We spent July 7th, 8th and 9th in West Yellowstone, MT. One of the first places that we stopped was at Firehole
Falls (top photo).These fa
lls drop 40 feet into a beautiful rock strewn glen.
A large number of squirrels and chipmunks inhabit this area and over the years have become so tame that they may be cautiously approached. I saw several chipmunks however they ran away before I could take their photo.Passing Old Faithful, about 2.5 miles south you encounter Kelper Cascade.(second photo) It is a short walk from the parking area to an over looking the tumbling white water and dark canyon walls.
As we head south, the Grand Loop road climbs through thick forests to Craig Pass where it crosses the Continental Divide at 8,261 feet. Just as the road crosses the Divide, it also crosses little Isa Lake, one of the world's most unusual lakes because its waters drain to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. And it does this backwards. The water flowing west from the lake eventually reach the Atlantic, through the Firehole, Madison, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. The water that leaves the east end of the lake flows to the Pacific by way of the Lewis, Snake and Columbia Rivers.
The Lewis River Falls ( third photo) come into view on the west side as the road crosses the Lewis River Bridge. The water draining from both Shoshone and Lewis Lake plunges about 37 about 37 feet. Both the lake and the river are named for Captain Lewis of the "Lewis and Clark" fame.
About 1.5 miles from the south entrance to the park are the Moose Falls(bottom photo) where Crawfish Creek tumbles down from the plateau toward the Lewis River in its deep canyon below. These spectacular falls are split into several channels by jutting lava rocks at their brink.
Each falls is so beautiful!
That is all for now.
Candy and Johnny
