Yellowstone National Park Part 2

Our second day in Yellowstone was jam packed with more amazing sites and I'll forever remember the sound of Lower falls, the flight of the first wild eagle I saw and getting lost, just to find extraordinary views of snowy hills. The previous day had been spent going from geyser to geyser and experiencing the magnificent and powerful explosions of each one.

The day started off with quite a surprise when we drove up on this steaming mountain, called Roaring Mountain. I had done some research about the park before we visited but I had not heard anything about this place. The fumaroles release thermal activity, resulting in loud hissing and roaring, which is where the name of the mountain come from. It was a good thing we arrived in the morning. Since it was about 50 or so degrees, the steam was very noticeable and made for some pretty amazing pictures. When we headed back later on that evening, when it was warmer, the steam was barely noticeable.



On our way to Mammoth Hot Springs, I heard a familiar noise and insisted we stop at the next pull-over. It was a waterfall (which we all know I'm nuts about)! Rustic Falls is within viewing distance of the road and fairly nice at about 47 feet. The falls can go dry in the summer, so I was a happy camper getting it see it from all of the recent snow melt (all the waterfalls here were magnificent due to the massive amounts of snow melt).



We finally made it to Mammoth Hot Springs after stopping a few times to take some pictures of all the great views. I could probably write a whole post on Mammoth Hot Springs by itself. The many different features here are produced by hot water, cracks and limestone. Water from the nearby Norris Basin flows through faults, heats up and comes out through the cracks. The water flowing over the limestone turns it several different beautiful colors and can start and stop at any time. Several time, parts of the park have dried up and the limestone turns back to white.



Canary Spring (pictured above) gets its name from the bright yellow color of the limestone. The types of bacteria found in the water are the reason for specific colors of the limestone.





Minerva Terrace was my favorite part of Mammoth Hot Springs. In the 1900's, the terrace was completely dry but started back up again in the 1950's. Because the activity of the area is constantly changing, Minerva Terrace would sometimes get so active that the boardwalks would be covered with mounds of travertine (the limestone deposited by hot springs). The park has now put in higher, movable boardwalks so it doesn't keep happening in times of high activity.



Liberty Cap is a 37 foot, dormant hot spring cone. It was created due to a hot spring that continuously ran for years and stayed in one spot.



After viewing the many spectacular views of mammoth hot springs and taking a nice lunch at the local restaurant there, we went for a nice half mile hike up to Wraith Waterfall.



The hike up to the falls was easy, although much different than the hikes back home because in Yellowstone, you're at a much higher altitude. This makes it harder to breathe because the air is so thin.

We ended up doing so much on this day that there is no way I could fit it all into one post, otherwise it would be infinite scrolling! So stay tuned for my next installment my trip to Yellowstone National Park on day 2.