We started our day with a waterfall, Gibbon falls.
We then drove on toward Mammoth Hot Springs, but the temptation of a collection of springs called ‘Chocolate Pot’ springs was just too much to ignore, and proved well worth the stop, the rich collection of browns on this spring were stunning.
We heading across the plain past Bunsen Peak (where we were thinking about walking) and toward Mammoth springs…
and turned the corner only to find ourselves in a very different landscape in a matter of a few hundred metres:
At the bottom of the long hill, we came to Mammoth Hot Springs. They really are very big. Again there is a wooden boardwalk that lets you walk up the full 300-foot height of the springs, and around the various different formations – the boardwalk alone covers almost 2 miles, and there are about 60 distinct named thermal features in Mammoth Hot Springs.
The stream running away from this looked like any cool stream you would find elsewhere, but actually the water was warm, even this far from the springs. Remember, the water is running down from the springs about 250-300 feet up from here…
The high mineral content causes the pools to grow and extend into distinct terraces, some only a few millimetres high, but others 30, 40 or more centimetres high
These terraces are changing very quickly, so they will look different again by next year.
It could be clearly seen in this area how the springs take areas of vegetation. This small tree was stood in a grassy area only a few years ago, and now it is getting swallowed up by the growth of the spring’s terraces. You can clearly see how the deposits are building up on the branches in the water.
…killing plants and trees that had previously been growing there
But when spring stops then the material they have deposited drys out and the colourful bacteria die off, so the structure loses its colour leaving way for the vegetation to take back the area. The remaining structure is relatively soft and crumbly…
We had briefly seen an mother and baby elk in the distance by a river, but today we got to see more, First we saw a group walking along the side of the road.
Then a small group enjoying a bit of nice green grass. They were rolling about in the sunshine
Then in the evening in Mammoth we were overwhelmed, they were everywhere; well over 30 of them wandering around the main centre in Mammoth, making it very clear they own the place.
The waitress at the restaurant said that often they would have a group lying outside the door from her lodging meaning they would have to go out the back entrance. This was another group crossing the road as we headed back to the RV.
