Day 8: Yellowstone NP - second day

Today we went back into Yellowstone NP from the west entrance and traveled all the way around the loop starting south and then up around. We started out early and went to the Lower Geyser Basin, where we were awed by the geysers. Then we headed to the Midway Geyser Basin. It was already getting busy here and hard to get parking at 8am! This area is absolutely stunning with the geysers and Grand Prismatic Spring. We even saw some "Big Foot" footprints that we can't explain... After that we headed to the Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful. We got a prime seat up front and waited about 45 minutes for it to erupt since it was about a half an hour later than anticipated. It was great though. Then we walked around the boardwalks to see more springs and geysers. I loved Heart Spring. <3 We also saw a bison right by the Yellowstone Inn on our way by and another at the top of the boardwalk.

After that we headed south and stopped at Isa Lake and the Continental Divide. There was a lot of commotion here because there was also a black bear very close to the road. We then went down to Grant Village and West Thumb and checked out the geysers and hot springs there. They were such beautiful colors and Yellowstone Lake is right there even covering some of them. One of them called Fishing Cone was said to have been used by the Shoshone to boil their caught fish. They'd hook and cook! Black Pool and Abyss Pool are both large very hot pools as well. We found it interesting that Black Pool used to be black until last year--most likely because of temperatures changing.

From there we went north to Fishing Bridge and Lake Village. Afterwards, we saw Mud Geyser, Mud Volcano, and Dragon's Mouth Spring along the way. A bison was having a steam bath at Mud Volcano! On our way through Hayden Valley there was a lot of traffic, which always means wildlife sightings. It turned out to be a grizzly bear and her two cubs! That was so neat to see! We didn't stop but traffic was so slow that I could get a video and pictures from the car!

We made our way up to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and checked it out from the south then north rims. It is beautiful and has a roaring waterfall. Finally we headed back around to the Norris Geyser Basin where we saw Emerald Spring and Steamboat Geysers. We ended with visiting the last of the six or so visitor centers to get our passport books stamped.  It was a long, but wonderful day! We were able to stock up on some groceries and get to bed somewhat early before we leave tomorrow.








































































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