Yellowstone: geysers that don’t need names

Our first day in the Yellowstone national park began with an exploration of the Mammoth Springs. The walk took us around the spring area to admire the paths the vulcanic water had made around the area.

The lodge area right next to Mammoth springs unfortunately somewhat spoiled the view from up the springs – why build something so close to these beautiful sites?

After the springs, we headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This impressive site can be explored from many spots and directions. We decided to do one hike, from where we could see both falls of the canyon. Unfortunately, the Tom’s trail we were supposed to take was closed, so we needed a new plan. We decided not to do any other hikes which were much longer and since there was so much to see around the area, we figured we make few stops at the manyfold lookout points.

Our first stop was at the Artist’s point. The Canyon opened before us in manifold colors. It was difficult to capture the view – lower waterfalls, deepness off the Canyon, incredible wideness and colorfulness -surrounding us by any camera.

Next we went to see the Upper Falls, after which the kids fell asleep so Arttu and I took turns to see another lookout point, the Grand View into the canyon while the kids were sleeping in the car.

On our way to Lamar valley to search for some wild life we did some planning for the next day in the midst of enjoying the incredible views.

At the end of the day we had seen pronghorns, elks, moose, bisons, a coyote, chipmunks, ground squirrels, ospreys, ravens, canadian geese, and many other birds that we didn’t recognize.

The next morning we had our last delicious breakfast in the Yellowstone Basin Inn.

We spent the next two days exploring water elements of the park, hot springs and geysers, and the lakes. A walk around the Mud vulcano was unexpectedly one of the most impressive sites of Yellowstone. It was however, not merely what we saw but even more what we smelled and heard that was unforgettable.

Bisons did not seem to mind the smell. The dragons mouth impressed us with the roaring sound and bursts of steam coming from a mouth-like cave.

We took a nice swim at the Yellowstone lake, where the boys swam in a smaller and warmer part separated by a narrow and long sand cape from the main part, fresh and chilly were we adults dipped ourselves.

The path taking us around the area of Midway geyser basin was amazing. Upon our arrival to the area the sun came from behind the clouds revealing all the amazing colors of hot springs and geysers and the soil surrounding them.

There was the Grand pirsmatic hot spring, the economic spring, the excelsior geyser, the veteran geyser, and many many more named pools, springs and geysers. And then there were those that didn’t have a name. They were too small, too light colored or just too many and too ordinary to earn a name.

Great analogy to researchers: not everyone can be (at) the top; only a few become the ones being referred to.

One of the top sites in Yellowstone is Old Faithful, the geyser that faithfully erupts every 90 minutes. Just like those famous senior scholars, (not necessarily in age, but in terms of their academic record) publishing regularly and with high impact.

Walking around the area is worthwhile taking an hour or more to explore its numerous hot springs and geysers, both with names and without.

After seeing the second time the eruption of the Old Faithful, it was perfect timing to take off. Next, we would drive through Teton national park and head to the Black Hills, and the Badlands.