Yellowstone Natl Park, WY - Aug 2007

During our two week stay at Henry's Lake State Park, we took several excursions into Yellowstone National Park. The west entrance to Yellowstone was only about 15 miles from the campground, so not a long drive, but once inside the park, it was still quite a drive to get to any of the main attractions. This is just one of the many picturesque meadows throughout the park and usually a good place to spot elk.

On this day, there was a herd of elk crossing the river to get to the grassy meadow on the other side. Even though it appears shallow in this photo, the river was so deep in spots that the elk had to swim across. They all seemed to be great swimmers and easily reached the other shore.

On our first day in the park, we drove directly over to my favorite section -- The Midway Basin. It's about 30 miles from the west entrance and it has the largest, most colorful of all the geyser pools. It's called Grand Prismatic Springs and I'm in awe every time I see it. It was a good day to get photos -- the steam coming off the springs was fairly thin -- enough to create a misty veil over the water, but not so much as to cover up the gorgeous colors. All of the geyser pool areas have boardwalks built above the ground to keep people off the delicate grounds and also keep them out of the dangerous pools (they are both hot and acidic.) This is the boardwalk approach to The Grand Prismatic Springs. The mist above the water looked like blue fog and it contrasted so pretty with the orange algae. You don't know how long I waited to get this photo without people in the picture -- ha! This Grand Spring is about 370' in diameter (think bigger than a football field) and the largest in Yellowstone and the third largest in the world!

While at the Grand Prismatic Springs (did I mention that it's my favorite feature in the park?), we noticed some people who were way over on the other side of the pool and they were up on a hilltop overlooking the whole basin. I just had to figure out how to get over there so I could try and get a shot of the springs from above. An online search produced several images of this view as well as plenty of photographer's comments on how to get there. Turns out it was about a mile down the trail to Fairy Falls and a steep climb up to the top of a hill. The climb left me winded -- the view left me breathless! BTW -- if you want to see some truly remarkable photos of this geologic feature, go to Google Image and search on Grand Prismatic Springs -- that's where I saw some exquisite photos.

We sat in awe for a long time as we watched the breeze play with the steam off the water. The tendrils of mist danced and swayed and changed colors and it was nothing short of mesmerizing. This spot is now at the top of my list of "Gems of Yellowstone!"

This is Cliff Geyser in Black Sand Basin. It was erupting when we arrived there, but had gone dormant again by the time we left. I was glad to get a shot of it spouting. Even though it doesn't look all that grand, the bursts got up to 20' high.

A close-up of Emerald Pool in Black Sand Basin. The temperature of the water dictates the type and color of the algae. I think green is cooler, but don't quote me on that. The descriptive sign said that the water was so clear that you could see down about 30 feet into this pool.

Also in Black Sand Basin -- this is Opalescent Pool -- calmer and cooler than the others, but colorful and with an interesting history. Super-heated, acidic water once flooded the surrounding area and killed the pines. Since then silica has collected on the dead tree trunks creating the white skeletons of trees surrounding the pool.

We left Yellowstone via the south gate and then headed out of Moran Junction on our way to Colorado. That gave us a chance to stop for lunch at the always lovely Oxbow Bend at the north end of Grand Teton National Park.