National Parks Wonders

With hot coffee in hand on a cold, sunny morning we waited for old Faithful to erupt. What a sight! It lived up to the hype. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Later we hopped on our coach to tour other parts of the park. First stop was the Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin. This area gets its name from the reds, browns and yellows of the mud caused by oxidation of the iron. Walking along the half-mile trail we saw many hot springs, geysers and mud-pots. We then stopped at Artist Point for a great view of the Lower Falls of Yellowstone. The falls are part of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The present canyon is 10,000 to14,000 years old. Now I know why the park is called Yellowstone! The color comes from the iron in the rock. As we traveled north we got our first good look at a herd of buffalo from the coach. We stopped for lunch at Mammoth Hot Springs. The step-like terraces made of travertine are beautiful. The Liberty Cap is a hot spring cone formed when mineral deposits built up over an active geyser. Mammoth Hots Springs is the Park headquarters and contains some of the oldest buildings in the park. In fact the army used to manage the park. The army is gone but the elk are comfortable here and we saw them up close enjoying a shady spot. We arrived back at our hotel in late afternoon in time for a guided walking tour of Geyser Hill near Old Faithful. Yellowstone National Park is large and grand. We loved seeing so many parts of it, including two more eruptions of Old Faithful.Lue lisää