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Oct. 3rd, 2012 08:36 amIt's supposed to be chilly today (highs in the 50s! and yesterday was 75), and I don't know if we'll do anything interesting. But here are a few more photos from recent hikes we've done. First, we took DH to Mesa Falls. He'd never been, even though it's the go-to place for me to take visitors who want to see something beautiful but don't have much time or energy for hiking. It was open fees day and there were a lot of people (Mesa Falls is administered by the same folks who run the national parks). There was also a display about bears. Freaked me out for a moment when I came around the corner and saw this, though!
I love this place. It's hard to get tired of the view.
The one thing I've always wondered about, though, is why there isn't a hiking trail. You park, you get out and go down the boardwalk, and there's the waterfall. Done. But it turns out there IS a small nature trail, and this time it was marked and so we took it. An easy 1-mile hike to the end. Um...but if you go, keep a tight hold of your kids, because it ends in a major cliff and there are no guard rails of any kind.
There were plenty of these along the way. We call them Knackbeeren, but I don't know the English name (they are native to North America, though). You can't eat them, but if you step on them, they pop with the same satisfaction of bubble wrap.
There was a lot of basalt along the way, and at the end, the ground was covered with this kind of ropy lava, I forget the name of it.
And then last week, we went back to Cave Falls (see photos in entry below) and hiked along the trail to Bechler Falls, something I would highly recommend! An easy hike over mostly flat ground, through the forest and along the Falls and then Bechler Rivers. Just lovely! It looked incredibly like Germany, and the only thing you have to worry about is bears (they are rather active in this area). The ridge in the background here looks exactly like one of those Celtic Ringwalls we used to hike to in Germany:
Bechler Falls is actually more of a cascade than a true waterfall:
The calm Bechler River above the falls:
Bechler River:
I think this is the Falls River (they converge within Yellowstone's boundaries):
Just a beautiful little corner of Yellowstone that nobody knows much about.
I love this place. It's hard to get tired of the view.
The one thing I've always wondered about, though, is why there isn't a hiking trail. You park, you get out and go down the boardwalk, and there's the waterfall. Done. But it turns out there IS a small nature trail, and this time it was marked and so we took it. An easy 1-mile hike to the end. Um...but if you go, keep a tight hold of your kids, because it ends in a major cliff and there are no guard rails of any kind.
There were plenty of these along the way. We call them Knackbeeren, but I don't know the English name (they are native to North America, though). You can't eat them, but if you step on them, they pop with the same satisfaction of bubble wrap.
There was a lot of basalt along the way, and at the end, the ground was covered with this kind of ropy lava, I forget the name of it.
And then last week, we went back to Cave Falls (see photos in entry below) and hiked along the trail to Bechler Falls, something I would highly recommend! An easy hike over mostly flat ground, through the forest and along the Falls and then Bechler Rivers. Just lovely! It looked incredibly like Germany, and the only thing you have to worry about is bears (they are rather active in this area). The ridge in the background here looks exactly like one of those Celtic Ringwalls we used to hike to in Germany:
Bechler Falls is actually more of a cascade than a true waterfall:
The calm Bechler River above the falls:
Bechler River:
I think this is the Falls River (they converge within Yellowstone's boundaries):
Just a beautiful little corner of Yellowstone that nobody knows much about.
