Yellowstone 2025: Into the Park

 On July 14th, our Off the Beaten Path group climbed into two vans, and we set out on our drive to Yellowstone National Park, sixteen guests and our guides, Jack and Steve. Along the way they shared historical background on the area between Bozeman and the park, including the 1805 transit of Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery Expedition, led in part by the Shoshone woman Sacagawea.

 

We headed east and then south, and it was time for a rest break and a leg stretch. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

This spot was near the Beartooth Wilderness. 

Continuing south, we passed many features that kept us glued to the windows, including this dike, a volcanic intrusion.

Wild pronghorn grazed.

Private property, largely ranching, sometimes abuts the Park. Not all roads lead to "Rome."

A crowd of elk rested by the irrigation sprinklers.

We reached the park boundary at the Roosevelt Arch, named for Theodore/Teddy, our 26th president.

The sunlit side of the arch. Check out that stonework.

An obligatory photo of us.

A cluster of shops inhabits this gateway, where we picked up lunch fixings.

 

We drove on to a "hidden" lunch spot -- a basalt formation known to Jack and Steve, usually empty even though only a few dozen yards from a busy parking area for a different attraction. We even saw a pika, hurrah!

Soon we arrived at the Mammoth Hot Springs area, to visit and to spend the night.

We explored several trails and boardwalks. (Click on the map above to expand). Heat-loving microorganisms, or "thermophiles," feast on hydrogen sulfide, while cyanobacteria harvest sunlight.

Calcite (calcium carbonate) is deposited here as hot water rises through limestone and evaporates, leaving calcite behind. If the hot water passes through igneous rock instead, it creates more colorful formations.

Half moon, tree, calcite.

Walkways abound and must be repaired or replaced periodically.

A broad expanse.

Calcite accumulates in the landscape.

Many viewpoints are on offer.

After exploring the farther reaches of the calcite plains, we descended to see more.

 Formations and pools.

From the front, the appearance is very stratified or terraced.

Near the end, a hot spring remnant; mineral deposits built slowly for hundreds of years.

A mixed pile and the calcite's edge.

After dinner at the Mammoth Hotel Dining Room, Jack offered a postprandial walk. Joan and I joined in, and as dusk deepened, we heard elk bugling, saw a nearby landslide from recent flooding, and spotted a "Mormon cricket" -- a large, wingless katydid that can devastate crops and cause traffic hazards. It was quite dark by the time we retraced our steps to the hotel.

 

An extremely full day it was.

Yellowstone 2025: Begin in Bozeman

Joan and I flew to Bozeman, Montana, on September 12, 2025, to participate in an Off the Beaten Path (OBP) exploration of the Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. This was a day before the official start on the evening of the 13th, giving us time to explore. After checking in at our hotel, the Kimpton Armory, we went up and down the main street, identifying options for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch, bought some chocolate, and visited the Off the Beaten Path home office to see folks that so far only been voices on the phone, or an email address. We and other visitors had some great travel conversations there.

 

We had an early dinner at the hotel (5:00) so we could attend a movie about Ellen Jovin's quest to set up a grammar table in a public space in all fifty states, answering grammar questions from passers-by. Joan had earlier purchased tickets online for this documentary, to be shown in the historic Ellen Theater that evening. On arriving at the theater, we discovered Ellen out front hawking her book, Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian. We chatted and bought a copy, which she signed. The Ellen Theater was a restored historic and well-decorated building, the movie was entertaining and enlightening, and Ellen answered questions afterward. How fortunate it was that the trip schedule allowed us to be in Bozeman on this particular day!

 

After coffee and a big breakfast at the Main St. Over Easy, Joan and I spent most of the 13th exploring. We visited the old Bozeman jail, now the Gallatin History Museum with a wide range of exhibits and historical artifacts. Bozeman was a boom town in the 1860s due to the discovery of gold in nearby Virginia City and the creation of the Bozeman Trail, which attracted settlers and miners to the area. We followed a walking tour route through the old town, with many classic/historic buildings, including the T. Byron Story Mansion. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

Observed from the curb.

Joan and I had a chat with the owner of another historic home, who was mowing his lawn and curious about these two strangers staring at his house.

