Our MisAdventure on this day is to the lake area. Our goal is to find the so far elusive moose, rumored to be in the area.

     The drive from West Yellowstone, MT to the lake takes us up the Madison River to Madison Junction and up the Firehole River past Firehole Falls. The road goes by Old Faithful and then over the Continental Divide twice before depositing us at the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake.

     Early explorers referred to the lake as a "vast inland sea". It is the largest lake at high elevation in North America, measuring 20 miles long and 14 miles wide, with 110 miles of shoreline. The deepest point in the lake is 390 feet and some underwater hydrothermal features rise 90 feet off the lake bottom. If one could view this area without the water in the lake, it would look similar to the geyser basins throughout the park.

     After enjoying the beauty of the lake, we continue our moose hunt driving east past Fishing Bridge. David has memories of the bridge area. As a youngster visiting the park with his family, David and Diane (his sister) were wandering around in the willows below the bridge. Turning a corner in the maze of brush, they ran smack into a cow moose. Screaming, they ran back to the bridge where the fishermen and women did not believe their story as the moose could not be seen from the bridge, the willows camoflaging the large beast.
     It is also interesting to note that fishing is no longer allowed off Fishing Bridge.

     We continue up Sylvan Pass toward the east entrance of YNP. We find a large herd of elk as we drive up this hill. Lots of burned standing trees rise above the ashes of previous forest fires. Green grasses and wildflowers grow through the snow cover, giving browse for the creatures of Yellowstone. The pass is located in the Absaroka Mountain Range, home of the largest habitat of Grizzly Bear in the United States.

     When the Washburn Expedition explored the area in 1870, Nathaniel Langford described Mud Volcano as "greatest marvel we have yet met with". Although the Mud Volcano can no longer be heard from a mile away nor does it throw mud from its massive crater, the area is still eerily intriguing.

     The rhythmic belching of steam and the flashing tongue of water give the Dragon's Mouth Spring its name, though its activity has decreased notably since December 1994.

     In January 1995, a new feature on the south bank of Mud Geyser became extremely active. It covers an area of 20 by 8 feet and is comprised of fumaroles, small pools, and frying-pan type features. Much of the hillside to the south and southwest of Mud Geyser is steaming and hissing with a few mudpots intermixed.