What do they say about your best intentions? Well, it was our original intention to get to Grand Canyon before the sun came up and watch its warm and glorious rays gently descend into the canyon to film the jaw-dropping majesty. However, John was a little tired so I acquiesced and we ended up getting up a little later.
The other impediment to this was that the shorter of the two routes to Grand Canyon is apparently closed between 10pm and 8am, well after the sun is up. This necessitated us driving nearly 100 miles the long way around, which meant we got there about an hour after the sun came up. The Grand Canyon is located near the northeast corner of the park and is almost as opposite from where we were staying as it gets.
The up side is that we did get some really sweet morning shots and drove over the Continental Divide twice. We saw Yellowstone Lake, which was huge and a number of animals that we clearly up long before we were foraging for food. All things considered it was still really amazing!
Equally amazing was the trek to the vantage point we chose. Because I hadn’t really studied google earth, or the maps for that matter, we ended up parking on the north side of the canyon. We took a very steep and frightening path down to this lookout. I believe John said it dropped about 308 feet in about 94 meters. My knees really enjoyed that! While it was not the postcard location, it did get us a lot closer to the lower falls, which was a sight to behold. The rocks really are yellow and it became obvious how the park got its name. The sheer volume of water pouring over that was astounding as was the accompanying low rumble.
After we ascended back up the mountain, we went to an alternate lookout and saw an Osprey nest being attended by its parents with fish it pulled out of the cascading water below. I would love to say I got a great picture of the nest but I was not up to the task as John was waiting in the car and I was trying to hurry. But it was cool to see! We actually met a couple up there who were – you won’t believe this – from Switzerland and live about 45 minutes from Robert and Melinda near the Synthes offices, likely where Robert works! Talk about a small world!
We next went to find the upper falls which was impressive, but not nearly as much as the lower falls. We did not go to Artist’s Point which is the postcard location for shots of the Canyon (we went later on in the week). Instead we went north to Tower-Roosevelt, stopped for gas and lunch, then continued on to Mammoth Hot Springs.
Mammoth Hot Springs is an area of terraces created by the sill off of geysers and pools. By the time we got there it was hot as hell, somewhere in the 90s in the parking area, but considerably hotter as you moved along the terrace area. Still, it was really spectacular! When you think about how much mineral rich water and over such a long period time that it took to create these incredible formations it is mind boggling especially when considering how big all of this is.
The lower terraces were particularly interesting because on one side was a predominantly white area of rounded formations, like someone took thousands on varying sizes of bowls and stacked them up upside down on top of each other until it made this small mountain. It was really incredible because it has this slightly grayish white glow to it, like back lit alabaster. Immediately adjacent to that were other formations that more closely resembled terra cotta crocks (bowls) of all sizes stacked on top of each other. All of this had water from the pools above gracefully running down it.
Because the water is constantly warm it acts like a Petri dish and cultivates gobs of bacteria and algae in the most spectacular array of colors and shapes. More amazingly is that within inches of this toxic, festering soup are plants that somehow manage to take root and survive. I mean the ground isn’t even dirt, it is like ground up chalk. While it is rich in calcium, I can’t imagine it has a lot else to offer, but these plants make the best of it and seem to thrive. I suppose it is a lesson to us all! (These pictures are in no particular order...)
Sunrise on Yellowstone Lake
Sunrise (and one of my favorite shots) before we got to Yellowstone Lake.
What appear to be wild snapdragons.
Water rushing down towards the upper falls.
A view of the upper falls from the south side.
Some really bizarre rock formations as we left the grand canyon and headed towards Tower-Roosevelt.
Katie, this one is for you. I took one look at this rock and it totally looked like there was a face screaming in the rock, can you see it?? How cool is that!!
The color might be a little over saturated but not by much - this bacteria and whatnot really take on some amazing colors!!!
Artist Paint Pot area.
Artist Paint Pot area.
Artist Paint Pot area.
Artist Paint Pot area.
Artist Paint Pot area.
Can you see the mud squirting out of here?? It was really cool watching this thing and it was getting some really good distance on it too!
A lovely meadow (they're everywhere!).
John and I decided we wanted to build a house right here with a giant picture window overlooking this lake and the moutains. It was a really spectacular view that is not done justice by this picture.
The terra cotta colored terraces.
...more terra cotta terraces.
A combination of terrace types. See the alabaster glow? Sweet!
These were baby terraces in the run off from the springs - this is how a terrace is born!
They really do look like perfectly stacked pots!
Ok, this is Liberty Cap. It is what is left of an old geyser. Quite frankly it looked tremndously phalic, but I didn't notice until I started editing these pictures that there is actually a face in here too! In fact, upon further reflection, and again Katie you will enjoy this, it looks like the top of the sorting hat from Harry Potter! LOL
The river flowing away from the lower falls.
a less close up view of the river. Note how steel and loose this is! It was making me queasy looking over the edge down there.
Another view into the canyon facing away from the falls.
Lower falls from the steep descent into the canyon.
This is the opposite side of the road from where those weird rock formations were - a more natural and untouched appearance.
A bull elk we spotted on the way back.
A young brown bird that was chilling out on the path at the Mammoth Springs area who seemed completely oblivious to our presence - apparently no one told him to be scared of people! I have no idea what species it is except some kind of cow bird or blackbird.
A MASSIVE male bison on the way back. You seriously cannot believe how big this thing was, like a small armored personnel carrier!
Further away from the canyon and falls. 
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