Rhody Goes West: Yellowstone - Part 3

Back in vacation land, with only one more stop left on our itinerary for Yellowstone National Park, we woke up early on Friday morning, checked out of the hotel, packed up the car, and made our way to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  

Morning Sunrise on the River - Yellowstone National Park, USA

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is a large canyon in the middle of the park, where the river has run through creating a valley in the middle, and making gorgeous waterfalls over the rock structures.  It's really beautiful, and is surrounded by these amazing cliffs that have pine trees growing out of the sides.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park, USA

There are a few different spots that you can get out of your vehicle and walk along the side of the canyon to get a good look at the waterfalls.  Waterfalls are not something that we really have much of in Rhode Island, never mind waterfalls of this size, so seeing these was incredible.  Even being that far away from them, you could hear the water running down the rocks.  

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park, USA

You can only take so many pictures of the canyon before things become repetitive and boring, so when we saw a large tour group coming, we took that as a hint, and decided our time here was done. 

Because we left the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone earlier than anticipated, we ended up with a little extra time on our hands before we had to exit the park, so I requested that we go back to one of the sights we had seen previously.  Can you guess which one?

If you guessed Grand Prismatic, you would be correct!  As you know, I was so disappointed that we were unable to see what it truly looks like since it was so cold out that morning, so with the temperatures in the air getting into the 60s at this point, I was really hoping that the steam wouldn't be as dense coming off of the water and we would be able to see the colors on the hot spring.  

As we got to that area of the park again, we were able to see the small bacteria waterfall that is created by the run off of all the hot springs that are situated on top of the sulfur plateau.  Like the bacteria at Lonestar Geyser, this bacteria was orange, and the hot water ran into a cold water river. 

Midway Geyser Basin - Yellowstone National Park, USA

We walked up the boardwalk towards the hot springs, and it was like we were at a completely different place than we were at a few days prior.  You could actually see!  And the first thing that was saw was Excelsior Crater, which had the most amazing turquoise color and water that was so clear you could see the bottom.  

Excelsior Crater - Yellowstone National Park, USA

We followed the boardwalk around the hot springs, but this time, we went the opposite direction so that we would hit Grand Prismatic Spring first instead of last. But, when we rounded the corner and got up the slight incline, what we saw was incredible.  There was so little steam coming off the water that we could see all the colors. The orange bacteria was on the outside, followed by the yellow, then the green, and finally the blue with the slightest hint of purple in the center and just below the surface of the water.  

Grand Prismatic Spring - Yellowstone National Park, USA

I could not be happier that I requested to revisit this part of the park. The weather was beautiful and cooperative, and seeing the natural colors of the water was gorgeous.  Even the other smaller hot springs had much better colors than a few days prior, and those were not only smaller, but closer to us.  

Hot Springs - Yellowstone National Park, USA

Opal Pool - Yellowstone National Park, USA

With that last stop out of the way, it was finally time to leave Yellowstone National Park to make our way into the Grand Tetons and down to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  I do, however, have one last Yellowstone post for you, though, so stay tuned, because this one may be the most fun!

What do you think my last post on Yellowstone is about? Have you noticed anything in my recaps that has been missing?