Yellowstone, or bust.

Day 3:

    After surviving the slightly cold night in Grand Teton National Park, Nathan and I packed up the tent and left the campground. We briefly stopped at the lake at Colter Bay to take another look and a few more pictures of the Tetons. We then drove the short distance north to Yellowstone National Park, where our next adventure began.

Our first order of business was to beeline straight for the middle of the park to a campground that we had scoped out. We by-passed everything but wildlife. On the way up we came across a couple of Elk as well as a pair of coyotes. We didn't stop long, though, so that we would be able to get a site in the first come, first serve campground. We were able to get a nice spot where we pitched our tent. After we got that squared away, we got back into the car and head back down the road we had just come up. Along the way we stopped at several thermal areas. One of the areas had a mud volcano that burped mud bubbles, which was pretty cool.

Mud Volcano

However, the most spectacular of the thermal springs was Grand Prismatic Spring. It has a deep blue center and light blue around it and then rings of  green, yellow, red, and orange. We hiked up a boardwalk trail, close to the edge of it

Grand Prismatic (eye level view)

 We continued down until we reached Old Faithful where we waited for about an hour before the geyser erupted in spectacular fashion.

Old Faithful erupting.

After watching the geyser, we continued south until we reached Isa Lake. The lake was pretty beautiful, but what sets it apart, is the fact that it sits on the continental divide. So half of the lake eventually empties out into the Gulf of Mexico, and the other half to the Pacific Ocean. 

Having seen all that we wanted to that far south, we started the drive back up to our campground at Norris. Along the way, we spotted the trail that is used to view Grand Prismatic from the top. We grabbed our packs and set off on about a mile hike. Along the way we saw two more elk grazing on the hill side 50 yards away. We snapped some pictures and then continued on. Paralleling the spring, we spotted a dirt path that led up the side of a mountain that over looked it. With hunched backs, we trudged up the path until we could get a clear view of Grand Prismatic. After catching out breath, we were able to enjoy its shear beauty. 

 Grand Prismatic (upper view)

Since it was starting to get late we hiked back to the car and toward our campground. Along the way we had to make a stop to see several elk that were right next to the road. They hardly paid us much attention as we snapped off pictures from only a few feet away. 

 Elk grazing by the road side.

An Elk as it crossed the road.

Does anyone know why the elk crossed the road? To get to the Elk PARTY, of course! 

With a full day of things done, we settled into our campsite and started us a nice fire where we heated some canned spaghetti and beefaroni over the fire and enjoyed the combination. Soon after we finished, we broke out the marshmallows and had those for dessert. As the air cooled, we dragged the picnic table closer to the fire and enjoyed its warmth. The dusk ended and night began. The stars started to appear in the night sky. And there, in Norris Campground in Yellowstone National Park, I saw the little dipper for the first time in my life! Normally, in Iowa or South Dakota, all but two of the stars are too faint to see. However, in the crystal clear air and no light pollution from the park, I was able to see it! 

As the embers of the fire started to die, we snuffed them out and crawled into our tent and prepared for our first night in Yellowstone.

End day 3.