A trip to Yellowstone is not complete without seeing Old Faithful! We also targeted this area because Brother read about the Young Scientist program and this is one of the locations that offered that special youth experience. The gist of the experience was that he checked out an explorer book bag with some scientific tools including an infrared thermometer. The book walked him through a study of the geysers and hot springs. This was above and beyond the Junior Ranger book and Sister was very disappointed that she could not participate as she was too young. As it turned out she ended up being the "research assistant" and carried the book bag through the boardwalks and was ready to give a tool to Brother whenever he asked for it. It was really quite cute. She also insisted on walking right behind him so that she would be close and could help him make observations. It took some time, but he did a great job and earned his Young Scientist patch which I sewed onto his vest!The hike behind the Old Faithful Visitor Center was quite amazing. There were many hot springs and smaller geysers - one of them unexpectedly erupted when mom was photographing it and she had to move back to avoid the hot water! It started out small and ended up shooting water 10+ feet high!
One thing I noted was that the boardwalk needs some repair or to be replaced in sections. Every park we have visited (that was in operation in the 1930s) credits the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) for infrastructure improvements - it is obvious to me that we need another national CCC program to help our national parks keep their infrastructure functioning. When you consider the CCC's work was completed in the 1930's is seems due time to invest in our natural national treasures. At Yellowstone the boardwalks are crowded and they are creaky, which is not a great feeling when you are standing over hot springs with water temps in the 140+ degrees F.
The springs are beautiful with the microbial mats in multicolors surrounding them.
The next stop, after predicting Old Faithful's next eruption (Brother and I were 100% in line with the NPS prediction), was the Grand Prismatic Spring and surrounding area. Here the boardwalk it in better condition and they have thankfully made the walk one way (because it gets really crowded and hard to pass each other when everyone is trying to get the perfect selfie or picture).
On the day we were there the wind was blowing. As we walked the steam from Excelsior Geyser would surround us for a few seconds giving the illusion we were in a sauna before it would blow away and we could feel the ambient air. The geyer is very large and a beautiful shade of blue. The wind was so strong that many people lost their hats and the were stranded too far from the boardwalk for retrieval. I wondered if the park rangers had a long tool to pick up the lost items from the fragile ground. It is clear that walking off the path would be a terrible idea for fear of falling through the microbial mat into near boiling water.
The Grand Prismatic Spring is so much larger than I imagined. It is larger than a football field, and is generally photographed from above so one can see it in its entirety. From our vantage point on the boardwalk (maybe 6 inches above the surface) it was massive and impossible to capture in a picture. As we are walking toward it, you can see other onlookers trying to get a good shot!
Again, Yellowstone appears to offer landscapes that are otherworldly - here the "ground" appears to be a colorful spongy mat floating upon and under a layer of hot spring water which is constantly washing over it. The surface glistens. In some places where the water rushes over it there are places that seem beach-like.
The other two amazing features on this walk, that would be astonishing on their own, but when compared to the other two seem to fall short are the opal pool...
...and the turquoise pool...
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