pools in Yellowstone, and one of the symbols of the park: Morning Glory Pool.



Back towards the trail head, I passed by Castle Geyser, which has a nice shape!



I spent around 90 min in my hike around that area, so I got to Old Faithful in time for another show. :)

Yellowstone NP (VI). Norris Geyser Basin

The second day in Yellowstone started with rain and chilly weather. I had slept in Indian Creek and planned to go South to visit the main geysers and geothermal areas. So that's what I did.

Between the campground and Norris Geyser Basin, there was an interesting mountain with lots of fumaroles which created quite some noise. The name -> the Roaring Mountain.



Norris Basin is one of the most important geyser concentrations in Yellowstone. It is divided into two basins: Porcelain Basin and Back Basin. Both look very different. Porcelain basin is completely open, without trees, and geysers are quite near to each other. On the other hand, Back Basin is full of trees and you can't get a full panorama of all the geysers at the same time.

This is the view over Porcelain Basin:



It is quite impressive to see all these fumes in that strange colored hills...



Some water streams are very colorful. This is due to bacteria. Depending on the water temperature, different bacteria can live in it. Red bacteria: really hot water. Green bacteria: hot/warm water.



The same applies to larger pools:



The following pictures were taken at Back Basin.

This is Steamboat Geyser. It just finished erupting when I got there! I missed its eruption for a couple minutes!!! I would have to wait several days to see its next eruption... :(



Some more geysers:




Some geysers are actually inside pools of different colors. This one looks blueish.



This one is Echinus Geyser, one of the most famous geysers in Yellowstone. It used to be a very predictable geyser until recently. Now, it is not, and nobody knows when the next eruption will happen. Therefore, less people stop by and wait for it to happen. Its reddish color was cool.



Finally, a red pool ---> very hot water ---> sizzling water!



Geysers are pretty impressive when they erupt, but if you are not lucky, it can be pretty frustrating. I had to wait for a couple hours before I actually saw one going off. After that, I saw other 3 or 4. So do not desperate and stay patient. The experience is pretty rewarding! ;)