Yellowstone

 This is the second time we planned to go to Yellowstone..the first time was right after Covid and everything was shut down.  We really wanted to go before it got too cold, in fact we went a day earlier than planned because the weather was supposed to change while we were there.

Forecast was around 65 for the high, turning to a high of 37 the last day we were going to be there..so we moved our trip up a day, leaving on the cold day....smart move, as the weather was beautiful!  Cold in the mornings, below freezing, but warmed up nicely quick.

Yellowstone is an amazing and HUGE place.  It's very spread out, so you will do a lot of driving.  It's got so many different areas.....waterfalls, lush pine forests, dry and desolate parts, huge meadows, and of course so many hot areas.

We already  knew Yellowstone is basically a super volcano, which is why there is so much heat underground.  We didn't know that most of the park is actually inside the volcano, where the ground dropped below the rim of the volcano.  The hot magma is about 3-5 miles below the surface, which is pretty close.

Yellowstone has more than 60% of the world's geysers.  You'll see things in Yellowstone you won't see anywhere else. 

We stayed at the Three Bear Lodge that had a Three Bears and Goldilocks theme going for it.  We were supposed to have three beds, as Matt and Marissa came with us too.  When we got into the room, we saw two beds and then this little one.  Shelley was a little upset as she thought we got assigned the wrong room, as Hannah couldn't fit in this small bed!

We then saw another room, that had another bed in it!

Hannah tried out the bed...yep....not quite big enough.  I guess Baby Bear wasn't that big......

Matt & Marissa tried it out too.....not quite

The room was decorated well with the story....

It was a big room and we had plenty of space!

We got up early the next day and headed out to the park by 8.  Hannah had to attend a virtual class and needed wifi, so we headed to the Old Faithful area which had cell service and the plan was to use her phone as a hotspot.

Well, that didn't work out too well.....the service wasn't strong enough and all the hotels in the area were closed so we couldn't go in and use their wifi.  Needless to say, she missed her class. She wasn't too upset.

Yellowstone has four entrances, we stayed in West Yellowstone, a very small town 100% for tourists.  They have these bison statues all over town, all painted differently

Our hotel had a restaurant on-site so we got to eat in the restaurant, and have a hot breakfast included with our stay!  The food was amazing and SO much food!  This is the kids meal pancake breakfast....

French toast with huckleberries....  YUM

The normal pancake breakfast..these pancakes were HUGE!!!! Couldn't eat them all

Our breakfast included hot chocolate....we got it every morning!  It was so good!  And it was cold out..It was about 20 each morning when we went to breakfast.

Even the restaurant stayed with the three bears/goldilocks theme. 

Time to enter the park!

Soon after entering the park, wide open meadows with steam are visible

As we were walking around Old Faithful, this guy was just walking around.....

Much of Yellowstone is miles and miles and miles of boardwalks.....I feel sorry for the boy scout who got this as his Eagle project!

Hot "thermal features" are everywhere...thousands of them...big and small

This is all there is between you and danger!  The very day we were here, at this part of the park (Old Faithful), a 3 year old quickly wandered away from his parents and fell into one.  He/She was lifeflighted.....we learned later with 2nd degree burns

The backside of Old Faithful...it goes off every 90 minutes, so we had some time to explore before

We went up to the overlook while we were exploring....you can see Old Faithful down below, spewing steam

We made our way back down to the viewing area with plenty of time to spare

VIDEO:

Of course Hannah had to take some time to pose

VIDEO:

No....no editing of the pic..this is how many of the pools look.....it's actually bacteria....the more blue the color, the hotter the water is....different types and colors of bacteria live in the water depending on how hot the water is

This one looked like a skelaton head

This is the Morning Glory thermal pool....it was pretty big and very colorful

JOHNNY!!!  NO!!!!!  

This one was really big...hard to see the colors in the pic

Grand Prismatic Pool - the largest in the park..and the one you see on all the magazines.....the most colorful. We went to the overlook to see this one.....it was definitely a WOW moment!

Warm water from all the smaller geysers and pools in the area just flows into the river

Next we visited this desolate area...super acidic geysers and pools here...not much grows in this part

JOHNNY!!!! NOOOO!!!   

We loved the looks on the kids faces!

We made sure to stay on the boardwalks, so we didn't end up like Johnny!

Mud pots, bubbling up

VIDEO:

Since this one was blue, we knew it was hotter water

There are rivers and waterfalls to stop and see all over the place

VIDEO:

We ended our long day with a very yummy pizza dinner!  It was so good!

Overall today, we hiked/walked about 10 miles!

Back at the hotel, Hannah had to do some homework and make an Aztec tower....or something like that.....She said this was good enough......I hope so!

The next day, we headed out early again and went to the "Canyon" part of the park...this is where there are amazing waterfalls, pine forests and rivers, all along a mini grand canyon.

This guy was walking on the road out for a stroll.....he stayed on the road, walking along, for like 1/2 mile before he was able to get off the road

This looks like a painting.  This was along a 3 mile (round trip) hike along the canyon's edge...offering views like this all along the hike

The hike was right on the edge....when they say it goes along the canyon wall, it's right up to the edge!

Other parts of the hike went through a pine forest

This is why this hike is not for little kids....or for JOHNNY!  They needed more signs of JOHNNY falling off the cliff here!

You can't get views like this anywhere else

DON'T SLIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VIDEO: 

Hannah was trying to be like JOHNNY!

Next we drove to the other side of the canyon....If you look straight across, in the very middle, you can see some railings around a small lookout...this is where our hike ended....

We then headed to Mammoth Springs, on the Northwest side of the park........

There are so many stops along the way...just pull in and look around...this was the Hissing Mountain.....there are a few spots you can see steam coming out.....and you can hear it hissing ....nothing grows in this small part due to the heat and acidic steam in the area

This is Obsidian Mountain.....little pieces of shiny and smooth obsidian fall off every so often and collect on the bottom

We stopped at Sheepeater Cliff which was so random and interesting.....

Large columns of lava in pieces and falling down over the thousands of years...there were other formations just like this close by too

At Mammoth Springs, it's basically flat terraces, like a flowing waterfall, of warm water going down the mountain, leaving traces of minerals as it forms small waterfalls.  

Here the water and terraces went down the entire length of the mountain

VIDEO:

Since we went at the end of the season, and before winter, it was pretty dry.....in the Spring, this whole area is full of water

As we were driving out of the park for the day, we passed this "purple meadow" we called it....it was a deep purple color from the bushes..it was amazing

VIDEO:

Our last stop....Artist Paint Pots....only 1 mile (roundtrip) around an area of mud pots.  Again, since it was late in the season, it was pretty dry, but still beautiful.  The weather was changing and getting cooler, we were so glad we came a day early and got two full days of 63 degrees!  The following days were a high of 43!  Winter is coming!

VIDEO:

Back in town, Hannah found a new friend

She found a real connection as they gazed into each other's eyes

Relaxing after the day, Matt and Marissa still didn't quite fit in the "baby" bed.   We hiked/walked less today, only around 8 miles

I planned a pretty aggressive two full days, and we ran out of time!  So much to see and do at Yellowstone, and we only went to a fraction of what there is to see and do!   That means we have to go back!

It was a great trip!