We decided last night that we would drive through Canyon on the way to Yellowstone Lake on our way out of Yellowstone. Edwin and I woke up early so we decided to pull in the side of the RV and drive to Artist’s Point while my mom and the kids were asleep, one of our favorite spots from the first day near Canyon. It was nice to be there without the crowds. I can see why they call it Artist’s Point. It is the most photographed view in Yellowstone. We took a little hike along the South Rim to Ribbon Lake. The morning sun was shining on the canyon and the amount of colors were incredible. Reds, yellows, oranges, greens. Because of the weather we hadn’t spent a lot of time off the main trafficked areas. It was nice to get onto a trail and have a some tranquility in the beauty.

We went back to the Canyon visitor center and the girls completed their science badges. I know I said this yesterday, but I feel like I finally went full circle in my understanding of Yellowstone. They do a really complete job and give so much information. Here’s some more information from the Canyon visitor center as we didn’t realize there was a whole second floor.

lodge pole pine grows everywhere because it can grow in the nutrient poor soil
Native Americans have many stories how animals such as coyotes formed the canyons and rivers

Native Americans used the colors from all the different hydrothermal areas to paint their bodies and the buffalo hides

The Yellowstone caldera is huge…45 miles by 34 miles. Crater Lake which looks huge is tiny in comparison, 6 miles wide

On the way to Lake Yellowstone we stopped by another series of mud pots with cold names like “Black Dragon’s Cauldron”, “Sizzling Basin”, “Grizzly Fumarole”, “Churning Cauldron”, “Sour Lake”, “Dragon’s Mouth Spring”.

lunch and journals

We went to the “big thumb” part of Lake Yellowstone and I was just expecting the lake so don’t know why I was surprised to see the lake with a boardwalk of another series of springs and fumaroles. The lake looked appetizing to go into, but its not allowed. Just as I was saying this to my mom and noticed elk literally frolicking in the lake just 100 yards from us. They looked like dogs jumping around the shallows. And you know when dogs get wet they get crazy hyper, so did this baby elk. It was trying to get its mom to play with him, but she wasn’t having it. They sauntered over grazing along the way and ended up only feet from us.

the water looked nice, swimmable, then we looked right and saw 2 elk frolicking in the shore

They had these super cool springs right near the water and it is said that the Native American’s and also the first mountaineers would go fishing, casting their fishing rod into the lake and then without removing the fish from the rod, dip the pole into the spring to cook the fish and then eat it. Both swimming in the water and fishing/cooking made me wish we could do that too. It started snowing again when we got to the Lake but the somehow the colors in the springs were more vibrant than those inside the basin.

imagine fishing in the lake and then dipping it in the hot water and you could eat it right then
it was nice to see the colors at these springs today…because it was too cold/overcast to see them at the “great Prismatic Spring”

Goodbye Yellowstone. It was a lovely time. Considering the cold snap the Northwest is having we felt like we lucked out with the weather and everything seemed to just work out. Off to the Tetons.