Day 3: Filling in some gaps...
Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone Lake & Waterfalls, Hayden Valley, Lewis & Snake River, Rockefeller Parkway, Jackson Lake, Grand Tetons
On our third day, we tried to see some places that we couldn't let pass unvisited before leaving this paradise.
First on the list was the
Grand Prismatic Spring (see page), a wonder of colour that is part of the Midway basin.
After we made our tour of the Prismatic Spring Basin, we drove on to Craig Pass. Little Isa Lake lies across the
Continental Divide. On one side of the Grand Divide, the waters belong to the basin of the Gulf of Mexico, they flow to tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. On the Western side, the waters gather into the Columbia River and flow to the Pacific. The waters of Isa Lake can flow to either side...
Hayden Valley
The Grand Loop road continues to West Thumb, where we reached Yellowstone Lake. We followed its banks up North, to Fishing Bridge and then along the Yellowstone River as it streams through Hayden Valley and up to the Upper and Lower Falls and the incredibly colourful Yellowstone Cayon. A world marvel!
The Yellowstone Canyon
Along the cold Lewis River to Jackson Lake
Now we trusted that we had seen the unavoidable must-sees of Yellowstone Paradise and traveled South again. We drove along Highway 89, the South Entrance road. From Lewis Lake and Falls, we followed the Lewis and Snake River to Jackson Lake and the Grand Teton National Park. The part between the South Entrance of Yellowstone and Jackson Lake is called the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. This scenic road with 9,700 ha of protected nature forms the link between the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. This John Rockefeller was a conservationist, as was his son Laurance (see
Laurance Rockefeller Preserve).
The weather was none too kind to us now, and up on the divide between the Yellowstone and Lewis Rivers, it was cold, windy and icey.
Our second sleeping place on this trip was a beautiful log cabin at
Togwotee, east of the Grand Teton Park, on US-26 in the direction of Dubois.