Coming off of a trip to Grand Teton, we were a stone's throw from America's first national park, Yellowstone. Despite the parks' proximity to one another, the sights you can find at Yellowstone are starkly different, largely due to its sitting on top of a supervolcano. Alien landscapes formed by geothermal activities make Yellowstone stand out in the national park system. While our experience here was slightly marred by the heat and the summer crowds, we were still able to make some great memories.
My favorite feature of Yellowstone is the Grand Prismatic Spring, the third largest hot spring in the world. While you can admire the rainbow colors more from viewpoints further away from the spring itself, you should not miss the experience of walking on the boardwalks next to it to better appreciate its size. While we were there, there was a constant alternating draft of warm and cool air that made you really feel the power of the spring. It also made the hot weather a little bit more bearable.
Late afternoon, rain was on the horizon as we were visiting Mammoth Hot Springs, which is known for its travertine terraces, another feature formed by geothermal activity.
Right before sunset, we drove to Lamar Valley to see some bison, a staple of the park. The large stretch of land provided lots of grazing grounod for bison herds. It is also apparently a hotspot for other wildlife as well, although we didn't see much else at the time.
As the sun started to set, a sudden but exhilarating hail swept through as I was photographing the area. It came and went in just a couple of minutes and left a really vivid memory in my mind as the sky completely lit up golden.
On the second day, we got up early to go see the iconic Yellowstone Falls before the crowds got there.
To cap off our trip, we got intimate with bisons at Hayden Valley. I'm glad I rented a longer telephoto lens for this trip. You don't want to get too close to these massive beasts.
A second visit to Yellowstone is probably not in the books for a while unless we can find a better way to avoid the crowds. Even still, Yellowstone paved the way for the national park system and I'm very appreciative of that. The sheer number of visitors is evidence that we need to continue to preserve our natural lands to continue to inspire many more generations to come.