Image 1 of 139
There's a bald eagle habitat just inside the west entrance, and we almost always saw the birds
Image 2 of 139
There's a fledgling in the nest, not quite ready to fly
Image 3 of 139
There's always road work happening somewhere in the park - really slows things down
Image 4 of 139
The Virginia Cascade is a couple miles off the main roads, and it's a beautiful side trip
Image 5 of 139
Despite the clouds, the vistas are spectacular
Image 6 of 139
The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River had more water than we'd ever seen
Image 7 of 139
Side-on view of the Upper Falls, with the spray practically filling the canyon
Image 8 of 139
On the canyon walls, plenty of evidence of geothermal activity
Image 9 of 139
Great patterns in that wood. Wonder why the trees seem to twist like that?
Image 10 of 139
Our "proof we were here" shot . . .
Image 11 of 139
We were surprised to see so much snow remaining in July
Image 12 of 139
We were also surprised by the hail storm that left these . . .
Image 13 of 139
The patterns of trees, meadows and snow make the scenery interesting
Image 14 of 139
Judy's always finding a pretty flower to focus on
Image 15 of 139
Tower Falls is one of the more popular views. And the store sells ice cream, also a big draw
Image 16 of 139
Mammoth Hot Springs was one of the first Yellowstone tourist areas developed after the park opened
Image 17 of 139
Near Mammoth Hot Springs, a huge travertine column
Image 18 of 139
The whiter the travertine, the newer the mineral deposits
Image 19 of 139
In years past, we saw much less water flowing from these springs
Image 20 of 139
Mineral content in the water eventually calcifies the trees
Image 21 of 139
The entire effect is other-worldly
Image 22 of 139
There are many types of terrain in Yellowstone, providing some exceptional vistas
Image 23 of 139
The rules say to stay 75 yards away from the elk. Right . . . .
Image 24 of 139
Catch-and-release fly fishing is popular throughout the park. We're not sure we get the point . . .
Image 25 of 139
This coyote was one of two about a third of a mile away. Wish it had been a wolf . . .
Image 26 of 139
To get more of the effect of these springs, you could break a rotten egg . .
Image 27 of 139
That's silica all around the spring, which bubbles hot water laced with carbon dioxide.
Image 28 of 139
White Dome Geyser is pretty neat even when not erupting, which it does every 20 minutes or so
Image 29 of 139
The eruption is about 30 ft high, and lasts for about 2 minutes
Image 30 of 139
Cliff Geyser sputters a lot between eruptions like this one, ranging up to 40 ft high
Image 31 of 139
As you can imagine, the river water is quite warm - even in winter
Image 32 of 139
It's areas like this that Rudyard Kipling once labled "Hell's Half Acre" . . .
Image 33 of 139
The marvelous colors come from bacteria. Different colors denote different water temperatures.
Image 34 of 139
Generally speaking, the darker the bacteria color, the cooler the water
Image 35 of 139
Clear water is the hottest, too hot for even bacteria growth
Image 36 of 139
Looks great, smells bad.
Image 37 of 139
When a geyser dries up, you can see some of the plumbing . . .
Image 38 of 139
The earth is alive . . .
Image 39 of 139
About 85% of the world's geo-thermal features are found within Yellowstone
Image 40 of 139
Years of eruptions have permanently marked the landscape
Image 41 of 139
The signs say "Stay on the boardwalk". But the bison apparently can't read . . .
Image 42 of 139
Magnificent
Image 43 of 139
This is another of Judy's "Wouldn't this make a great jigsaw puzzle" shots
Image 44 of 139
Hot days are even hotter when you're around all this steam
Image 45 of 139
Lookin' kind of slim today . . .
Image 46 of 139
There are very few places in Yellowstone with a bad view
Image 47 of 139
These cliffs along the river show evidence of multiple volcanic eruptions depositing layers of ash
Image 48 of 139
Judy says it's not a real bald spot. Says there are still some hairs there. Talk about splitting hairs . . .
