Yellowstone... Day 2

We were up and out early... 8ish. We wanted to hit the whole east side of the lower loop of the park... including Old Faithful, West Thumb, Grant Village, Mud Volcano and Hayden Valley.  It was still relatively cool when we set out... making for an awesome morning sight.

First stop Old Faithful Area... we lucked out and arrived just before it's scheduled time to erupt... with cameras ready we waited... and waited.

Five year olds still don't do the whole waiting thing very well... even though they are stinkin' cute..

We figured we'd just catch the next eruption and continued on the boardwalk path around the area... it's like a 3 hour hike!

Once you get past the main attraction (Old Faithful) and there's a break in the number of people on the boardwalk, it's very peaceful, serene and eerie all at the same time..

Here's a variety of pictures of the area...

Love the name on this one... Ear Spring!

Great texture on this one...

Love the contrast of the colors to the landscaping...

Castle geyser... it put on a little show for us as we stopped to take a break and drink some water. Originally when I checked the weather it was going to be rainy and cool in the 60's. So NOT the case... it was in the 80's! I packed everyone with both kinds of clothes... shorts and pants. Me, since I'm always cold decided just pants would be my best bet... so at this point I'm dying of hotness... and we are trying to keep up a steady pace back to Old Faithful since it was scheduled to erupt again.

Well, we didn't walk fast enough back... we missed Old Faithful again!!!

We saw Beehive erupt from across the park... look how small and wet everyone is getting!

Took a little lunch break and then headed to Grant Village for a Ranger program ( the kiddos were working on their Jr Ranger badges again and part of the requirements is to attend a Ranger program) we all love them though and try to attend as many as possible... that and the visitor center movies are wonderful. So the first program of our trip was called "Wildlife Wonders." We sat on the back deck of the visitor center lodge over looking Yellowstone Lake... (truly amazing in itself) learning all about Bears, Buffalo and Elk and what to do when you come upon them out on a trail.

Then down to the lake to dip our toes in..(left camera in car)

Over to West Thumb and was able to snag another Ranger program that talked about the past and present of the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

Here's a view from West Thumb area... lake Yellowstone in the background..

The springs and pools all tend to look the same after awhile so I won't bore you with all of those but here's a couple from this area that I thought was interesting... a geyser under the lake...

And this one is just plain CREEPY... something you'd see in a horror movie...

Next Mud Volcano area... it's always been one of our favorite areas... the wildlife is always around you and the sound that comes from the Dragon's mouth is cool. Can you tell how excited little Bug is??

Here's the Dragon's Mouth... it growls... sprays out water and hisses... too cool!

We were busy walking along... heard some munching... looked up to see this..

Headed up the steep path and around the corner to where the game trail goes right under the boardwalk. And came across a couple of Buffalo right there eating! It's always fun to see... but a bit intimidating as well... they are so large... and it's easy to forget that they are WILD creatures. We snuck around and continued down the path.

Back in the car and through Hayden Valley... best place to spot wildlife... crazy to all of a sudden come to a stop for Buffalo are on the road..

Saw a HUGE heard of Elk 50+ (sorry for the crappy picture... it was getting dark)

Headed home late... 2 tired kiddos... 2 tired parents... 1 burnt scalp (yeah that was me... I also forgot a hat!)...a truly wonderful day in Yellowstone!