Volcano Yellowstone?

Yellowstone was the last stop on our vacation - and we all agree that it's the first place we would visit again. I've heard for years that it is the most visited National Park in the United States - and now I get it. It is so very beautiful, so large and filled with so many animals. If we do return, I would love to do it in the winter because we've been told that the animals congregate around the geysers for warmth.

I didn't know that Yellowstone Park is an ancient volcano caldera - which explains all the geysers. Visitors are constantly warned by signs to stay on walkways and trails because they could easily step through the crust. People die every year from ignoring these signs. Amazing! 

Old Faithful - of course we had to see it. It goes off about every 90 minutes (+/- 10 minutes).  I didn't expect it to live up to the hype - but it did.

I just had to include this photo - I've probably got another 20 that look just like it. It's Old Faithful pretending it's about to erupt - which it does for about 10 minutes until it does the real thing. From the sounds of all the cameras clicking, I assume that the 500 people around me have similar shots.

Here's a shot of about half the crowd - but you can't see how deep it is - about 4 or 5 rows of people sitting and standing.

There are geysers and mud pots all over the park. The steam behind us is from very hot water. Notice the walkway we have to stay on - Henry was very nervous about it because there were no handrails to help protect him.

I like this photo because it shows how large the steam clouds get - and it's constant. There were places where the water was literally boiling.

Aren't the colors here beautiful - I promise that we didn't photoshop this at all.

Another photo from almost the same location and time - you can tell from the mountains in the background and the clouds - it's just focused on a different section.

Some of the areas smell - BAD. The motion in the mud behind us is due to boiling.

I've titled this photo: "Darwin at Work!" See the sign next to her? Tom actually pointed the sign out to her photographer and he just ignored him. She didn't fall through the crust - but if she had, I would've gotten a great shot.

The colors here are from mineral deposits.

There are a number of amazing waterfalls in the park. Henry often ends up sitting and gazing out at them.

This one reminded us a lot of Vernal in Yosemite.

Like Vernal except that you hike down to get to it and then the hard part is hiking up and out.

Henry and Jessica getting along :)

There were lots of flowers throughout the park.