Wild West VI - Yellowstone At Last and Starlight at the Grand Tetons

The road from Cody was only opened on the day we entered Yellowstone, and the lake was totally frozen, even though the air temperature was in the 70s Fahrenheit. We could see the Grand Tetons range 50 miles away in the distance.

This is the Prismatic Geyser, so called because the minerals colour the steam. It's beautiful and magic.

 Here is the Yellowstone Canyon, with the distinctive yellow rocks that gave the park its name. The walls are a thousand feet high or deep depending whether you are on the top or the bottom. I walked the 600 feet down to one of the waterfalls, coming back up wasn't so easy. . .

Old Faithful at last erupting every 90 minutes or so to a maximum height of 185 feet. An amazing sight, although there are benches positioned in front of it where crowds of people wait.  All these volcanic features are within the  caldera or rim of the volcano that sits waiting under Yellowstone. . . even the hotel that we stayed in, which was a bit scary.

After Yellowstone, we headed south to the Grand Tetons. A range of mountains rising to over 13,000 feet and reflected in Jackson Lake.

At night, the stars were also reflected in the lake. I felt as if I could reach down and scoop one out.  The one in the centre is Venus, not the moon!