Yellowstone

Yellowstone was an interesting place with all of it's thermal features - geysers, steam vents, boiling water, hot springs, mud pots.  We also saw lots of wildlife there - bison, elk, pronghorn, and a wolf.  We saw a few of the pretty spots and would definitely wan to explore more of those next time, as much of our sightseeing on this trip was to the thermal areas (they're neat to see, but not exactly beautiful).

Brady and Dawson in front of Old Faithful, which just happened to be erupting the moment we arrived.

A bubbling water hole.

This one was really pretty - a bright blue - but scalding hot.

And some more boiling water.

Taking in the nearby and distant geysers.

Brothers on the boardwalk trail.

The guys with Old Faithful in the background.

A picture by Dawson.

This little geyser was fun to watch too - it went off for a long time with varying small and large bursts of water.

This was a cool geyser too with it's bizarre shape.

Steamy hot, bacteria filled water.

This was at the end of the boardwalk trail and it was gorgeous!  Apparently it used to be a much brighter blue, but has faded over time because people keep throwing things into it.  :-(

Inside Old Faithful Inn.

Watching Old Faithful erupt from the balcony of Old Faithful (which I highly recommend - it was a great view with no crowds).

We saw this wolf while driving through Yellowstone - it was across the river and was pulling on and eating some large carcass.

Surprise - more hydrothermal features!

It's hard to tell but Dawson's standing in front of a boiling mud pot - this clay-like mud was spurting up everywhere, even onto the boardwalk that we were walking on.

More boiling mud.

A bison just hanging out by one of the boardwalk trails.

Taking a dirt bath.

They were so big!

The boys at mud volcano.

Dragon's mouth mud pit - it looked like the dragon was spouting smoke from it's mouth.

Another bison along  a trail.

Me and the boys and the bison.

Randy on one of the trails - a bison is lying by the steaming lake in the background.

Closer up picture of the bison.

These steamy water holes were sooooo stinky!

Pretty background.

Looking down on the canyon of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone River running through the canyon.

Pretty waterfall with a rainbow.

Dawson hanging out by the Lower Falls.

Sweeties!

Randy and I at the Lower Falls lookout.

Handsome Dawson at Yellowstone River.

I tried to capture the steep ascent after hiking down to the waterfall, but couldn't quite get it.  It was super steep - but super fun!

Elk in the field.  We saw lots of elk at Yellowstone.

And lots of bison.

Stuck in a bison traffic jam.

This big fella finally moved out of our way.

More bison.

More elk - we saw this one while walking on a trail.

Hiking up the mountain to get a view of Yellowstone Lake in the distance.

The boys found a great place to sit at the top of the mountain.

Me with my sweeties!

Junior Ranger Brady.

Saying good-bye to Yellowstone.

Last picture of the boys at Yellowstone.