This site last updated on  14-Nov-2003

I recommend anyone visiting Yellowstone to take one of the many guided tours. I used Yellowstone Tour Guides, and Buffalo Bus Touring Company. They were both excellent, and the commentaries were both informative and entertaining. For instance, this pool has been renamed by the guides as "Hotdog Pool" after a dog jumped out of a car, and following it's love of water, leapt in. The water is at 200F, or about 98C!!! What's worse, the owner dived in to rescue him!! They both died! Shame for such a pretty pool.

 The first day was spent touring the Southern Loop. The first animal we saw was, predictably an Elk. However, it was a stag, with a lovely wrack of antlers. Elk are the most populous animal in the park.
 The next stop was Firehole Canyon, and the Firehole Falls. Apparently Hole means Valley, so this is the "Valley of Fire". Aptly named, since it is the river that flows through the Old Faithful area, and the valley is full of geysers (pronounced GUYSERS), and other geothermal features. Here is me posing in front of the falls.
 Next stop was the Fountain Paint Pots, where we were privileged to see Fountain Geyser erupt. This geyser is not regular, or predictable, so we were very lucky to see it. The hot spring illustrated in the first picture was also at this place. We also saw some mud pools.
 We then moved on to the Old Faithful area. Here I had the privilege of seeing the Beehive Geyser erupt, just before Old Faithful erupted. The Beehive Geyser does not go off at all frequently, so again, we were very lucky to see it. I also saw the Castle Geyser, though it did not erupt whilst I was there. Whilst walking round the area, I came across a Chipmunk, which posed beautifully for me.

We then headed towards the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone via Yellowstone Lake.(This image will take 4 minutes to download but is well worth it). At the canyon there are two majestic falls, the Lower Falls and the Upper Falls. On the way we passed a herd of Bison. After that we headed back to West Yellowstone for the night.
Gibbon Falls Next day we headed off to the Northern Loop. Our first stop was at Gibbon Falls, one of many waterfalls in the park. Not particularly spectacular, but certainly pretty. We then went to a particularly colourful, and smelly pool called Beryl's Spring, on the way to the Norris Geyser Basin. Here we saw a variety of scenes, including this area that was desertified by the very mineralised water. The area is predominately dominated by cone geysers, but there were some pools. The area is subject to some change at the moment, so most of it is closed to the public for safety reasons.

After Norris, we headed towards Mammoth Springs for Lunch. The tour bus dropped those who wanted to walk at the top of the hill, and we were able to walk past a number of wonderful sites, including a pool, a large area of grey calciferous rock that was no longer active. We then came across the main pool. This is a shot from the top, then the side, and finally, the full cascade. Apologies for the quality of the last picture. Here is a rather unusual picture of a dormant cone that looks like a petrified mushroom.

This tour was mostly viewing some spectacular scenery. We saw changes of scenery that looked quite stunning, and headed over a place called Dunraven Pass. We had a wonderful view of the Caldera that is the centre of Yellowstone and is about 24 by 34 miles! We made it back to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, this time from the North Rim. First the Lower Falls, then the Upper Falls, which I think are the better of the two, and does include a Rainbow. We finally exited the Park in the evening, and we saw this small Elk herd, with a young buck in their midst.
Jean and I returned on the final day to Hayden Valley, which is my favourite part of the Park. The Bison herd were still happily grazing. I managed a good close up of a Bison. In this valley, you can see the Yellowstone River meandering through, and it is quite idyllic. The herds of Bison peacefully grazing makes a lovely sight.
Finally, I returned to the Old Faithful area to have a really good walk around. I took pictures of many geysers, but here is a selection. The Beehive Geyser I saw erupt on the first day. Followed by the Riverside Geyser, which shows the wide range of geysers. This one is right by the riverside. In fact these rivers never freeze despite -40F air temperatures in the winter. The Grotto Geyser was quite a site, and eventually, the Grand Geyser erupted whilst I was there. The Morning Glory Pool is a chromatic pool, and is beautiful.