 

The current St. James Episcopal Church building was built in 1889-90.

Then our wandering took us to the Emerson Arts & Culture Center, which includes an artists' co-op. Joan and Nick, one of two glass artists, fell into a long conversation. Then we decided to visit La Chatelaine Chocolat to buy more chocolate confections. Finally, back at our hotel, we checked out the rooftop pool, and I took this elevated photo of Bozeman.

That evening our group assembled, and food, introductions, advice, and schedules were served. Jack and Steve, our Off the Beaten Path guides, took a photo of each table; here's the one featuring Joan and me.

What a day!

Last Remnants of Lucent

I was based for 25 years at the AT&T facility in Columbus, Ohio, later the spinoff Lucent Technologies, built in 1958 and expanded in the 1970s. In 2003, the nearby Mount Carmel Hospital purchased it for office space, and then moved out in 2022. The building has since been vacant, and is now being torn down. The extensive former AT&T/Lucent property behind the building already hosts multifamily residential buildings, which are now creeping forward to replace the last vestiges of my former workplace. Here's a photo from across the street.

The new is being built up simultaneously with tearing down the old.

A closer look.

Destruction can be dusty work.

Sic transit gloria Lucent.

Canadian Rockies 2025: Helen Lake

On July 29th, Joan and I took our final hike of this visit, to Helen Lake, a popular spot. The trailhead isn't far from the Lodge at Bow Lake. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

We pulled off at the Bow Lake Viewpoint, and this was the view looking back at the lodge.

Zooming in.

Parking for Helen Lake was nearby, on the other side of the Icefields Parkway. The trail takes off through the woods, crossing small creeks and requiring attention to roots, rocks, and erosion. After a while, the Crowfoot Glacier peeks out.

Bald patches began to appear. This one offers a view of the Bow River.

A few minutes later, we spotted this grouse.

Joan and I aren't the fastest hikers. After about two hours, we reached the bend into the eastern flank of the ridge. Just ahead of us were the manager of the lodge, Bruce Millar, and his wife Alison. They have been mentioned in this blog from the years when they ran the Lake O'Hara lodge.

Looking to the south, we could see we'd indeed come up a ways.

The flowers were enjoying the sun.

After strolling through creek crossings, roots, and stone steps, we approached the lake's outflow and noticed the braided trails ahead, worn by heavy foot traffic.

Helen Lake lies at the foot of a ridgeline.

We paused at the shore for a snack, sharing the view with other hikers (and the many dogs they had brought along). Then we continued, ready to tackle the climb to the ridgeline. This photo is a look back at Helen.

One highlight of this area is the marmot population. Today, several youngsters were out between the lake and the ridge.

The truly hardy hikers would tackle not the ridge, but ascend Cirque Peak (2,993m / 9,819'). (Click on the image to enlarge!)

Some were already at the top! They must have been up early, or very fast, or both.

Joan and I walked out to the end of the ridge above the lake.

From the ridgetop, this panorama shows Helen Lake peeking out from a bump in the land.

Katherine Lake lies on the other side of our ridge.

Looking at an angle at the ridge and Dolomite Peak.

From near the saddle, we looked down at Katherine Lake. It's not far, but we needed to conserve our energy for the return journey.

However, we'd heard that there was a stromatolite bed nearby, and with a little wandering we found it. (Stromatolites are layered sedimentary formations created by microorganisms such as cyanobacteria. They produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials into mineral mats that build gradually, adding layer by layer over geological time.

The layering is clear when you get close.

Then it was time to begin our return, with more marmot encounters on our way back to the lake.

Once back into the trees, this Clark's nutcracker studied us as we passed beneath. It was a long day, and by the end I had to slow down to feel secure navigating roots and rocks. Joan pulled ahead, but waited for me at the end. Helen Lake: highly recommended, especially if you continue to the ridgeline beyond.

This was the last hike of our 2025 visit. The next day, we made our usual stops on the way to the Calgary airport: buy chocolates at Le Chocolatier in Canmore, return our bear spray to the Barrier Lake Visitor Center, and lunch at the Nepali restaurant Amma in Cochrane (great food!). The next morning we flew back to Columbus.