Yellowstone Adventures, Take 2

The night before, following the excitement over almost getting a ticket, was a late one.  It was around 9:30pm before we made it out of the park and by the time we grabbed something to eat and got the kids settled down it was nearly midnight.  An early start in the morning wasn't going to happen.  We ended up at McDonald's for breakfast since as far as the hotel knew, we didn't have 4 kids crammed into the small room.  What is it about touristy places and pricing?  Breakfast for 4 (I had something else for Kakes and Pat) ended up being $35 dollars...at a McDonald's.  *shaking my head* 

Heading into the park, we weren't quite sure what we wanted to do.  After a little discussion (and bickering) we decided to the the lower loop which includes Old Faithful.  First stop...

Firehole Falls

Did you know that Yellowstone as a whole possesses 60% of the world's geysers?

We went to stop at the Lower Geyser Basin but the sheer amount of people was overwhelming so we only drove through the parking lot.  Midway Geyser Basin was a little less crowded so we stopped there. 

"Although called “Midway” because of its location between the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins, this area was once known as “Hell’s Half Acre.” It contains two of Yellowstone’s largest hydrothermal features: Grand Prismatic Spring and Excelsior Geyser."

Following 2 photos are Excelsior Geyser

B-saurus by Grand Prismatic Spring

The colors were so varied and bright up here.  We'd started the day with the kids in jeans as it was supposed to be in the upper 60s but in the sun and especially by the thermal features, it was quite warm so after this stop everyone (but Pat) changed into shorts.

As we came into Midway Geyser Basin, there was a bull elk near the water.

 

He's under the trees, in front of the crowd of people.

I thought that it was a pretty good view from the bridge.  But as I quickly learned, in Yellowstone there are amble opportunities to view wildlife up close.  As we came down the steps to head to the parking lot, the bull elk crossed the river.

 

                                              Much better view!

Next stop...Black Sand Basin.

 

                                    

Everyone minus B and me, headed up the walkway to view some other features.  I missed out on seeing Emerald Lake but as crabby as B-saurus was, heading to the car was the best idea.  After the rest of the crew came back, it was on to Old Faithful and lunch!

 

Fixing lunch in the back of the minivan

The rest will have to wait.  I woke up today (Thursday) at 6am so I could do a few loads of laundry before we head towards South Dakota.  Sounds like it's about done!