Yellowstone Episode V... The Buffalo Strikes Back

First goal of day 2 was to see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. When you get near the canyon area, the first thing you hear is the roar of the Yellowstone river. ==>

<== It's an amazing river...

And is even more spectacular as a waterfall. Here are the lower falls... =>

The canyon itself is amazing... there is no way any picture we take can do it any justice...

The view from Artist's Point... ==>

<== Time seems to stop when you gaze out into it...

Tried to get a picture but it almost seems sacrilegious... we just block out the canyon :(    ==>

<== Took the stairs down to the base of the lower falls and got a great view of the waterfall...

Problem is, we had to walk up the stairs on the way back! Joe is tired... oh so tired... ==>

<== Taking a break, eating some PB&J, drinking horrible tasting water from a horrible, horrible, horrible water bladder. Never buy one. I'm pretty sure I poisoned myself.

The Upper Falls from further up the river... couldn't get as good a shot of them. Also, for some reason, a lot of tourists can't seem to understand why the Lower Falls are called the lower falls... "Why would they be called lower if they're bigger?? It just doesn't make any sense!!!! " ==>

<== Went for a hike along the North Rim of the canyon after... it's a gorgeous hike literally along the precipice of the canyon...

The view is amazing...

<== But you can be one step away from certain death...That's almost a vertical drop of 1000ft!

So naturally Thomas and I went to the edge to have a look. Sitting on a rock jutting out, it's a straight drop down! ==>

<== After we finished with the Canyon, we had the afternoon to go to Mammoth Hot Springs, but first we had to drive through Buffalo country! Yellowstone is so vast that there are literally a dozen different landscapes that could each be it's own national park.

From mountains to lakes to forest to geothermal areas to vast plains... ==>

<== ... even to the Moon...

One of the few remaining active terraces at the Mammoth Hot Springs... ==>

<== The mud volcano area is still active however...

And the Dragon's Mouth is probably my favorite. A little cave with a mud stream lapping back and forth in it, steam and sulfur belching out forever... or until the next geothermic event...

<== And finally, the sun sets and we finish our incredibly busy day. Perhaps a little too busy. We celebrated a little bit too much at the campground, and after having over the wrong side of 2 dozen delicious microbrewed beers and a bottle of JD later, all of us forgot to take pictures for a while. Oops!