Old Faithful Area (Yellowstone National Park)

On our third day at Yellowstone, we traveled to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge where we stayed for two nights.  If we ever doubted that Yellowstone National Park sits upon a supervolcano, it was here where we were reassured of the volcanic, hydrothermal, and earthquake activity that occurs below.  Upon our arrival to the lodge at the Upper Geyser Basin, we could immediately see why Yellowstone is home to more thermal features than anywhere in the world.

It was here that we learned all about geysers, hot springs, fumaroles (steam vents), and mud pots, which occur simply because the hot magma boils the water just below the Earth's surface, making it either erupt or emit steam along fissures and cracks.

We were amazed at this new somewhat "alien" landscape.  On the first day, our tour guide took us to a place called Artists' Paintpots, a short boardwalk loop, which brought us to more than 50 springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots (about three miles south of the Norris Geyser Basin).  This is where we first learned the differences between thermal features.  Here's a quick lesson:

If you guessed this was a hot spring, you are correct!!

A closer look at the beautiful blue-green color of the spring.

A mud pot...

A fumarole or steam vent.

The next day (now in the 40 degree range), our treat was to see the Grand Prismatic, the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest hot spring in the world.  There we had a chance to enjoy a short walk to see its colorful beauty (all due to the bacteria inside the spring).  Before our walk, however, we received another treat--we were just in time to see the Flood Geyser erupt.  Part of the Midway Geyser Basin, the Flood Geyser erupts sporadically--sometimes within a 24 hour interval and sometimes within a three day interval.  It's unpredictability made it special to see...plus its spray was rather powerful.

Our first glimpse of the Grand Prismatic between the pines.

On our last night at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge (the first day of summer to be exact), it snowed!  Over the course of four days, the temperature in Yellowstone plummeted from the mid 70's to the low 30's.  I was disappointed to take out my hat and gloves, but it was magical to see Old Faithful erupt in the snow.

During our last day, I did a little souvenir shopping, and we had a chance to admire the Old Faithful Inn. Built in 1903-1904 with local logs and stone, the Inn is considered the largest log structure in the world.  It is one of the most famous buildings in the National Park System as it features a 76 foot tall lobby, a huge rough-stone fireplace, and overhanging log balconies and railings.  I read an article, shown below, that said in the early days, the Inn had a "winterkeeper" that was responsible to live there during the nine month winter when the hotel was closed (and temperatures could reach 60 below zero.) What a scary and lonely job!

Do you see the snow?

We saw the Beehive Geyser erupt from our bus!

The Old Faithful Area (the Upper Geyser and Midway Geyser Basin) was certainly a site to see.  It may have been cold during our trip, but the steam kept on pouring out from every direction.  We were truly amazed by its one-of-a-kind beauty.  On the very, very last part of this visit, our tour guide took us to a hot spring that liked to "bump, sizzle, and pop."  She had all of us lay down on the ground, so we could hear the "thumping" below.  A minute after the thumping and rumbling, bubbles would come to the surface of the spring.  It was truly the last natural wonder to make our Old Faithful trip complete.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River (Yellowstone National Park)

On our third day in Yellowstone, our little Yellowstone Forever bus brought us through the Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park.  Here we had a chance to see several breathtaking views of the canyon and its three waterfalls, including a hike to Artist Point, which is "one of the most photographed views of Yellowstone."  At Artist Point the rocks are different hues of pink and orange, and there's a "V-shaped" view of the canyon with the most beautiful view of Lower Falls.

All the kids on our tour with our guide, Chandler.

Our happy hiking crew.

Reflection time for Lewie as he was required to do some quiet contemplation at Artist Point. 
(This was one of the activities for him to earn his Junior Ranger Badge.)

Lower Falls, as we learned, is 308 feet high, which makes its height more than twice the size of Niagara Falls.  During our exploration of the canyon, we also had a chance to see the Upper Falls and Crystal Falls as well.

Beyond the scenery and the quiet meditation time, I did have three more favorite moments from the day.

1)  While in the middle of having a "family photo," we soon learned we had a "visitor" behind us.  A COYOTE was standing only a few feet away!  Well, that coyote could care less that we were taking pictures; he had his own agenda in mind.  He was way too busy trying to pounce on a little field mouse in the meadow!

Can you see the COYOTE?

There he is!!

2) On our way to the canyon, Chandler, our tour guide, brought us to a grassy field to have lunch.  After lunch, we played a game called Animals (Elk) vs. Resources.   What a great game!  One group on one side (six of us) were Resources (Water, Food, Shelter).  The other group on the other side (six of us) were Elk.  The Elk would secretly choose a Resource, and the Resource people would choose what they wanted to be (Water, Food, Shelter).  As the Elk came over to the other side, they would try to find their match.  If a person was Water (they would indicate this by using a rain motion with their hands), and if an Elk wanted water, the Elk would pair up with the person that was Water.  Then the person that was Water would now turn to an Elk and go back with the Elk to the other side.  However, if a Resource was not chosen, that person would remain a Resource.  Also, if an Elk wanted a Resource, say Food, but there was no Food Resource for that Elk, that Elk would now become a Resource.

To make it even more interesting, Chandler, threw a Wolf into the game, too.  The Wolf was allowed to try and "eat" the Elk as they tried to make it to a Resource.  If the Wolf "captured" an Elk, it would now become a Wolf.  (Wolves had limited abilities to capture Elk, so it was not easy for them.  They could only move from side to side, following an invisible line.)

The game was interesting because we never ran out of Elk nor did we ever run out of Resources.  What WOULD happen is that if we had ten Elk on one side and only two Resources on the other, most of the ELK would die and become Resources.  (At least eight of them would "die.")  On the other hand, if we had too many Resources, eventually the Elk would become more and more populous and the Resources would dwindle.  It was an excellent, fun, and visual way to teach kids about the cycle of life and how everything needs balance to exist.  It was also a reminder to the kids that, of course, if the ELK did run out of Resources altogether, (say because people interfered and took them away), the ELK would die off and become extinct.

Lunch in the meadow.

3) At the end of our canyon tour, we stopped by the Canyon Lodge Gift Store for some snacks and ice-cream.  There we got to see two things we've never seen before: 1) A Booth for Bear Spray Rentals and 2) A pale ale called Road Block, with, you guessed it, a picture of a bison standing in the middle of the road.  This was the perfect way to end our day!

Lewie and I had ice-cream, while Lew treated himself to one of these...