Sorry about not posting this last night, but we had a busy, exciting day, and I was too tired.
Right when we entered Yellowstone, our nation's majestic symbol, the bald eagle, welcomed us from his tree-top perch.
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| Watch out! |
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| The bubbling Fountain Paint-pot. |
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| The Red Spouter. This geological feature was created by the Hebgen Lake Earthquake. It can be a steam vent or mud-pot depending on the season. |
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| Clepsydra Geyser |
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| Look how deep and blue this pool is! |
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| Dad has let Mom drive the RV for once on our trip. Look at her co-pilot! |
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| White Dome Geyser |
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Young Hopeful Geyser
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| Excelsior Geyser Crater |
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Grand Prismatic Spring. Bacteria mats from Extremophiles, heat loving bacteria give the surrounding areas the bright rainbow colors. Thermophiles live in the water of the pool. Scientists can apply the knowledge of these bacteria to look for life forms elsewhere in the universe. FUN FACT: Photosynthetic bacteria is orange or green, and non-photosynthetic bacteria is black.
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| The striations of the surrounding area were really neat! |
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| Opal Pool |
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| Hot Cascades |
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| Ah, the dear Old Faithful geyser. Look at the people congregating even though there is still about 45 minutes to the eruption time. |
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| Old Faithful beginning to erupt. |
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| The highest spurt of water from Old Faithful. |
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Beehive Geyser, an unpredictable geyser, errupted shortly after Old Faithful, but the spurts of water were much higher. We were walking toward it when it began erupting, as a ranger predicted it would erupt in the next 20 minutes by the way it was acting, but we didn't quite make it, but we had a good spot.
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The architecture of the Old Faithful Inn was spectacular!
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| The inside reminded me of something from Swiss Family Robinson. |
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| The general store had cool wooden detailing. |
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| Yellowstone Lake, the largest high altitude lake in North America at 7,732 feet above sea-level. |
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| The antelope likes the Yellowstone Lake. |
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| Bison, soaking up the afternoon sun! |
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| A compass rose outside the door of a Visitor Center. |
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| We drove through an enthralling canyon on our way to the campsite. |
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| He really loves his wood-piles. A campfire for us! :) |
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| Karen and Dad's "small" campfire is still the biggest in the campground. |
Yellowstone was formed by the force of volcanism in addition to help by seismic activity. It resides on an active hotspot, so the magma heats the water creating the different ecosystems and geysers. Most of the park is a caldera or basin which was formed when a volcanic crater collapsed.
In 1872, Yellowstone became the world's first national park. This new concept allowed people to protect and preserve land for future generations.
Cool campfire.Nice job Karen and Rich. Love, Jocelyne
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteYour pictures and descriptions were worth the wait! They showed Yellowstone in all its’ glory! It is such an amazing place, like candy for the senses. I remember grandpa driving in the park and we were stopped by the Bison as they were walking in the road. They are one large animal you wouldn’t want to hit! I hope you had some S’mores to go along with that camp fire! I’m sure you all will enjoy the rest of your time in Yellowstone!
Love,
Uncle Chris
Amazing pictures Amy-I am sure all of this is much more splendid when you are standing there, however I can appreciate the beauty of it all from your photos and descriptions.
ReplyDeleteLooks like your Mom and her co-pilot did a fine job, as well as your Dad and Karen with the fire building. Maybe they can teach classes when you get back home. LL Bean or Cabella's might hire them! I have to get ready for work now. Will be looking forward to the next posting tomorrow. Love, Aunt Debbie
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there were so many geysers! They're all so different, but my favorite is the young, hopeful one - is's so cute!! Glad to see you finally had a campfire on your camping trip - it looks like a good one at that!
Even though there are skeleton heads and earthquake legends, and now I know strange bacteria with mats, I still wish I were there with you. I really do not like bacteria though...
My encounter with nature today consisted of walking out the front door with Sophie a few moments ago and smelling a very smelly skunk! I told Sophie I was scared, but she needed to go, so we crept to the cul-de-sac and I prayed the whole way! Fortunately we made it back safely!
By the way, I also love the picture of the Opal Pool - now that looks inviting and like a pretty piece of jewelery! I hope today was wonderful too!!! See you later. Love, Auntie Pam <3