Days 207-213: Yellowstone, the Super Volcano

Yellowstone: the Super Volcano

Days 207 – 213

July 23 – 29

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is a name that everyone recognizes.  It was the first place in the United States to be declared a national park.  It has 4.5 million visitors every year.  And it feels like waiting in line at Disneyland when trying to drive anywhere.  Despite the obvious downfall of being in an overcrowded natural landscape, hype about Yellowstone only undersold the place.  It is a truly spectacular wonderland, something that can only be appreciated through experience.  Like seeing the immensity of the Grand Canyon for the first time, the active thermal areas in the Yellowstone Caldera left our jaws wide open.  Even spending a week there was not enough time.  God truly is the greatest artist, and Yellowstone is one of his masterpieces. 

Our first stop was Mammoth Springs.  Bacteria have created unique
patterns in the rocks where hot sulfuric water overflows.

Cliff walls here have their own flavor.

We spent two nights sleeping in a thermal field, waking up each morning to sulfuric steam rising from the ground in every direction.  We summited a peak together.  We hiked to a towering waterfall in the morning before the crowds arrived, taking in the experience with shared solitude.  We backpacked with herds of buffalo in Lamar Valley, getting a little too close to the 2000 lbs. beasts on more than one occasion.  We stared with fascination into unbelievable rainbow-patterned thermal pools colored with bands of thermophiles and extremophiles that have lived there for the better part of the last billion years. 

Lynzee is our campfire master!

We had to stand next to Fairy Falls to show how tall it was!

Sitting atop the summit of Twin Peaks (at least one of the summits).

Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Getting close to the Buffalo was an exciting experience.

Lamar Valley in the early morning.

We followed the Lamar River to our second campsite in the valley.

Saying our goodbyes on our last morning in Yellowstone.

Grand Prismatic Spring.  Just. Wow.
The colors come from the thermophile and extremophile bacterium.
This is the oldest known organism on Earth: one-billion years!

With a stroke of luck, we were able to see three massive geysers erupt in sequence: Old Faithful, Riverside, and Grand.  The later of these was so large that we retreated to a further vantage point, lying next to each other on the wooden boulevard, watching the super-heated spray vaporize into a cloud, contorting as it rose and cooled and condensed and rained tiny droplets onto our faces. 

Riverside Geyser shoots sideways and rains down
on the river below.

I cannot imagine Yellowstone with a better adventure partner; it is a blessing to share a beautiful experience with a close soul.