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| North Gate - Yellowstone's
only year round entrance - Gardiner, Montana, situated in
Southwest Montana, at the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
The town is nestled in breath-taking Paradise Valley, with the Yellowstone
River running right through town. Gardiner has the atmosphere of a quaint
western town. |
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| The Roosevelt Arch is the most famous structure in Gardiner. The Yellowstone Entrance Gateway or Arch was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt on 24 April 1903. The arch is visible from two miles north of Gardiner on Highway 89. |
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Below: Lee Duquette liked
the tree shown below because of the "hole" in it |
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Hymen Terrace
Below: Lee Duquette checked the temperature
of the water - "Cold" - what a surprise! |
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| For hundreds of years, people collected minerals from Mammoth Hot Springs for white paint. These minerals contribute to the beautiful terrace structures, along with heat provide by volcanism, a natural plumbing system that allows hot water from underground to reach the surface, water from rain and snow, and limestone deposited here millions of years ago when a vast sea covered this area. | |
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| Below: The 37 foot tall Liberty Cap - a dormant hot springs cone estimated to be 2,500 years old, and created by a hot spring that was active in one location for a long time. Its internal pressure was enough to raise the water to a great height, allowing mineral deposits to build slowly for hundreds of years. Liberty Cap was named in 1871 because it resembled the pealed knit caps symbolizing freedom and liberty during the French Revolution. | |
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Below:
Opal Terrace - Maximum water temperature here is 165 degrees
Fahrenheit. Glad the water Lee Duquette touched earlier was not hot like
this. |
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Below: Karen Duquette thought
this part of Opal Terrace looked like pumpkins. |
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Below: Killdeer (a bird species) nest on bare ground and will call out in alarm if visitors are too close by. |
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| Karen Duquette just loved photographing the texture and color in this area, Thermophiles (heat-loving microorganisms) create tapestries of color where hot water flows among the terraces. Colorless and yellow thermophiles grow in the hottest water. Orange, brown and green thermophiles thrive in cooler waters. Colors also change with the season. | |
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Below: Devil's Thumb at Mammoth Hot Springs |
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| Below: Great
colors and texture |
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Below: Minerva
Terraces |
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Below: Karen Duquette at Minerva Terraces in Yellowstone National Park |
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Below:
A mountain, overlook, and lots of stairs |
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Below: The view from the
top of the same overlook shown above. |
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Below: Looking down the
cliff at Golden Gate |
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Below: Sheepeater Cliff |
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The
Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers 
Please continue on to page 2 -