More Yellowstone

After seeing Old Faithful and the rest of Upper Geyser Basin, we went to see Lower Geyser Basin -

And Midway Geyser Basin, where the star attraction is Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the US, and the third largest in the world.

The colors are just amazing!

Make sure you go in the hot part of the day, so there won't be too much steam.

But wouldn't it be nice to see it from above, maybe from that hill in the back.

Well, that's what I did 3 years ago! Unfortunately, the trail to get to that hill and an unofficial trail to the top was closed this time. But the good news is that they are building an official trail to the top, with a nice viewpoint. Unfortunately, it will take two years to complete.

The next day we headed out to the Canyon area of the park. You'd think I'd get tired of taking pictures of buffalo walking down the road, but I don't.

The big attraction in this area is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the Lower Falls.

While in the area we saw some big elk guys hanging around.

And an osprey nest, perched on top of a huge rock column.

The next day I headed out to Norris Geyser Basin. I did the small Porcelain Basin Loop, where there's a lot of hydrothermal activity going on.

And then did the larger Back Basin loop, where the star is Steamboat Geyser. It was even erupting a little.

And then I headed over to Artists Paintpots.

It's impossible to get a camping spot inside the park, because they are all reserved, but we got a nice one just outside the park at Bakers Hole Campground, just outside West Yellowstone.