Yellowstone is so large, it has parts in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. During our visit over this summer, we stayed at the Canyon Village area. We had to drive for over an hour just to get to the start of some of our hikes. Before visiting in person, I had the impression there were a few amazing springs and a few amazing geysers in the park, and that was it. I didn't realize that there are so many of both, spread out all over the park, that after a while, you start to lose track and they start to get mixed up in your mind. You might think to yourself, "Was that incredible blue spring the Silex Spring or the Sapphire Spring?" This one is definitely the Sapphire Spring, but don't worry, Silex Spring comes later.
The water is perfectly clear, so you can see deep down into the water and the mesmerizing color. Steam constantly wafts off of the water's surface, obscuring the view, and briefly warming the cold morning air as it drifts over you. I had to take one photo after another, trying to time the shot to match a second when it cleared just enough to get a good view of the water. This color is called cyan, and the color comes from bacteria called cyanobacteria. According to the park guides, different types of bacteria live in different temperatures of water.
We arrived around 7:30 in the morning, and we were practically the only ones there, except for a bison here and there. The bison never once even looked at us. They just kept on grazing as if we weren't even there.
Another spring, this time with orange, yellow, and green bacterial mats giving it color. To keep people safe from breaking through the hard, but thin, rock crust in these fields of springs, visitors are asked to remain on raised wooden walkways. There've been a few visitors who died, or were badly scalded, when they decided to hop off the walkway for a selfie, and broke through the thin layer of rock, sinking into the boiling pool underneath.
The springs above were along our short hike to see Mystic Falls, shown below.
After that quick hike, we headed to Fairy Falls.
Another view of Fairy Falls, showing how it has gouged a grotto out of the cliff over thousands, if not millions, of years.
The hike to Fairy Falls passes by one of the most incredible sights in the park, Grand Prismatic Springs. It's easy to understand why this was one of the most crowded places in the park.
As mentioned above, the colors come from different types of bacteria, each of which prefers slightly different water temperatures and conditions.
Notice the black lines along the ground. These are tiny stone walls, from a quarter of an inch to an inch high, formed randomly over centuries, by minerals in the water sticking together as the water that wells up out of the spring flows down the surrounding gentle slope. They've created a whole series of shallow terraces. The water slowly fills and overflows each terrace one by one on its way down the slope.
This was a small spring beside Firehole Road. It's so clear and bright, it looks like there are lights inside it.
Across the main road from Firehole is Fountain Paint Pots, where we saw Spasm Geyser, named for the spasmodic way it constantly spits up steam and water.
Also at Fountain Paint Pots, we saw Silex Spring, one of the most beautiful in the park. Large and deep, with stark white along the outer edge, and more of that amazingly clear water that allows us a peak into the underworld. It makes me want to dive in and explore the waterways underneath.
One more amazing spring, this one sits just beside Yellowstone Lake. It's hard to believe just how many different types of natural beauty Yellowstone has in one place.
Finally, we'll take a look at the wildlife, including deer, bison, black bears in trees, and grizzlies, AKA brown bears.
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