YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Still in Wyoming, we headed west to the the world's first national park.

Scenery beyond one's imagination can be found here!   However, there's an interesting fact to be learned as well ....

Besides the well-known geysers, there is much more to be seen here thanks to the fact that volcanic activity is happened below us here ... all within the Yellowstone Caldera.

Geologic wonders, plant and animal life, and evidence of the fire of 1988 were amazing.

Our entrance to the park was from the east side.  Our first sights included snowy mountains and then Yellowstone Lake.

 Then we spotted STEAM & ANIMALS!

The steam could be hot springs, geysers, mud holes, or fumaroles!

Pelicans in "Pelican Valley"

MUD VOLCANO

Mud volcano AND a buffalo!

Hole is bubbling!

HOT SPRING

Hole was hissing!

We then passed by many rivers as we headed out the west side of the park to our campground, which happened to be in Montana!  :)

Buffalo in the field

GEYSERS!

Next morning, we were up with the lower 40-degree temperature at the crack of dawn, which is 5 a.m. where we were, and prepared to head out to see other parts of the park ... namely, Old Faithful, and some other main attractions.

To our surprise, we arrived in time to hear the announcement that the Beehive Geyser was about to blow in ten minutes.  It is apparently a taller geyser than Old Faithful, and it only explodes once or twice or day ... or not at all.  We didn't stand close to it ... we sat on the other side and enjoyed this one tremendously!

Notice its hive-like cone to the left of the steaming hole?

 There she blows!

 It blows for 5 minutes!

OLD FAITHFUL 

We had time to walk closer to Old Faithful and grab a front-row seat for this show.   

(After seeing Beehive, this wasn't as exciting!) 

The plume shape was lovely from our seats.

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After having our picnic lunch at a different area, we spent some time in the visitor center and learned more about what we are viewing in the park through the interactive displays and a movie.

Then we continued on the tour and saw smaller geysers and more colorful hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles.

Everything is exceedingly hot, acidic, and dangerous!  Numerous reminders were posted to stay on the boardwalks so that no other accidents like those of the recent past will be repeated.  

The kids had fun counting the number of hats that were blown off people's heads and off the boardwalks!

FIREHOLE CANYON DRIVE

This two-mile loop allowed us to view a canyon and a waterfall along the rim of the caldera.  

There is a "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" and "Mammoth Hot Springs" in the northern part of the park, but that is something we didn't do.  That leaves more for us to want to visit at another time!

We were hoping to see more wildlife as we drove the different loops -- particularly moose, elk, or a wolf.  It wasn't until the end of our time in the park when we were heading out that Youngest Child spotted one in the field!

There's a second one resting behind the flowers.

Our time here was another witness to me of the awesomeness of our Creator.   How else could something this vast and diversified within a 40-mile range continue for the world to enjoy?