Yellowstone: Part 2

As a kid I went to Yellowstone National Park with my family and all I can remember about our visit was the smell of rotten eggs and seeing geysers. Little did I know that there are all sorts of hydrothermal features throughout Yellowstone.

There are these wonderful boardwalks around most of them that allow you to get up close and really enjoy things. At first it was a little difficult to keep John from wanting to explore things off the "trail". So we told him we were on a bridge and he had to stay on the bridge. It helped too, once we told him that all that steam, that still smells like rotten eggs, meant it was hot.

Elizabeth had a love hate relationship with the steam coming from the thermal pools: She hated that her glasses would get all fogged up but she loved the smell. Rachel enjoyed seeing all the different things as long as we didn't stop to take her picture. (You'll soon see that my children are not always the most cooperative or happy to have their pictures taken, especially when they would rather be playing or looking at cool stuff.)

From Sarah we constantly heard, "I carry you." I'm not sure what that was all about. She is usually our very best walker, perhaps she knew that she would have a better view from up on Daddy's shoulders. Paul enjoyed seeing all of the different colors in the pools. The type or absence of microorganisms living in the water of the pools determines the color.

I think I enjoyed just being outside and walking. I found the variety of things we saw fascinating, and was wishing I wasn't having to worry about children wondering off the "bridges" so I could learn more about the science behind all of these cool things.

A trip to Yellowstone would not be complete without a visit to their most famous geyser: Old Faithful.

About every hour, give or take 10 minutes, Old Faithful will go from this . . . .

. . . . to this!

We actually saw Old Faithful twice; the first time (above) on our drive through the park on our way to West Yellowstone, and then again later in the week with Paul's family (below).

The second time it was mostly steam. Our kids didn't much care for Old Faithful either of the times we were there. They were more interested in picking rocks from the cracks of the boardwalk or chasing the chipmunks around with their cousins.

But by far the family's favorite hydrothermal feature was a mud pot we discovered on the Artist Paint Pot Trail. (The picture, not included, does not do it justice and I'm not computer savvy enough to figure out how to load in something from the video camera). We could have stayed there for hours watching and listening. The sounds it made were so funny that it got John giggling. The mud in this pot was thick like potters clay. We were able to get close enough to it that the kids left with a little mud splattered on their shirts. It reminded me of that dancing water show they used to have at Sea World, only it was mud that was dancing.

As we visited these hydrothermal areas I often thought to myself that they look too beautiful and tranquil to be so full of danger, even deadly. Ponder for a moment . . .I think that there are many analogies to life, the Gospel and our Savior to be found here. I am so glad that someone made a path for us to follow so we could explore the beauty without having to experience the danger.