Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Springs boasts that it has the largest mineral hot springs pool in the world.  It has a daily flow of 3,500,000 gallons of water, at approximately 124° F.  The spring feeds the Glenwood Hot Springs resort.  The main pool at the resort is 405 feet long and 100 feet wide. It contains 1,078,000 gallons of water, and is kept at about 90° F. The other pool is 100 feet long and contains 91,000 gallons of water. It is kept at a temperature of about 104° F.  


I've put 10,908 miles on the truck so far this trip, so I was due for my 2nd oil change.  After getting the oil changed at the local Grease Monkey, Roxanne and I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon at the hot springs. Later we went back for an evening soak.

Colorado

We left Thermopolis this morning and headed to Colorado. KOA campgrounds had a special this weekend. If you stay Friday night you get to stay Saturday night for free. Therefore we are staying at the Glenwood Springs West KOA campground. The cool thing is that it is located on Interstate 70, the same Interstate that runs through Wheeling, WV. We drove pretty much all day, so I didn't get any pictures. Note: 43 years ago today RoxAnne and I were married.

Another day in Thermopolis

Yesterday they had the pool completely drained for cleaning.  This morning I woke up and the pool was completely filled. A few minutes later I was in the pool soaking. The water seemed a little warmer than the previous time I was in it.  Rox and I soaked for about 2 hours, came back to the camper and ate breakfast, then soaked again. After a late lunch we took a drive through the Wind River Canyon. I took some pictures, but they don't begin to show how amazing the canyon really is. A few more times in the hot springs and we were ready for bed.

The campground pool refilled with hot spring water

A view from the campground pool

The Boysen Dam at the head of the canyon provides hydro electric power, flood control and provides irrigation for over 100,000 acres of farmland

Cleaning Day

Every Wednesday the hot springs pool at the campground is drained, cleaned and refilled; therefore, we were not able to use their pool.  Thermopolis has many hot springs to soak in, so we weren't too upset.  We choose to visit the Hot Springs State Park in downtown Thermopolis.   The park has a free bath house where the water is maintained at 104 degrees for therapeutic bathing.  It rained most of the day, so Rox visited a quilt shop, but otherwise we were pretty lazy. The beef stew in the Instant Pot was great for dinner.

This picture is overlooking one of the many hot springs in Thermopolis

The campground pool completely emptied for cleaning

The outdoor hot springs pool at the state park

Fountain of Youth

We are currently staying at the Fountain of Youth Campground in Thermopolis, WY.  It is a mediocre campground, except for one special feature. They have the largest mineral pool in Wyoming, and the third largest in the world. The pool is fed by the Sacajawea Well, named for the Indian squaw who led Lewis and Clark.  At an elevation of 3,947 feet, the bone warming 100 degree pool will make you forget your worries. The well was drilled in search of oil. Instead of oil, hot mineral water was struck. The pressure was so great that it destroyed the derrick when it came in. Currently, the well flows at a rate of 1.4 million gallons of 128 degree water each 24 hours. The pool measures 235 feet by 72 feet and holds 84,600 cubic feet of water. 

The pool has three separate sections.  The closest one is 128 degrees, the middle one is about 103 degrees, the furthest one is 100 degrees.

The Sacajawea Well that feeds the mineral pool

Old Faithful

We left Yellowstone National Park today, but before we left we had to stop and see Old Faithful. It erupts about every 90 minutes and it was on cue today with the eruption starting at 9:17am.  The eruption height is usually about 150 ft. You can see my video by going to https://youtu.be/iJGQvM5oUAo.

It was 41 degrees with rain and sleet in Yellowstone, so we decided to drive South. We are currently at the Fountain of youth Campground in Thermopolis, WY. It is sunny and 75 degrees here.

Lamar Valley

We wanted to spend time in Yellowstone National Park today, but the park is so big we couldn't do it all.  In addition, it is the weekend and there was lots of traffic.  We decided to concentrate on the northeastern side of the park called Lamar Valley.  The area is known for fishing on the Lamar River and lots of wildlife.  We saw hundreds of bison, a wolf, elk, hawks, and pronghorn sheep.

As we were watching this hawk it flew down and grabbed a rabbit

Pronghorn sheep

A rare sighting of a wolf

The wolf looking at the bison

The male pronghorn sheep have the antlers

The bison was chasing the pronghorn sheep

A slight traffic jam

I gave him the right-of-way

A female elk

Part of Mammoth Springs

Another part of Mammoth Springs

Roaring Mountain