Yellowstone National Park

World's Largest Collection of Geysers

It's wonderland. Old Faithful and the majority of the world's geysers are preserved here. They are the main reason the park was established in 1872 as America's first national park—an idea that spread worldwide. A mountain wildland, home to grizzly bears, wolves, and herds of bison and elk, the park is the core of one of the last, nearly intact, natural ecosystems in the Earth’s temperate zone

Following postcard was inside my hotel room ("Old Faithful Inn") and I mailed it to myself.!!

It has a special cancellation of OLD FAITHFUL STATION.!!

The Old Faithful Inn is a hotel located in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States, with a clear view of the renowned Old Faithful Geyser. The Inn features a multi-story log lobby, flanked by long frame wings containing guest rooms.

With its spectacular log and limb lobby and massive (500-ton, 85-foot) stone fireplace, the inn is a prime example of the "Golden Age" of rustic resort architecture, a style which is also known as National Park Service Rustic. It is also unique in that it is one of the few log hotels still standing in the United States. It was the first of the great park lodges of the American west.

Initial construction was carried out over the winter of 1903-1904, largely using locally-obtained materials including lodgepole pine and rhyolite stone. When the Old Faithful Inn first opened in the spring of 1904, it boasted electric lights and steam heat. (From Wikipedia)

The structure is the largest log hotel in the world; possibly even the largest log building in the world. In 2007 the American Institute of Architects conducted a survey to determine the 150 favorite buildings in America; the Old Faithful Inn ranked 36. The Inn, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, is itself part of the Old Faithful Historic District.

Uncle Tom's Trail was first constructed in 1898 by "Uncle" Tom Richardson. The five years following its construction, Uncle Tom led visitors on tours which included crossing the river upstream from the present day Chittenden Bridge, and then following his rough trail to the base of the Lower Falls. The tour was concluded with a picnic and a return trip across the river.

Today Uncle Tom's Trail is very different from the simple trail used by Mr. Richardson and his visitors. It is still, however, a very strenuous walk into the canyon. The trail drops 500 feet (150 m) in a series of more than 300 stairs and paved inclines.

Artist Point : The name Artist Point is believed to have been given to this location around 1883 by Park Photographer F. Jay Haynes. The name appeared in print for the first time in Mr. Haynes guidebook, published in 1890.

I also send covers to my philatelic friend.
1) To Croatia : http://stamps-croatia.blogspot.com/2012/09/usa.html
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Things To do in Yellowstone: Trip Day 2, West Thumb and Mud Voclanos

After Upper Geyser Basin, we began to drive down the road toward Yellowstone Canyon through West Thumb. So called West Thumb because of its shape, it is an extension of Lake Yellowstone.


     Where the road from Upper Geyser Basin meets the Road at West Thumb, a geyser basin exists. Called West Thumb Geyser Basin, it has roughly 20 geothermal features.
 

     However, it did not look all that interesting. So, after visiting the visitor's center and getting information, we moved on.

The next stop was the Mud Volcano Area. The mud volcano area was one of the most bizarre areas in the park. Its extremely hard to do just to it through words. There were places where there was boiling, super fluid mud.

One of the better known attractions of this area is Dragon Mouth Spring.Dragon's Mouth is a turbulent hot spring with a cavernous mouth. Water sloshes rhythmically in and out of the cavern giving the impression of a large overflow; however, the actual discharge is quite small. Much of the activity and energy is located within the cavern. As hot water rises to the surface, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor gases expand creating a pressure explosion in the cavern. The resulting activity is sloshing, belching, and steaming.

The 1871 Hayden Expedition named this thermal feature. At that time Mud Volcano was a very active mud spring with bellowing and exploding mud. In later years since its discovery it has not shown the same forcefulness. It has since been a quiet caldron with occasional churning caused by rising gases.

The Sulphur Caldron in Yellowstone National Park is one of the park’s most acid hot springs, with yellow and turbulent waters reminding one of an evil witch’s brew. It is almost as acidic as battery acid, but is a pool of life all the same. Bacteria live within the ultra-hot waters, creating the colors you see.