Looks like the number one spot in Yellowstone is Old Faithful! Maybe because it was near noon by the time we got there, but I have to say the place was packed. Check out the amount of people around Old Faithful.
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| Just had lunch here at Old Faithful |
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| Old Faithful is boiling behind me |
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| Not sure what that clump is in front of Old Faithful |
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| Check out the crowds! |
Right next to Old Faithful is another area of hydrothermal features. There were 3 geysers that went off while we were waiting for Old Faithful to go. It was really cool. Kind of like a teaser. I am surprised that all of the people watching Old Faithful didn't go over there after the "show". That area was really interesting and pretty too. And it was a nice walk too!
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| This is right next to Old Faithful....three geysers erupted as we were waiting for O.F. |
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| there goes one now....very few people walked over later as compared to the amount of visitors at Old Faithful |
Old Faithful erupts about every 90 minutes of so. There is a chart in the Visitor's Center that lists the APPROXIMATE time of expected eruption. When it goes, the boiling water shoots up about 150 feet. It is truly a sight to see. You can tell by the crowds when the time is near..hhahah
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| Thar she blows....Old Faithful |
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| Old Faithful behind Tom - after the big spout |
After watching Old Faithful spout for a few minutes, we walked over to the boardwalk on the other side and we weren't disappointed at all. There were so many gorgeous hydro thermal features over there. We had already seen the geysers go off when we were at Old Faithful, and they did not go off again the whole hour or more that we were exploring over there.
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| the hydrothermal pools next to Old Faithful |
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| Isn't that beautiful? |
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| Pretty wild looking, huh? |
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| not sure what each thing is...mineral deposits I think, with growth on it? |
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| Wouldn't this make a nice pool? |
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| another odd looking feature |
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| amazing |
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| all these features are so different and they are next to each other |
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| more across the street, can you see in the background? |
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| Beehive geyser behind us |
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| pretty wild area |
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| Look at the various ecosystems...so close to each other |
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| pretty |
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| close up of Beehive geyser |
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| coming in for a catch |
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| we are talking day-glo lime green....it almost seems to be glowing! |
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| walking back to Old Faithful Inn and Visitor Center |
Afterwards, we walked through Old Faithful Inn, which is so nice inside! I skipped the ice cream in favor of a diet coke (I know...pretty good for me, huh!). The young cashier was having a bad day, and she gave me most of my change in nickels!! Nickels!! I guess she ran out of quarters. Oh boy.
From there, we drove to the West Thumb section of the park. There is still snow in the higher elevations, and what is there is still pretty deep. The forests were all dotted with leftover snow drifts. We passed Yellowstone Lake from above, and with the mountains in the background, it was majestic.
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| still snow at the higher elevations |
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| more-because I forgot how bad this past winter was! |
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| beautiful |
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| view across Yellowstone Lake |
In the meadow near the thermal features, the elk were snacking on the fresh greens. The big guy was very popular...people were snapping pics of him like crazy, and getting pretty close. The ladies (elk) on the other side of the field were hardly getting any notice!
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| look at that rack |
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| more elk (females) |
The West Thumb Geyser Basin is right next to Yellowstone Lake, which makes this area a little special to explore. The boardwalk goes down to the lake, passing all types of hydrothermal features along the way.
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| West Thumb...very interesting! |
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| hot springs right next to Yellowstone Lake |
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| isn't this fun? |
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| looks like this should be a spa treatment of some sort |
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| Enjoying the walk around West Thumb geysers |
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| hot hot hot |
Its amazing to see the that the hot springs flow right into the lake. There are even geysers in the lake! It must be a sight when they erupt! The whole thing was pretty fascinating.
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| Hot springs flow into the lake |
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| and the bacterial mats too...right into the lake |
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| a study in color |
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| geysers in Lake Yellowstone too! |
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| amazing |
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| nice mountains across the Lake |
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| seaweed |
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| such wild looking stuff here |
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| another geyser in Lake Yellowstone |
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| pretty cool huh? |
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| isn't this amazing? |
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| nice HOT turquoise pool |
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| flowing into the lake |
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| crystal clear turquoise blue...nice |
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| lots of yellow here |
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| nice colors too |
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| more of nature's art |
Heading back to our campsite, we passed the Continental Divide sign, which had a pile of snow next to it. Just had to get a picture of each of us standing there. I know....cheesy.....but I could not resist. ahahahah.
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| Continental Divide...and still a snow pile |
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| Wanted pics of each of us..I know, what a dork I am! |
We stopped briefly at Kepler Cascades, which was a short boardwalk to a nice waterfall. The chasm was really deep, when you looked straight down, and the river flowed nicely from there!
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| nice...powerful waterfalls |
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| the river afterwards |
Love the trees, so close together, with a grass carpet underneath. So many trees! Nice. As we were driving, there was a road jam. Sure enough, it was more elk in the meadow near the river. We too stopped, its so exciting to see the large mammals in their natural habitat.
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| so many trees here too, by the way |
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| elk lounging near the Madison river |
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| oh sorry, don't want to make you nervous |
There seem to be beautiful views no matter where you look. With the variety of landscapes in the park - you never know what you will see!
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| driving home past the Madison River...nice! |
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