Grand Prismatic Spring is just up the hill and oh so pretty...
This hot spring, the largest in the US, is the one whose image you see on many Yellowstone articles and items. The intense blue that lightens to turquoise, ringed in yellow, and surrounded by fingers of bright orange...
I think the only way to see the whole thing would be from the air, we were happy with the tendrils of orange that we got to see snaking beneath the raised path we walked...
When we got to this parking area, it was packed. We were fortunate to snag a spot, quickly parked, and set right off to see the wonders.
I'm so glad we didn't dawdle at the car! You see, there was this big ol' Bison kindof just standing in the distance. We noticed him, but we didn't stop to gawk or go in his direction. He was doing his thing and we were doing ours.
Well, apparently some folks don't know better. We had crossed the bridge and gone up a few twists of the trail as it wound up the hillside when we heard shouting. Everyone stopped and looked around, and back at the parking area was this tour bus letting off a whole load of tourists. I guess they were excited to see the Bison or something because they started taking his picture, etc...
He did not like it one bit...
There was a park ranger there and he was the one shouting, telling the people to get back on the bus. Stop! Get away from the Bison! They didn't listen. Not one single person got back on that bus. I realize that maybe none of them spoke English, but surely their driver did??? Anyway, they kept pouring out and the majority of them ran for the bridge (didn't they think that the beast could also run for the bridge and join them???) There was this one guy that stopped and hid behind a tree, taking the animal's picture as it walked towards him. Seriously! At the last minute the guy ran away to join his group and the Bison proceeded to gore the tree the dude had just been hiding behind. Whoa! This whole time the ranger is still shouting, the Bison is getting more agitated, and the tour group is still just taking pictures and staying slightly out of the animals way. I just CANNOT...
People, if you hear shouting, stop what you are doing. Look around, listen, and if it is you that is being shouted at maybe, just maybe, you should do something different than what you had been doing. Just a thought...
Anyway, the Bison finally tired of the chase and sauntered off to stop traffic for a while...
The tour group went along their way, chattering and taking pictures with their iphones on selfie sticks and ipads. The poor ranger hopefully got a cold drink to soothe his throat (and nerves). And we (along with everyone else that had collectively been holding our breaths, unable to look away) got on with our walk...
One of the largest features in this area is the Excelsior Geyser. Not really a geyser that we could see, but a giant crater filled with boiling water...
The water from this geyser continually spills out and runs down the hill we had just walked up to join the river below. Pretty neat :)...
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| yellow stones... |
We followed the walk around the different features...
...and back to the bridge across the river...
Fortunately there was no more drama with angry animals waiting there. We got back in the car and decided since it was getting late to head on down to Old Faithful, seeing it erupt was one thing the kids really didn't want to miss.
We got to the Old Faithful Visitor Center to check the predicted time of the next eruption...and we had just missed one. Darn it. Ok, so we roamed the visitor center for a while...the kids finished up their Jr. Ranger requirements and were awarded their badges. Then we decided to check out the large gift shop nearby, it's our favorite one in the park. And...it had already closed for the day. Bummer. With a good chunk of time still to wait for the geyser, we decided to have a parking lot picnic since everyone was hungry and we had time to kill. PB and honey sandwiches made using the bumper of the car as a table and we were good to go. We grabbed a flashlight and headed over to the viewing benches to wait for the show...
...and we waited...
...and waited...
...just as we were discussing giving up and coming back the next day, it happened! The steam billowed faster, the water gushed up, and all around you could hear exclaims of OOOooooohhh :)...
It was great :)...
We stayed until it was done, then made our way by flashlight to the car. I had never driven in Yellowstone at night before, but I was about to get my fill of it. We had reservations on Yellowstone Lake for the night and didn't know until we got into the park that the road just past Old Faithful was closed...which meant we had some backtracking to get to our cabin. Spooky woods filled with shining eyes at every turn (yes, I'm exaggerating...but only a little) and still we made it in one piece. All tucked up for the night, tired kiddos were asleep almost before their heads touched their pillows....a sure sign of a day well spent :).
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