Yellowstone - It's a super-volcano!

We aren't really outdoorsy but Yellowstone is a super-volcano.  Do I really need to say anymore?  That is why we decided to go there.  It's relatively close and we needed some place to go for the few days we had for Fall break.

We started Thursday morning with two stops along the way at the Idaho Falls temple and the Rexburg temple to get a stamp in our temple passport.

 We're on our way!

 Idaho Falls temple.  It's actually closed for renovation but that certainly didn't stop us.

Idaho Falls temple - check!

 This one was open and very busy.

Rexburg Idaho temple - check!

We arrived in West Yellowstone that evening, just in time for dinner.  I'm not sure what I was expecting but I found it to be much more rustic than I thought it would be.  It was very busy.  It was hard to find a place to eat dinner.  There weren't any chain restaurants except a McDonald's and everything else looked seedy.  Surely families come here, right?  It's not all adults and bars, right?  We found one place that looked family friendly but it was so busy with every other family that was visiting that we gave up.  Finally we saw an Arby's drive through at a gas station so Jaaromy and I picked up some food for us and we got some McDonald's for the boys and took them back to our cabin.  I had found a place to stay that has a kitchen and it was awesome.  In the morning we were able to eat breakfast and go rather than try and find a place to eat.  It was great.

Now for the park!

I had researched our trip ahead of time because I knew that we didn't have a ton of time so I wanted to make sure we got to see the most important things.  That plan was sometimes derailed by nature.

We were driving along and saw a bunch of cars pulled over looking at the bison.  This was our first wildlife sighting so I had to get a picture.  It was the first of many.

Then we saw our first geysers!  I wasn't actually planning on stopping at this basin but it was our first sighting and Jonathan was so excited.

It surprised me how many people were there.  We stuck to the path and Jonathan made sure to remind everyone to stay on the path and be safe because the ground was toxic.  Brigham would always walk too close to the edge for his taste.

It smelled as good as it looked.  So inviting!

These ones were really loud.

This one was erupting as we walked by, I don't remember it's name.
 

It was pretty impressive.  It was hard to get a good picture because of all the steam.

 On our way to Firehole Lake, Jonathan and I stopped to see this cool dome.  He loves stuff like this.

 Yep, it's a burning hot, acid lake.  Pretty cool.

Nathaniel told me he was disturbed by how easy it would be to kill himself here.  I totally understand.

Then we made our way over to the Excelsior Crater and Grand Prismatic Spring.

The colors were amazing.

I was actually a little disappointed.  It looks so cool when you can view it top down.  It's less impressive at ground level.

Still a cool path.

After that we finally got to go see Old Faithful.  Jonathan was super excited about this one.  Apparently so were hundreds of other people.  It really did surprise me how many people were there.  While we waited for the next eruption we had lunch.  I had made sandwiches that morning but we were also kind of hoping to stop in somewhere for ice cream or something but everything was closed for the winter.  Bummer.

 It's not the most impressive geyser but it was definitely predictable, I guess that's what makes it so cool.  You know for sure you are going to see a geyser erupt.  And we did.

There was also a buffalo just hanging out in front of Old Faithful.  Doesn't he know he's supposed to stay on the path?!

We continued along our route past the lake and on to Lower Falls.  I had heard that it was really cool.

 It was.  It was quite the hike getting down and up though.  It was so steep and narrow, it made me nervous watching Brigham.  I always had to have him on the inside of the path, away from the edge.  Usually it worked just fine, unless we had to pass people coming up.  It was a little rough.

 But what a view!

When we got back up some of us had to take a quick bathroom break and while I was waiting I saw this crow.  It was huge!

We were on our way out of that area when I realized they had a view point for the falls that was farther away.  Everyone was tired from the hike but Jonathan came with me.  I'm so glad I decided to take a look.  It was beautiful!

This is my photoshopped version.

After that we kept driving along the highway on our way to Gardiner, Montana to stop for the night.  We stopped once to look out over the caldera.  I told Jonathan what it was.  We were right on the edge.  It was pretty cool. We didn't make any more stops but there were many neat things to see as we drove by.  Including some stone that was yellow.  I sure hope that's where it got it's name.

 On our way through Mammoth Hot Springs we ran into a small road block.

Apparently, they think they own the town.

I was really pleased with our hotel in Gardiner.  It also had a kitchen so we stopped at the local grocery store to get some more cereal for breakfast.  It was nice.  The closest restaurant had a really long wait but we didn't feel like looking around for another one.  By the time we got our table and ordered the boys were really tired.  When we got back to the hotel we walked back behind it where there was a lookout over a river, I think(it was dark).  I didn't think it would be dark enough to see the Milky Way but there it was!  I love being able to see so many stars!

The next morning we got started with Mammoth Hot Springs.

 The Liberty Cap.  Strange but cool.

 The geological features were so cool!  Crazy stuff.

 Jonathan was in charge of the map and helped us know where to go.

 We hiked all over it.  So many stairs!

 We climbed all the way to the top.  Then I realized we could have driven.  Oh well.

 I often found them doing this.  So sweet.

We took advantage of the benches often.

We were pretty worn out by the end but we still had to stop at Norris Geyser Basin.  Home of Jonathan's favorite geyser.  The Steamboat Geyser.

 On our way there we passed a little pool that was super smelly and steamy.  I felt like the steam would burn my face.  We hurried and took a picture and moved on.

 Here we are: Jonathan's favorite geyser.

 It's the tallest geyser in the world...when it erupts.  We only missed the last eruption by a year.

We decided to take one more path around the basin before we left.  It was fairly short and level.

 The colors were amazing.

 We would occasionally see a hat or some other item in the water.  So close, yet so far away.

 It really was amazing.  I took a while before I felt like I could trust the ground I walked on though.

 On our way out of the park we passed this bison huffing along.  I quickly took a picture.  We never saw any bears though.  I was a little disappointed.

 We stopped in Pocatello for an early dinner/late lunch.

The rest of the way home was really rainy.  I guess we lucked out.

It was such a fun trip, I'm so glad we had a chance to go.  It's been over a year since our last trip.  It went smoothly and the boys had fun.  I guess that's all I can ask for.