Yellowstone – Geyser Area – Matthew Paulson Photography

On to Yellowstone National Park. June 5th
First main stop was West Thumb Geyser Basin. It’s a nice introduction to the Geyser areas.

As it was the middle of the day and we would be staying at Old Faithful Inn, we bypassed that area and headed to the Black Sand Basin. We saw our first true Geyser in Cliff Geyser and Sunset Pool was beautiful.

Next stop was Biscuit Basin. The bacterial mats and Turquoise Pool were so colorful.

Bacterial Mats - Biscuit Basin — Bacterial Mats – Biscuit Basin

Turquoise Pool - Biscuit Basin — Turquoise Pool – Biscuit Basin

We next hit Firhole Lake Drive. We waited enough to see White Dome Geyser go off.

Heading to Norris Geyser Basin we saw our first baby buffalo (pics later). We stopped at Gibbon Falls and did the Artist Paint Pots where me girls particularly liked the boiling mud. At Norris, we did the Porcelain Basin before deciding to head back to the Old Faithful Inn for the evening. We were able to take a walk in the Upper Geyser Basin and saw Old Faithful and Castle Geyser erupt before calling it a night.

Boiling Mud - Artist Paint Pots — Boiling Mud – Artist Paint Pots

Norrris Geyser Basin - Porcelain Basin — Norrris Geyser Basin – Porcelain Basin

Whirligig and Pinwheel Geysers - Norris Geyser Basin - Porcelain Basin — Whirligig and Pinwheel Geysers – Norris Geyser Basin – Porcelain Basin

Old Faithful Eruption - Upper Geyser Basin — Old Faithful Eruption – Upper Geyser Basin

Castle Geyser post Eruption - Upper Geyser Basin — Castle Geyser post Eruption – Upper Geyser Basin

June 6th We started at Midway Geyser Basin to see Excelsior Spring and Grand Prismatic Geyser as that was always one of the busiest places while we were there. Grand Prismatic is very hard to appreciate from this angle.

Excelsior Geyser - Midway Geyser Basin — Excelsior Geyser – Midway Geyser Basin

Grand Prismatic Spring - Midway Geyser Basin — Grand Prismatic Spring – Midway Geyser Basin

We stopped at Artist Paint Pots as that had also been too busy the day before. Not too much that really stood out here. We then passed the baby buffalo and I was able to grab a couple closeups.

Next stop was Norris Geyser Basin to complete the Back Basin Loop. We saw Steamboat Geyser and then we watched Vixen Geyser erupt and spray a little onto the boardwalk.

We then returned to the Old Faithful Inn and took a hotel tour which was well done and very interesting. We then completed the Upper Geyser Basin including seeing Grotto Geyser erupt and walking down to Morning Glory Pool. They younger two girls were tired so I took them back to the hotel and my wife and oldest daughter watched Grand Geyser go off as a storm rolled in.

Morning Glory Pool - Upper Geyser Basin — Morning Glory Pool – Upper Geyser Basin

June 7 I woke up early again (you may notice a theme here). I took the time to get some nice photos of the Old Faithful Inn without too many people around.

Once the family was awake, our last stop in the Geyser area was the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook Trail. This trail is not too long and only has a short part that is somewhat steep. It is well worth the effort for a good look at Grand Prismatic Spring.

Next on to Mammoth to Tower and Lamar Valley.
Back to Grand Teton National Park days 1-3

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