We started our day at the Brink of the Upper Falls.
From that spot, you can see the Yellowstone River all the way back to a bridge.
It is interesting to see the river convert to white water just before the Upper Falls.
And then you can watch it pour over the opening to the river below.
The best thing about it is that you are right on top of the Upper Falls for the whole adventure.
It was a short walk to Crystal Falls from the Upper Falls. We got to see Crystal Falls and a great view of a canyon that merges into the Yellowstone Canyon.
While walking back to our vehicle, we spotted some elk.
Our view from the Brink of the Lower Falls was not as close as we were at the Upper Falls. The distance did help us to get a better look at the surrounding hills and forests.
We got our first long view of the canyon from the North Rim Trail. We also got a different look at the Lower Falls.
We found a raven sitting in a dead tree as we walked along the North Rim Trail.
At Canyon Overlook, we saw a narrower part of the canyon. We also got our best views yet of the Lower Falls.
Grand View is appropriately named. You can see the canyon in both directions.
Inspiration Point is at the end of the canyon. You can see up the canyon to the Lower Falls. Here are some long views of the canyon.
And here are some that show more closely how active the Yellowstone River is within the canyon.
From Inspiration Point, you also get to see where the river leaves the canyon and disappears into the distance.
After we toured the north rim of the canyon, we headed towards Old Faithful. The drive is filled with great scenery. It also includes a few roadside surprises.
We stopped at Beryl Springs for a close up view of some hot (boiling) springs.
The rest of the drive to Old Faithful included river views, more mountains and lots of steam rising from all the volcanic vents in the area.
Old Faithful is such a big attraction that the park service has built a huge seating area around Old Faithful and the surrounding geysers. We were fortunate to get a front row seat for the show.
We had about a one hour wait from the time we sat down until the expected eruption of Old Faithful. There was plenty of activity to observe. Not all of it was from Old Faithful either. In the distance over the trees, there was a lot of steam at all times. Closer to us, there was another geyser that was active while we were there. It alternated between venting and erupting a couple of times while we were there. It erupted once while we were waiting.
The area was quite active. Old Faithful was venting high columns of steam almost continuously while we were there. The height of the plume of steam varied, but is was almost always present.
Then for several minutes, Old Faithful erupted. The eruption went high in the air. Between the height of the eruption and the strong breeze, we got a quick shower from Old Faithful. Then it returned to a steam vent until the next time.
All was not quiet however, the geyser near the trees soon erupted again. And the cycle continues.
Yellowstone National Park has some truly different visitor centers. Old Faithful Visitor Center is the complete opposite of the Albright Visitor Center. Today, we saw a modern glass and steel visitor center.
Old Faithful is one of the larger geysers in the park, but it is far from the only one. Black Sands Basin had a large sample of the variety of active pools.
Some were larger bursts of water and steam.
Some had shorter spouts and steam releases.
And some were small and larger pools of steaming water and chemicals.
We noticed that there was a small, mostly peaceful creek running in between all of these hot pools of volcanic activity like there was nothing special going on. It is probably not a good place for a drink of water or a quick swim.
Midway Geyser Basin has several small and large pools from geyser activity. For the most part, the geyser activity is minimal. The evidence of the activity is everywhere. The ground is as colorful as a rainbow, all of the pools are steam covered, and in some of the smaller ones, you can see the water filled holes going down into the ground. At this location, all of the water from all of the pools drain down into the nearby river.
Fountain Paint Pots includes several spouts and geysers, some calm, but hot pools of water, many steaming, spurting mud holes, and some beautifully colored pools of chemically filled water.
It is difficult to comprehend how all of these very different features exist separately, so close together, in a relatively small area.
We ended our day at Gibbons Falls.
We saw a small sample of the wide variety of things to see and do at Yellowstone National Park today. We are glad we still have three days here to see more.