Yellowstone - Pt. 3

Our third venture into the park was greeted by this unusual tour bus near the entrance. The front half has really comfy individual seats and the back looks like triple decker berths. Next, we were greeted by a small herd of elk grazing near the Mammoth Springs restroom. Unbothered by the park visitors and their cameras, these graceful creatures were a pleasant welcome.

Boardwalks wind around the sizable Mammoth Springs formations and we enjoyed getting a close view of the active area.

The grey colored portions are hardened rock formations called travertine, the more colorful areas are the active springs steaming calcite to the surface from the limestone havens below.

Signs advised that the springs are continually changing with some years more active than others. This reminds us that this area is still active and the forces that shaped this whole area are at work below and like everything else in God's complete control.

I have the privilege of being the science teacher and here I strike a happy pose with my students as we enjoy this great field trip.

The trees in the foreground that have been overtaken by the everchanging steaming geothermal landscape and looks strangely like a frozen winter scene. This area is labeled Canary Springs and is visible for miles from the westbound and northbound portions of the park roads.

We drove south and east to the Norris geyser area. We caught a glimpse of the vast geyser area between these trees.

After reviewing an exhibit that explained the different types of geothermal activity, we took a fairly gentle trail to see Steamboat geyser. Famous for eruptions of several hundred feet, we wanted to be sure to see this one. The geyser is, unfortunately, very unpredictable - having had it's most recent major eruption over 7 years ago. Alas, it didn't erupt on this day - however, we weren't sure the viewing area was a safe place to be if it had! The geyser is continually erupting a few feet and very volatile, so we easily watched its activity for awhile.

As we completed the upper loop, we diverted to see the Virginia cascades. Each time we took one of the side loops, we were not disappointed.

We continued back toward the north and stopped at an overlook for Tower Falls. The parking area was swamped, but we could catch a pretty good view from the overlook. Not a great photo spot, but the boys enjoyed seeing it without fighting a crowd.

With that, we concluded the day's activities and returned to the RV park.