Our Last Full Day in Yellowstone

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After breakfast this morning, we decided to go see Grand Prismatic. This is Colleen's favorite sight to see at Yellowstone, and I think it's a must-see as well. For me personally, the most memorable things I've seen in Yellowstone during past trips were Artist Point, Grand Prismatic, Old Faithful, and the limestone walls in Mammoth. So, I wanted our kids to have the chance to see most of these things as well. It doesn't look like we'll get up to Mammoth during this trip, but I'm sure we'll be back to Yellowstone again in the future.

Zach and his family were still in bed, so they told us to go on without them. The rest of us headed to see Grand Prismatic. Every other time I've seen Grand Prismatic, it has been from the boardwalk. This time, we decided to walk the Fairy Falls Trail to the Grand Prismatic Overlook so we could see it from above. Grand Prismatic is located near Old Faithful, so the traffic around there is pretty heavy. In fact, this morning, there was a line of cars extending out on the road waiting to be able to turn into the parking lot for the Grand Prismatic Boardwalk. By going to Fairy Falls, we had an easier time getting into a lot. There were still a lot of cars and, surprisingly, no outhouse. There are outhouses everywhere in Yellowstone, but not here for some reason. Paul drove me to a nearby picnic area so I could use the outhouse there before trotting to catch up to the rest of the group.

It's about a 3/4 mile hike each way to the overlook. Paul's back was bothering him, so he stayed behind in the car. With Colleen's bad knee, the 3/4 mile each way added up, so Andrew strapped a lawn chair to his back, and we took frequent breaks. We could tell she was in pain, but she made it the whole way, and it was worth the view! We all agreed it was better to see Grand Prismatic from the overlook than from the boardwalk. Even the kids were impressed, and I hope it's something they remember.

After Grand Prismatic, Paul really wanted to continue on to West Yellowstone to see the Grizzly Bear and Wolf Discovery Center. I needed to do laundry, and so I drove Colleen and me back to Lake Village. On the way, we stopped to see the lily pads. Some flowers were just starting to open. I bet in another week or so, it's a spectacular sight to see! Colleen's purse got left behind in the other car, so we hung out together in our cabin. I did tons of laundry and picked up lunch for the two of us.

Andrew and the kids went with Paul and Scott to the Grizzly & Wolf rescue. They loved it, apparently. Andrew said the grizzly bears there are the "problem bears" that keep encroaching on humans. They'll never be able to be reintroduced to the wild. So, in the rescue, they give the bears what they want: Their food comes in coolers! The bears have to figure out how to bust open the coolers to find their food.

I finished laundry around 3pm and enjoyed a bit of quiet time reading. The group got back from the animal rescue around 3:30pm. Zach's family had decided to leave Yellowstone and head to Grand Teton National Park for the day. They got back around 4:30. We met Zach and the kids for dinner at the lodge, and then they came to our cabin for a short visit afterwards. It was nice the kids got to say goodbye, and I was able to take some photos of Colleen with her kids and grandkids. Our kiddos loved the bit of time they got to spend with their cousins. We never saw Jessica during the trip, but I hope they had a good trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.

Zach and his kids had to get back to check on Jessica at their cabin, so we decided to head to the nearby Gull Point Drive, where you can pull over and step foot in Yellowstone Lake. Colleen stopped to pick up Paul and Scott for the short excursion. Joanna had been insisting she wanted to swim in the lake, and disregarded our warning that it would be too cold. We decided to take her so she could dip her feet in the lake. Honestly, it was one of the best parts of the whole trip. It was so beautiful there, but it was also quiet. There was only one other small group of people there, and they were down the beach quite a ways. Paul's back was bothering him again, so he stayed in the car, but Andrew brought him some interesting rocks to check out. We spent the rest of the time relaxing, dipping our feet in the cold water and black sand, skipping stones, and enjoying the beautiful scenery. It was the perfect way to say goodbye to Yellowstone.

In the morning, we're heading out for a 10 hour drive south to Arches National Park in Utah. I'm a little sad to leave Yellowstone. Although it's getting more crowded, it's still such an extraordinary place to visit. We'll miss you, Yellowstone!

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Photos

Problem Bears
These are the problem bears taken in by the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery at West Yellowstone.

Fine, Black Sand
Yellowstone Lake