Yellowstone in Winter, Morning of Day 6

Wednesday was our final day in the Park. We took the Snow Coach back to Mammoth Hot springs and then the shuttle from there to Bozeman, again through Paradise Valley . . . which is not too shabby!

The Snow Coach stopped at Firehole Basin, which is where we went in the dark on the Starry Nights tour. It was wonderful to walk it in daylight, to see what was too dark to see at night, to watch the mud boil as well as hearing it, and to see all the scenes that we only heard on our first trip there. Our guide and Coach mates were in awe of our walking it in the dark and of our having seen, by flashlight, the elusive geyser erupting.

We asked the guide about working in the Park in winter versus summer. He had graduated from college in 2017, spent a year teaching English in China, and come to the Park as a summer employee at the most rustic lodge, Roosevelt. Most of the activity there centers around horse riding and old-time living in cabins. He worked there until mid-October, had a month between contracts, and started at the Snow Lodge in mid-November. The employees have a month to ready the place for guests. No lodges are open until mid-December when Snow Lodge opens.

The about 130 employees at Snow Lodge live in dorm-style buildings and pay $15 per day for lodging and their meals. The concessioner hires a recreation director to plan activities, such as a Paint and Sip party, Skiing trips, lots of workshops to learn about the Park, and other stuff. They have their own pub and the only TV in the  Park . . . for sports games. He claims it is a great gig. We enjoyed being with him for the morning.

The green color of the minerals in the magma is striking,

Walking over the hot springs on a boardwalk.

So much steam that the photo looks cloudy.

Glad I didn't fall off in the dark.

The rich blue color was hard to see with the difference in temperature between water and air causing all the steam.

The guide said that an advantage of coming in summer is that on a hot day there is little steam and the colors really knock your socks off.

Hard to imagine it's any prettier in summer.

Just . . . Wow!

 

Pam and James ahead of me walking back to the Coach with our driver/guide.

A final view in Firehole Basin.

Back on the Coach, cruising toward Mammoth Hot Springs.

So much variety in the scenery!

Ice on the trees that are near a hot springs.