Yellowstone, Day 2

Wednesday, on our way to Mammoth Hot Springs, we passed by the Norris Geyser Basin. Julie and I were surprised at the amount of steam rising from the area:


We also passed by Roaring Mountain:


The highlight of Mammoth Hot Springs was the hillside, with terraced pools oozing minerals.


The day before, I had remarked that I hadn't seen any small mammals yet. At Mammoth Hot Springs, we saw a black-tailed jackrabbit:


and a chipmunk:


Then we headed off to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We weren't able to access the North Rim, but we were able to see the Lower Falls from Artist Point:


Then we went back to the Norris Geyser Basin and hiked around the geysers there. My favorite was the Steamboat Geyser. Not only was it fairly active (with occasional 10 foot spouts), but it had a neat little vent that looked like a mini volcano (the gray mound in the foreground).


On our way out of the park, we saw either a wolf or a coyote:


We also saw an elk that still had its antlers:


We drove to Jackson that night, and home to Boulder on Thursday. It was a great little trip -- now Julie and I both want to go back in the summer when the whole park is open (and we can enter it from Wyoming instead of Montana)!