National Park Number: 20 of 59
Yellowstone is one of my favorite places on Earth, and one of only two national parks I’d visited before we embarked on this trip. I love its warm colors, burbling mud pots, aqua hot springs, steaming landscapes, boardwalks and expansiveness.
We met up with my parents for our first two days there, driving from Old Faithful to Mammoth Hot Springs and back through Canyon the first day, then to West Thumb and Hayden Valley the next day. Along the way we heard stories about the old Yellowstone, the one my parents experienced as kids, when bears met you at the entrance and you could feed them Fig Newtons through a crack in the window.
After my parents left, we headed back to Grand Teton, then drove back to Yellowstone along the beautiful John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway for several more (chilly and rainy) days of boardwalk-wandering. We were unhurried, mostly off-the-grid, and completely stuck on geothermal features, which we couldn’t get enough of. We did no real hiking. We watched Old Faithful erupt four separate times. We spent an entire afternoon just at Biscuit Basin, running around in the rain and steaming our faces next to the hot springs.
In short, it was incredibly lovely and I could have stayed forever.
Yellowstone was America’s first national park and remains one of its best-visited, and I think most people reading here have probably been at least once, so I’ll keep my words spare here and let the pictures do the talking.
West Thumb Geyser Basin. This is one of my favorites because it’s right on the lake and gorgeously peaceful.
This is called Fishing Cone. Mountain men told the story of straddling this geyser, catching a fish and swinging it into the boiling geyser water to cook it right on the hook.
Black Pool. This was one of my very favorites; I stood here for a very long time, letting the steam blow over my face followed by the cool breeze off the lake. Heaven.
Old Faithful.
At Mammoth Hot Springs. 
Hayden Valley
Churning Cauldron. Self-explanatory and SO COOL to watch.
Dragon’s Mouth Spring. The best part was the echoing gurgles. Graham was convinced there was really a dragon inside.
Castle Geyser
Exploring Upper Geyser Basin.
Anemone Geyser. This one erupts every 7 to 10 minutes; when we arrived it was empty, then it quickly filled, over-flowed and started bubbling several feet in the air. Then just as quickly, the water retreats and the pool stands empty until the next round.
Watching a rainy sunset at Biscuit Basin.
Lower and Midway Geyser Basin.
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
