Wacky is the best word I can think of for what we saw in Yellowstone. As I wrote about in the last post, during our anniversary trip to Wyoming this year we took a day trip to Yellowstone.
One of the first stops we made was at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, a massive waterfall that gushed into a gorge so deep it made me dizzy, and looked as if it had been painted in burnt siennas, soft oranges and pinks.
![Wyoming-21 Wyoming-21](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/cdf6cb23952e7adf8dd4f6684e02c278/Wyoming-21-900x900.jpg)
I wasn't fully prepared for what awaited us after about a 6 hour trip through the park, which at first didn't seem that different from the Tetons.
![Wyoming-31 Wyoming-31](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/f94a090788f71c87362564fd03d3d8e8/Wyoming-31-900x900.jpg)
When we finally entered the area with the quirky and warm features, what surprised me most was how the steam just started darting up along riverbeds and in random fields.
![Wyoming-40 Wyoming-40](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/f1b8147809276fae38f7ff45bf976223/Wyoming-40-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-29 Wyoming-29](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/3fd7c2f49149ff16a2d81a62c20e3eab/Wyoming-29-900x900.jpg)
Slowly we started to smell the thick sulfuric mist and then suddenly everywhere there were clouds of it, pouring up, rising from wet, bright orange plains.
![Wyoming-30 Wyoming-30](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/1ad8b95edd82416d98c0c2d321810e58/Wyoming-30-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-32 Wyoming-32](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/ad4841cc08c3b1ff56181a593557276d/Wyoming-32-900x900.jpg)
Then the colors just went wild and into turquoises and shimmering golds and it looked like the moon met the Caribbean.
![Wyoming-34 Wyoming-34](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/a639e74e5df74793ba60b8ae6cfd39d6/Wyoming-34-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-39 Wyoming-39](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/65bd811cc6fbc5d60fe0234b00d6273e/Wyoming-39-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-37 Wyoming-37](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/aad8ed3972050c4b6b580a0c341d2fb3/Wyoming-37-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-38 Wyoming-38](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/819fcfe377f2cad29f29dda4f5903f48/Wyoming-38-900x900.jpg)
The most famous features had boardwalks along them, so we were engulfed in the dense steam, which smelled so pungent that I had to breathe through my mouth. Basically, we got free, nasty-smelling facials.
![Wyoming-35 Wyoming-35](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/677ac9bbc7c4194ca8508f249ce62164/Wyoming-35-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-36 Wyoming-36](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/c96ec670860c897f2f6bb3ceeff5cc34/Wyoming-36-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-33 Wyoming-33](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/f179a6d655ebe085f71d65789b487362/Wyoming-33-900x900.jpg)
The mudpots looked like fat frogs under the surface were blowing up huge bubbles
![Wyoming-24 Wyoming-24](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/05d2b334a5ad7ee3def664c4f49681d9/Wyoming-24-900x900.jpg)
and then they boiled so fiercely that the scene looked more like a witches brew.
![Wyoming-26 Wyoming-26](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/9c2ba67629da1d747b3692d7951c5755/Wyoming-26-900x900.jpg)
After driving all day, in the early evening we made it to Old Faithful, which only erupts every 2 hours, so we decided to check it out quickly and if it wasn't the right time, get back on the road. 15 minutes after we arrived, we lucked out and caught it:
![Wyoming-41 Wyoming-41](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/e71078cb7ff4f489bab900399faf1ff9/Wyoming-41-900x900.jpg)
We had seen these smaller geysers here and there as well, but Old Faithful was a lot taller and shot out a lot more water.
![Wyoming-27 Wyoming-27](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/5afb0cadd0ca21fb884f5eb1a0f12fbe/Wyoming-27-900x900.jpg)
Yellowstone is one of the world's most concentrated areas of fumaroles, geysers, and mudpots and we were so glad we caught it, because it was such a contrast to the still, silver mountains of the Tetons. We had to backtrack a few extra hours due to an inconvenient detour, but it ended up being a gift because watching the sun tint the plains and shelves golden was one of the most beautiful parts of the trip for me.
![Wyoming-20 Wyoming-20](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/12665160d2068047d27fee05eedfb9db/Wyoming-20-900x900.jpg)
Bonus photos!
After I finished my post on the Tetons, I found a few straggling photos to share--of the painted hills that looked tie-dyed in the Gros Ventre (which is pronounced something like "Grow Vaunt"
![Wyoming-72 Wyoming-72](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/6b327e0cb0778004a7ce6f3b4ae07264/Wyoming-72-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-71 Wyoming-71](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/9607a5cd4060761f2e82fb355d64895a/Wyoming-71-900x900.jpg)
![Wyoming-70 Wyoming-70](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/cb2b5aa3afd048478a4242c17406b9e5/Wyoming-70-900x900.jpg)
a hiking siesta,
![Wyoming-69 Wyoming-69](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/6663f68a22a68586dd164a8d33d4ff44/Wyoming-69-900x900.jpg)
and this sweet fawn.
![Wyoming-68 Wyoming-68](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/f4e96cf3d05fc0f64f2682d9132d02a2/Wyoming-68-900x900.jpg)
Thanks for coming along--and come back soon because we have a fun Christmas destination!