Image 49 of 139
The Beartooth Mountains beyond the Lamar Valley rise to over 10,000 ft
Image 50 of 139
We stopped for lunch at a roadside table - this was our view
Image 51 of 139
We thought this might be our only bear sighting
Image 52 of 139
And then we spotted this guy right alongside the road
Image 53 of 139
And a couple hours later, this grizzly crossed the road right behind us
Image 54 of 139
Soda Butte and the surrounding travertine deposits grew out of a hot spring more than 100 years ago
Image 55 of 139
Our best pronghorn shot
Image 56 of 139
We're always attracted to rushing water, and Yellowstone has lots of it
Image 57 of 139
There are millions of dead trees in this image, mostly from fires after the 1988 big fire
Image 58 of 139
Rotel Tours from Germany operates these unique "Rolling Hotels" - sleeping compartments are in the rear
Image 59 of 139
We've been watching this Osprey nest for years - and this year mama's got a chick!
Image 60 of 139
These twisted tree trunks are fascinating . . .
Image 61 of 139
As the sign sez . . .
Image 62 of 139
This fellow just came strolling out of the trees. Attracted quite a crowd
Image 63 of 139
This one wasn't hiding very well
Image 64 of 139
It was cold that morning, and we thought it might be ice. 'Twas foam . . .
Image 65 of 139
Most of the bison were still shedding their winter coats, and looked pretty scruffy
Image 66 of 139
We'd never seen quite so many bison calves . . .
Image 67 of 139
Boys will be boys . . .
Image 68 of 139
Actual Yellowstone Dumb Question #1 - "Where do you put the buffalo at night?"
Image 69 of 139
They weigh a ton or more, can move very fast, are easily annoyed, and kill or injure several park visitors every year.
Image 70 of 139
The bison version of the comb-over
Image 71 of 139
Kind of cool seeing bison and hot springs all together
Image 72 of 139
Any animals along the road draw a crowd - a herd of animals really stops traffic
Image 73 of 139
This bison won't hurt anybody. There were several of these artistic works in town
Image 74 of 139
The mineralized water kills the trees, and will eventually petrify them
Image 75 of 139
Mud springs are fun to watch. They make "gloopy" sounds
Image 76 of 139
Sometimes they throw mud several feet into the air
Image 77 of 139
It's not really worth the effort to shoot a geyser eruption in the fog . . .
Image 78 of 139
We just like this picture
Image 79 of 139
Great light fixture inside Yellowstone Lodge
Image 80 of 139
Waiting for Old Faithful to erupt on a chilly morning. We watched from inside the lodge, sipping hot chocolate
Image 81 of 139
Too much steam ro really see the eruption . . .
Image 82 of 139
The West Thumb Geyser Basin is on the shore of Yellowstone Lake
Image 83 of 139
Many of the West Thumb geysers are inactive since a flurry of earthquakes in the 1970s
Image 84 of 139
This pool is nomally a mud spring, but there's lots of water in it now
Image 85 of 139
These two pools are usually completely separate when water leveles are lower
Image 86 of 139
There's still some mud in the Mud Pots, but it's pretty soupy
Image 87 of 139
Make a great jigsaw puzzle, wouldn't it?
Image 88 of 139
Sometimes it's hard to tell if the green is bacteria or algae
Image 89 of 139
These geysers are underwater, but sometimes are active when the lake water level is lower
Image 90 of 139
This one barely rises above the lake surface, and continues to bubble into the lake
Image 91 of 139
Sometimes the lake water dissolves the mineral deposits and creates a jagged shoreline like this
Image 92 of 139
It's interesting to see flowers blooming in such a hostile environment
Image 93 of 139
Hard to believe we're still on planet Earth
Image 94 of 139
The Lake Lodge, on Yellowstone's east side. Wonderful old place, inside and out
Image 95 of 139
Old Faithful Lodge gets all the attention, but this one's also pretty neat, and a lot less crowded
Image 96 of 139
The view from our lunch table
Image 97 of 139
White pelicans patiently waiting for the steelhead to come by
Image 98 of 139
The Yellowstone River had a lot of water this year. These trees are normally on dry land.
