It is a beautiful winter day in Lamar Valley, but the clouds are foreboding. We are heading to Mammoth Hot Springs so let’s see what this winter weather holds for us this morning. We’ve had about ten inches of snow the last few days at Lamar Buffalo Ranch, but today the sun streams through the broken eastern clouds.
A view to love, looking east across the Lamar Valley.
Look at the beautiful blue sky to our west. We drive a few miles along Lamar River, but at this time of year it looks more like a trail with the ice atop the water. It is getting down there that can be challenging, even more so getting back to the car. We’ll just drive today 😉
Entering the “Little America” area of Yellowstone, unique for its potholes and glacial erratics, the south view is dominated by Specimen Ridge. So what is a glacial erratic? Glad you asked. They are rocks brought here by glacial ice that are different from the native rocks of the surrounding area. They can be pebbles to huge boulders and can help explain the path of ancient glaciers. The sun-highlighted dots on the landscape are erratics.
To the north is Slough Creek and Buffalo Plateau. We do not have time to snowshoe this morning, but this trail takes us over two miles to the creek’s edge. We’ll save this walk for another day.
We are not the only ones using the plowed road to cross the Lamar River Bridge.
A minor snow cornice protecting a sage grouping. Likely home to small critters that survive winter under the snow and sage. Cornices are typically talked of in mountains as a massive overhang of ice or snow which can result in avalanches if it collapses. No worries here, but I bet you’d be up to your waist in snow. A lovely view from here as the sun hits its ridge line.
Just beyond the mid-picture flat white area is the rounded rock edges of Lamar River Canyon. In a very short distance the Lamar will join the Yellowstone River and head to Gardiner, Montana.
Looking west is Junction Butte, a large flat-topped mountain. It is home to many Bighorn sheep and part of the Junction Butte wolf pack’s home range. See those smooth white areas ahead? Those are some of the potholes mentioned. They will fill with water in the annual spring melt and in some cases remain full all season. In the winter though it is hard to tell if they are meadows or ponds.
We will soon be at Tower Junction. The road to Tower Falls is open only to skiers and snowshoers in winter, but from our vantage we can see the steam from Calcite Springs found along the road to the falls.
Iconic nursery rocks. Many evergreens in this area are growing up against a large rock or a group of rocks. In this windswept area the seedlings got their foothold in the protection of rock. Notice the notch in the left edge of the furtherest mountains. That is Cut-Off Mountain to the north.
We cross the Yellowstone River just before Tower Junction. The sky is almost completely overcast and getting darker. There’s even a few flurries on the windshield.
The bison find shallower snow in the windswept Tower Junction area. They are only small dots mid picture, but there are many more on both sides of the road and higher in the hills.
Well, it is snowing as we look at the south end of Blacktail Plateau.
The sun is teasing us on our winter journey.
Aptly called snow pillows atop rocks in both rivers and meadows.
The wide sweeping road allows us to see Blacktail Plateau. The very strong wind, however, makes it almost impossible to open my car door against its force.
Let’s get out of this area. The snow plow just went through, but there could be deep snow drifts on the road long before the plow returns.
Lava Creek let’s us view the topping ices thickness as the creek heads to Undine Falls.
Can you make out the falls? In a few miles this creek will flow into the Gardner River.
A better view, but most of the falls is covered with ice and snow.
A closer look at the icicles that formed along the falls.
We are almost to Mammoth, obvious by the terraces and the runoff from Canary Spring. Wind, blowing snow, and new snowfall make the surrounds look misty.
Officer’s Row from in front of the Visitor’s Center speaks of the military history of Mammoth Hot Springs. We are heading north and the sky is mostly blue even though it is snowing here at Mammoth. As usual, we experienced a slightly schizophrenic winter day across the Northern Tier of Yellowstone National Park. Regardless, it is always a gorgeous winter wonderland!
Until next time, stay warm my friend . . .
