Wyoming - Yellowstone National Park (1) August 30- September 7

Yellowstone inspires awe from its sheer size of 2.2 million acres, the spouting geysers, bubbling mud caldrons, canyons, rivers, lakes, waterfalls and wildlife. We have collected so many memories that I don't know where to begin. Perhaps it is best to begin with the East side of the park which boasts the most famous geotheremal sites: the geysers, pools and in particular Old Faithful.  Shown below is Old Faithful from pre-eruption, eruption and end of the eruption

Old faithful minutes before it is ready to erupt.

And then there is a sudden rumble a few bursts of water and suddenly, although right on schedule... Old Faithful erupts.

And then, minutes later, the show is over.

In addition to Old Faithful there are over 10,000 hot springs and geysers and is home to half the world's geysers. A geyser is basically a hot spring with narrow spaces that prevent the water from coming freely to the surface.

                                                                                                            

The steam buildup forces the water out of the vent and you see the beautiful spontaneous spray.  We were walking by and without any waiting, a geyser suddenly erupts...

but usually, like Cliff Geyser on the right, they just send out the sulfer odor steam.

In addition to the geysers this area of the park boasts some of the most stunningly colorful pools such as:

Turquoise Pool

and my favorite deserving of two views, Sapphire Pool

...and the famous Emerald Pool

                                                                 

The pools and geysers overflow the steaming water right into the trout filled river.

Two other noteworthy sites are:

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone's largest single hot spring and the world's third largest...

and the bubbling mud pots where the heat and acidity of the steam causes the mud to boil but it is not strong enough to wash the clay away.

Next update the East side of the Park: Canyon Village and Mammoth Hot Springs