39 WINTER 2020 ISSUE 02 / VOL . 01 SNOWGOER . COM 40
We rode at a moderate pace , about 25 mph , which was ideal for animal observing . I quickly spotted two plump bald eagles doing traffic counts from a dead tree limb . Below , a lone elk climbed up the hill . Guide Tim steered us into a rest area where a herd of bison was grazing along the river , and the cameras came out in force .
THE HEATED RIVER
Once the handful of bison finished posing , we hit the sleds and crossed the invisible divide into the bounds of the Yellowstone Caldera where things heat up , literally . The caldera last exploded about 640,000 years ago and would devastate much of the U . S . if it did so again .
Perched above this geologic hotspot where molten rock perpetually rises toward the surface , this segment of the park contains countless paint pots , geyser basins , the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone , Old Faithful , both falls of the Yellowstone River and most of Yellowstone Lake — the largest freshwater lake above 7,000 feet in North America .
Amid fields of deep snow , a steaming river without the usual covering of ice cut its way through the scene , with green grass miraculously growing on its shores . Tim said the river ’ s water was in the mid 50s , and the bare , snow-free ground provides vital grazing that helps maintain the park ’ s bison and elk populations throughout the unforgiving winter .
On one side of the road , Gibbon Falls was stunning against the pines , but I was drawn to the less common spectacle on the opposing side — hissing ground and a jet of foul sulfur steam shooting from the ground at Beryl Spring . This contrast of fire and ice is endlessly fascinating , and an unmistakable reminder