besides cool thermal features, the wildlife viewing is also awesome... you just have to keep your eye out as you drive. right upon entering the park we saw a coyote and an elk right outside our car
we were lucky to to book one night at the historic old faithful inn, very cool hotel and a view of old faithful right from the hotel deck
old faithful is probably the parks biggest attraction. it is pretty impressive, erupting every 90 minutes
here you can see how close our hotel is to old faithful
old faithful is just one of the many geysers in this particular geyser basin. yellowstone is home to over half of the worlds geysers
boiling hot water! people have died falling into these things
super cool... but very hot and stinky
grand prismatic hot springs was probably my favorite place I the park. different color bacteria live in the different parts of the water depending on the temperature, creating beautiful colors. here is one of the hot springs on the way up to the grand prismatic overlook
and grand prismatic hot springs from the overlook, so cool
a closer look from the pathways right along side the hot springs, check out those colors!
caught a glimpse of a mama grizzly bear and her cub. really far away, but you don't want to be anywhere close to a mama grizzly protecting her cub
the grand canyon of the yellowstone is another big attraction in yellowstone. the waterfall and river carved this canyon over thousands of years. there are several viewpoints you can drive/hike to
artist point is one of the more popular view points of the canyon
a lookout point halfway to the falls
and the brink of the upper falls, you're literally standing right on top of the waterfall
view of the canyon from the brink
mammoth hot springs were very interesting to see... such odd shapes and colors
tons of elk just hanging out in the mammoth hot springs village
swimming in the boiling river was a very unique experience. boiling hot spring water empties out into a freezing cold river... and everyone bathes in the part right in the warm portion where the two meet. this small river carries the boiling hot water to the boiling river
people all lined up in the warm part of the river
tower falls, where we saw a mama and baby black bear (old got a photo of one)
hills covered with flowers all throughout the park
driving through hayden and lamar valley you are guaranteed to see a ton of bison. there are herds everywhere, they even cross the road and cause traffic jams
this coyote ran right by our car and crossed in front of us
norris geyser basin
artist paint pots. these were pretty cool... hot magma turns the rock into muddy clay that bubbles and squirts around from the intense heat. kinda hard to capture in photos
a few more animal sightings on our way out of the park
kepler cascades
rented a little boat to cruise yellowstone lake, the kids loved getting a chance to drive!
over the course of our 4 day stay in yellowstone, aiden and ava earned their junior ranger badges! they really did learn quite a bit about the park, its thermal features and wildlife, and why its important to protect the park and everything in it.
until next time, yellowstone! stay tuned for photos from jackson hole!
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