One of the most recognizable features of Yellowstone are the geysers and hot springs. There's Old Faithful and dozens of geysers and springs in its proximity which millions of people visit each year, but I was surprised to find small geysers and fumaroles that pop up in random places like roads and parking lots.
We'd be driving along and see an area in a parking lot roped off with a few signs and below it steam and gases would be coming out from the opening.
Yellowstone may be the oldest national park, established more than 100 years ago, but we saw first-hand how it is changing everyday. Humans have built roads and campgrounds and lodges, but nature is in command here and it doesn't let you forget it.
Most of the park is a caldera and though the volcano has long been extinct, it remains over a hot spot where magma continues to flow under the earth. This is what causes the geysers, steaming hot springs, bubbling mud pits, earthquakes and stinky sulphur off-gases that continue to shape and change the park today.
Yellowstone is epic in many ways...the size, wildlife and many wonders of nature all in one place. When we planned this trip I worried that Gray would be too young to remember it, but once we were there he was a little sponge, soaking up the science behind what we were experiencing. Now that we're home, he still loves talking about magma and mud pits and reading the book we got that explains the geysers we witnessed.
Here are a few of the geysers and hot springs we explored:
We hiked up to an outlook point to see Old Faithful from above. It's much better than the original video we shot the first time we saw Old Faithful...that day it was sleeting on us for 20 minutes and our hands were frozen as we tried to snap pictures and videos.
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