Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting

Elk crossing street at Yellowstone

Now you see him, soon you won’t! A fleeting moment worth a picture. Check out the other entries here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: In the Background

3 Shadows

This photo was taken at the hotsprings inside Yellowstone National Park. The shadows are my wife, brother-in-law, and yours truly. This photo still gives me much satisfaction when I look at it, I think it is one of the best photos I’ve taken so far as an amateur photographer. Check out other entries here.

Trip to Yellowstone

Recently Julianna, her brother George, and I went down to Yellowstone National Park for a few days. It was a lovely trip, with perfect weather, temperatures around 15-20 celcius during the day, and lots of sunshine. Our first stop prior to entering Yellowstone, was Great Falls, where we visited the Lewis and Clark interpretive centre, and took pictures of the Great Falls, and the Missouri River.

Great Falls

Missouri River

From there, we travelled on into Yellowstone Park. Yellowstone was the first national park in the world, it was officially recognized as such in 1872, when U. Grant was President. The park is open year round, and approximately, 2 or 3 million people come to visit every year.

Our next stop was the Lewis and Clark Caverns/Caves. It takes about two hours to do the tour. Unfortunately, it is not a tour recommended for folks with limited mobility. Here are a couple of pictures from the caves.

Lewis & Clark Caverns

Lewis and Clark Caves2

Looking at this second picture, you might be able to see a mask or face-like image in the lit up area.

On our way, we drove by this old abandoned pioneer log cabin.

Pioneer Log Cabin

Our guide told us that there are as many people visiting in the winter as in the summer. We thought September would be a quieter time to visit, but alas, that was not the case. The park was named after its yellow-gold cliffs. It is of great interest to scientists and artists alike. Scientists study the geothermal activity of geysers, hot springs, mud pools and fumaroles, as well as the largest active volcano in the world, which erupted 640,000 years ago. Artists come to paint, draw and photograph the beautiful colours, shapes and sizes of the park’s unique landscape.

Here are a few photos of the park’s geothermal and artistic beauty.

Colourful Cliffs

More Colourful Cliffs

Colourful Pool

Rainbow

Castle Geyser

Waterfalls

Mammoth Hot Springs

Left is Julianna's shadow, my shadow is centre, and George's shadow is right

Animals are also an integral part of the park’s natural history. Sadly, many visitors do not abide by the park’s rule to keep a safe distance from wildlife and almost every year a few folks get hurt or killed. Our guide told of one visitor one was mauled by a bear while hiking alone on a trail without bearspray. Here’s what we saw.

Bison

Elk crossing street at Mammoth Hot Springs townsite

I hope you enjoyed our photos from Yellowstone National Park. It is a wonderful place to visit!