Yellowstone
We arrived in West Yellowstone on May 1st to visit Yellowstone Park- in many ways, the culmination of our trip, though not the end by any means. Yellowstone, which sits on an enormous inactive volcano, covers 2.2 milion acres; the size of Puerto Rico. How best to appreciate it fully in three days?
On the first day in the park, we chose to visit the most touristy section which includes many of the hot springs, the Grand Prismatic Spring, the many paint pots and of course, Old Faithful. Hot springs are everywhere in the park. They spring up on mountains, near streams and on the hillsides and they frequently change locations. Paint pots are mud pots that turn different colors of red yellow, pink and brown and are made up of rising gases. But the Grand Prismatic Spring is the most visually impressive and awe inspiring to walk around. Its the largest hot springs in the country; third largest in the world. All the colors of the rainbow suuround this spring with microbial mats of bacteria cause the color around the rim and the pool itself is a deep blue.
We saved Old Faithful for last on our first day and we were a bit underwhelmed. The geyser goes off every 90 minutes or so and since we had just missed one during lunch, we had to wait awhile to see it. A crowd gathers in a semi circle quite a bit ahead of time, but while the geyser shoots high in thd sky, it only lasts a minute or two and then its over.
On day two, we covered Mammoth Springs, Roaring Mountain ( a mountain with many geysers spewing gas and steam ) and an entire town at Mammoth Springs including a hotel, restaurant, gift store and visitor center. Day three included the beautiful Lamar Valley where wildlife is prolific. And we were blessed with wildlife all three days: herds of bison clogging the sides of the roads, a baby grizzly right in front of us and antelope leaping as we drove past.
While all the parks are beautiful, Yellowstone has it all: mountains, rock formations, rivers, lakes, streams waterfalls, geysers hot springs and wildlife. We loved every minute.