On the second day we focused on geothermal features - mainly the upper geyser basin (Old faithful area), and the West Thumb Gayer basin. All of us had an amazing day walking around the geysers, thermal pools, and hot springs. I was really excited to learn about the different organisms that thrive in various temperatures and therefore turn the waters different colors. My boys and I analyzed each hot spring, and tried to determine what bacteria or organisms lived in each pool and how hot each one was based on the colors. I was in nerd heaven.
On vacations we usually encounter a lot of hard moments. Anytime I take the kids on a camping trip I always try to mentally prepare myself for a week of tears, wounds, potty breaks, fights, hunger pains, complaints, and so on. However, this trip - especially on the second day, was so relaxing. The boys didn't complain very much, we didn't have too many potty breaks, the weather was just right, and even though yellowstone gets VERY crowded, we managed to get decent parking spots everywhere we went. I LOVE days like this where everything seems to run so smoothly.
We all enjoyed the geyser basin for different reasons. Blake loved the anemone geyser - its really tiny, but it erupts every 7 minutes and it sounds like a toilet flushing when its done erupting. One of the highlights for me was the lion geysers. We were really lucky to walk by just as it was erupting. It was almost as impressive as Old Faithful, but the exciting part about the Lion geyser was that we got drenched by its spray. I'm not talking about a refreshing mist - I'm talking about so much water that Blake was literally dripping wet, and I had to shield my nice camera from the downpour. How many times can one say they got sprayed by a geyser?! I was elated, but my boys didn't find it as amusing as I did.
 |
| Old Faithful |
 |
| Lion Geyser |
 |
| Lion Geyser |
 |
| This light blue color indicates that this hot spring is VERY hot - up to 189 degrees |
 |
| Cyanobacteria create the yellow colors which are about 165 degrees. The orange colors are cooler at around 149 degrees. The blue center is the hottest which is directly above the thermal vent. So fascinating!! |
 |
| Morning Glory pool - Isn't it gorgeous?! |
 |
| Look how big it is compared to Jason standing in the corner |
The West Thumb has thermal feathers located along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. While these features were not quite as impressive as the thermal feathers near upper geyser basin, they were absolutely unique and beautiful. My favorite features in this area were the small geysers actually located in the lake. The geysers were tiny, but they bubbled and gurgled as the water from the lake splashed around them. It was an amazing sight. I felt like I was on another planet because I had never seen such a unique landscape in my life. Wesley loved all the small mud pots and other tiny geothermal features. He asked me to take a picture of him in front of every single tiny feature he saw. I included most of the pictures in this post. Most of the features are so small they are not easily seen in the pictures, but his excitement is what makes these pictures memorable.
 |
| Geysers at the lake's edge |
I was really excited when we spotted a bison slowly walking on the opposite side of the road creating a long line of traffic. He had no cares in the world, and I'm convinced he knew exactly what he was doing as he walked at 5 miles an hour while a long line of cars creeped behind him.
No comments:
Post a Comment