Yellowstone is such a wonderland it is hard to avoid a plethora of superlatives. We suggest you visit the superb (here we go) Park Website which will give you access to maps so that you can follow our routes around the Park.

We had pre-booked our accommodation through Xanterra which handles all the accommodation in the US's National Parks and Rol believes that he clinched the last Cabin for the period we wanted, 6 nights, in early August, despite booking 9 months in advance! The Cabin was comfortable with a good heater which we needed as temperatures fell to freezing most nights, though it was in the high 70's in the day. We were literally a short stroll from Old Faithful and we ate our breakfast watching the eruptions!

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Our first day started wet and we explored the Upper Basin which is where Old Faithful is located. This is the most visited Basin with boardwalks everywhere, and terrifying signs telling everyone to stay on the boardwalk to avoid the possibility of death through scalding. Here we saw an Osprey catch a trout while we walked beside the Firehole River. Other highlights of the day were the eruptions of Riverside Geyser, which is fairly predicatble, and a real bonus in watching the monstrous Beehive geyser, which is not predictable, at dusk. Nearby is located the beautiful Old Faithful Inn, the World's largest Log Cabin, where we had a terrific and reasonably priced meal on our final evening.

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Day two we went North to the Lower Geyser Basin along the Firehole Lake Drive and marvelled at the Fountain Paint Pots mud pools. Lunch was spent at the only swimming place in the park on the Firehole river. Naturally it was popular but not too overcrowded. Our pre-visit research had really paid off because there are no references to this lovely spot once you are in the Park. We were entertained by squirrels and watched the Ospreys patrolling along the river. After lunch we went a bit further to see the quiet Artist's Paint Pots basin with more mud pools and then the very active Norris Basin which was half closed due to an unexpected and sudden rise in ground temerature. Frustratingly we just missed the eruption of Echidna Geyser due to lack of patience and the onset of dusk.

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Day three was spent around the Mammoth Hot Springs area. En route to this most northerly spot in the Park we passed the steaming Hillside known as Roaring Mountain. The colours, and smells, at Mammoth are something to behold. Here there are no Geysers and the springs form brilliantly coloured terraces made out of Laterite. 100 years ago they were much more active and extensive but the New Blue Spring was still awesome - and quite a recent phenomenon. We saw the power of the earth here because at Canary Spring the boardwalk was closed due to encroachment. During the afernoon, after a picnic by the Gardiner River on the border with Montana, we "dunked" in the river with a horde of other folks where the out flow from the hot springs joins the river. Boy was it hot! Here we just had to photograph the cute earth toilet! The Fort Yellowstone Visitor centre (now the National Park HQ) was most interesting and showed how the Army was required to keep Law and Order in the Park in its early years.

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Day four we travelled North West to visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This journey was by far the most rewarding from a wild-life perspective. Near Mud Volcano we encountered a huge and nonchalent herd of Bison, and near the Canyon in the lovely Hayden Valley were even more. We also saw a Pelican here. The colours of the Grand Canyon are stunning and the walk down Uncle Tom's Trail to see the 300+ feet high Lower Falls was very exciting as it is all ladders and see through gratings with huge drops on all sides. This was also our hottest and sunniest day so far so we were very glad of our handy water carriers. We visited most of the overlooks and at the last one, in gorgeous early evening light, we spotted a bald eagle far below  us beside the river.

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Our penultimate day was our quietest. After some shopping  we tried to find wildlife and only succeded in spotting a solitary female Elk by the road....disappointing since we saw a big herd crossing on our first approach to the Park.....and a Coyotte by the side of the road! Nevertheless we had a wonderful afternoon back at the Firehole River and a really magical evening in the Old Faithful Inn where we listened to chamber music on the Gallery after a gorgeous meal.

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Our last day took us to West Thumb Basin and the Lake itself. At the Basin we saw a sign that explained that a woman had been injured by a bear in June 2003 - scarry! This is another glorious spot made even more beatiful by the lake and the distant mountain views. The hottest pools are here - the hotter the water the bluer the pools. Our lunch was almost in solitude by the Lake....other visitors sit at the designated tables but we had our handy beach chairs. And we swam in the Lake despite all the literature telling us that the average temperature is 45 degrees F. It was cold but bearable but there was no one else doing it. Within minutes we were beating a hasty retreat with big raindrops falling which soon turned into hail, and it rained as we wended our way towards the East entrance and onward to Cody. A final spectacle was a huge fire on an island showing us the natural cycle of destruction and re-birth. This was telling in view of the destruction of the great fires 20 years ago but all around is evidence of re-generation.

Click on the thumbnails for a bigger picture.

1        OUR CABIN NEAR OLD FAITHFUL	2        VIEW FROM THE CABIN	3       CABIN INTERIOR	4       OLD FAITHFUL INN
5       OLD FAITHFUL INN	6       OLD FAITHFUL INN	7       BREAKFAST AT OLD FAITHFUL - UPPER BASIN	8       UPPER GEYSER BASIN NEAR OLD FAITHFUL
9       RIVERSIDE GEYSER IN THE UPPER BASIN	10       MORNING GLORY POOL UPPER BASIN	11       BEEHIVE GEYSER UPPER BASIN	12       FOUNTAIN PAINTPOT DRIVE LOWER BASIN
13       FOUNTAIN PAINTPOT TRAIL LOWER BASIN	14       FIREHOLE RIVER SWIMMING PLACE NEAR MADISON	15       PORCELAIN BASIN IN THE NORRIS BASIN	16       ROARING MOUNTAIN NEAR NORRIS
17       FORT YELLOWSTONE FROM MAMMOTH TERRACES	18       FORT YELLOWSTONE AT MAMMOTH	19       LIBERTY CAP BELOW THE LOWER TERRACE	20       PALETTE SPRING BELOW THE LOWER TERRACE
21       NEW BLUE SPRING ON THE MAIN TERRACE	22       NEW BLUE SPRING	23       GARDINER RIVER BELOW MAMMOTH	24       EARTH TOILET!
25       CANARY SPRING ON THE MAIN TERRACE	26       BISON NEAR THE MUD VOLCANO	27       THE MUD VOLCANO	28       BISON AT HAYDEN VALLEY
29       LOWER FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER	30       THE GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE	31       UNCLE TOM'S TRAIL DOWN TO THE LOWER FALLS	32       THE LOWER FALLS
33       WEST THUMB BASIN	34       IN YELLOWSTONE LAKE 65 DEGREES C!	35       PICNIC AT YELLOWSTONE LAKE	36        A FOREST FIRE ON AN ISLAND

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