August 10th, 2016

Right off the boardwalk, there appears to be a hike!  So of course we follow it.

It feels odd that the pine trees are small here.  I don’t know if that’s the elevation or if all this was destroyed in ‘recent’ history.

…and of course the hike goes up.  Well, up we go.  Might be a good view somewhere up there.

Pretty good view.  Looks like the Old Faithful visitor center is in view.

More up and up.  We haven’t seen anyone else on this trail yet, which is nice.

Oh yeah, a good view of the visitor center…I wonder if we can see Old Faithful go from here.

Eyup.  Thar she blows.

The boardwalk where we began this hike.  We reached a nice little cliff area that definitely had some good views.

Very pretty.  And we’re probably the highest point in this part of the park.

Of course, we make a friend.  Or at least he attempts to…we’re not giving you any of our snacks.

More hiking.  It actually feels good to be hiking again.  There’s a waterfall back here that we were told is pretty.

I’d say they were right.  Mystic Falls.

Alright, enough waterfall.  Time to head back to the boardwalk.

Not a pretty spring at all.  Definitely part of the Bog of Eternal Stench.

Time to move on.  I’m looking forward to seeing the next basin on the way – it’s where one of the most famous springs in Yellowstone is located.

The entrance to the Midway Geyser Basin.  A warmish river that surrounds a smoking heap of land.

An example of the warning signs they have everywhere.  They make it pretty clear that stepping off the boardwalk could result in death.

I’m so excited to see the Grand Prismatic!

Water from the geysers rolls of this hill and directly into the river.  Lots of bacteria that live year-round because of the temperature of the water.

I just love the color contrast.

Moving along the boardwalk…we are thankfully here between tour bus loads.

So much steam!  It is a little chilly right now, but not terrible.

And then the wind shifts and gives us a view of the area.

Apparently this looked very different 30 years ago.  It used to be an actual geyser then exploded so hard it blew itself into a crater.  That’s pretty damn awesome.  The last line on this sign is a big ominous too and I love that we’re standing on top of a potentially violent piece of land without a care in the world.

The other side of Excelsior.

More bacterial mats!  I don’t know why I think these are so cool, but I do!  This isn’t just a few feet of it either – this is in the center of a large boardwalk.

YES!  The big one!

…except this isn’t a good spot to view it.  We’re too close and the steam is not cooperating.  And, sadly for us, the actual vantage point, which would normally take you on a hillside overlooking it, is closed for construction.  Pretty disappointing.

The colors are pretty though.

You can kind of see the rings of colors.  We tried our best to get photos of the spring itself but the steam and lighting just wasn’t cooperating.  And we’re tired and getting jostled by people walking by.  It’s a single boardwalk loop and about 3-4 people wide at the max.

Despite the initial disappointment, it’s still really pretty to see.  Definitely need to come back when they finish the overlook.

A mini-prismatic spring.  Not nearly as dramatic, but kinda cool.

Despite all the warning signs…This lady was ignoring EVERYONE telling her to get back on the boardwalk.  Purposely ignoring them.  Until JA tapped her on the shoulder.  One of the reasons I love him – he’s direct, no nonsense, and hates it when people insist on damaging natural areas.

Suprise?

It’s black…which is a bit of a surprise.  Not sure why – there are no info signs around here to explain this.  Maybe because it’s deep?

And boiling.

More driving.  We’ve seen two of the most famous parts of Yellowstone and the day is mostly over, but we’ve only driven around half of the loop.

Lower Geyser Basin.  A short distance from Midway.  This is the Great Fountain Geyser.  It’s a giant wet spring area surrounded by natural growth, kind off in its own little area.  Apparently it erupts as well, but we’re not going to wait around to watch it.  We don’t have enough time to sit here – it apparently goes around sunset.  Still, it’s neat.  And there are almost no other people around.

Another one to come back and see on a second trip.

White Dome Geyser.  Another geyser that erupts.  It’s pretty cool that this one has built itself up.  It’s pretty tall – definitely over 10 feet high.

There was a family in a car that was on the same loop as us.  They stuck around to watch this one erupt and caught up with us at the next stop.  They said it was pretty high and worth watching.  Oh well.

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