Yellowstone Textures

As we drove into Yellowstone for a second time, I was excited to visit some new places recommended by a travel-loving couple, the McNavigators, as well as catch a couple of things we skipped on day one.

As we drove alongside the Madison River, we hit our first congested spot (as we had the day before). Elk were grazing alongside the water and the people were pulled off the road snapping photos. Mike slowly drove by as the kids and I looked. I had the camera in my hand, but I just couldn’t bring myself to look through the small lens—I was so amazed by the beauty of a lone male elk. I must say, Mike was a bit disappointed, since he only got to hear my description of the buck and didn’t get to see him. I took over driving for a while after this and Mike did the looking and photographing.

Per Data’s request, we turned onto Firehole Canyon Drive so we could view the Firehole Falls.

We returned to the main drive and drove a short way before spying a small herd of bison grazing next to a picnic area. I pulled over and we spent a bit of time observing them—and the people who dared to get too close to catch those close-up photos.

Next stop was Midway Geyser Basin to view the Grand Prismatic Spring. We’ve seen aerial photos of this spring and were looking forward to seeing it in person. Our view at the surface wasn’t quite as spectacular as the photos taken from above due to the large amount of steam this spring puts off. Still, it was a beautiful site.

After another tailgate lunch at a scenic overlook, we moved on to the West Thumb Geyser Basin (per the McNavigator’s suggestion). It’s odd to me that there are bubbling pots right alongside and in Yellowstone Lake. It makes me wonder about the health of the fish living there.

We returned to the Upper Geyser Basin to watch one more eruption of Old Faithful. We decided to climb Geyser Hill for a different view. I think we all agreed that the “show” was better from the lower perspective.

We headed for home about the same time as the night before, expecting to encounter a traffic jam and preparing to stop for another tailgate meal. Surprisingly, we drove right out of the park without any trouble.