Image 99 of 139
Two years ago, these rapids were more like a waterfall.
Image 100 of 139
Talk about your white water . . .
Image 101 of 139
If you look hard, you'll see the Steelhead Trout resting before heading up the rapids
Image 102 of 139
There are several of these restored 1930's tour buses running around the park
Image 103 of 139
We find all these springs and pools and geysers absolutely fascinating
Image 104 of 139
The colors are fantastic, and the formations intriguing
Image 105 of 139
Hi . .
Image 106 of 139
Over enough time, vegetation can reclaim areas where hot springs and pools used to be
Image 107 of 139
This pile of rubble was once a geyser cone that exploded about 30 years ago.
Image 108 of 139
It's almost like there's a light source down there, making the pool glow
Image 109 of 139
Another dead geyser. Sometimes they still spit steam
Image 110 of 139
This one obviously was once much more active than now
Image 111 of 139
And this pool has claimed lots of trees
Image 112 of 139
Steamboat Geyser is the tallest in the world at 380+ feet. Its last major eruption was in May, 2005. We missed it
Image 113 of 139
Interesting place in Gardiner MT. We ate lunch, which was much better than the decor
Image 114 of 139
The original entrance arch near Gardiner MT - a popular spot to pose for the camera
Image 115 of 139
Actual Yellowstone dumb question #2 - "Can you hold the eruption until my wife gets here?"
Image 116 of 139
In the Upper Geyser Basin, it seems like the geysers always go off where you're not
Image 117 of 139
That one just wouldn't wait for us to get there . . .
Image 118 of 139
Castle Geyser erupts every 10 hours or so. This is what it does the rest of the time
Image 119 of 139
We missed the Riverside Geyser eruption by about 20 minutes. It erupts about every 5 hours
Image 120 of 139
Rocket Geyser (left) and Grotto Geyser usually erupt every 2 days, a couple hours apart
Image 121 of 139
The arches of Grotto Geyser's cone were originally fallen trees, long ago covered with mineral deposits
Image 122 of 139
We waited for Daisy Geyser to erupt, but we were watching the wrong one. That's Comet Geyser sputtering away
Image 123 of 139
When Daisy erupted, Comet stopped sputtering. Daisy can hit 150 feet, and is the most reliably predictable geyser in the basin
Image 124 of 139
Mastiff Geyser (left) mostly sputters; Giant Geyser, with the broken cone, can erupt to 250 ft. Eruptions are unpredictable
Image 125 of 139
The inside of the cone of Giant Geyser is six feet in diameter. It moves a lot of water
Image 126 of 139
Actual Yellowstone Dumb Question #3 - "Do the geysers still erupt at night after everybody leaves?"
Image 127 of 139
It's called Chromatic Spring. Easy to see why
Image 128 of 139
Guess Economic Geyser doesn't waste much energy erupting . . . .
Image 129 of 139
When Old Faithful erupts, it's a good show from any direction
Image 130 of 139
Spasmodic Geyser has about 20 vents, and spouts from all of them at one time or another
Image 131 of 139
Yes, we were that close
Image 132 of 139
One of four geysers in the Lion group . . .
Image 133 of 139
Doublet Pool is about 8 feet deep, but seems deeper when you look down into that water
Image 134 of 139
The little spout on the left is an indicator that Beehive Geyser is about to go off
Image 135 of 139
It's starting . . .
Image 136 of 139
The smart folks watched from upwind, way over on the right
Image 137 of 139
Beehive Geyser shoots up to 200 ft high, and will get you wet
Image 138 of 139
Some people got wetter from the eruption than others. Now they smell like sulphur, and don't care!
Image 139 of 139
We'll end on the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - one of our favorite Yellowstone views