Yellowstone! (Part 4)—Grand Prismatic Spring and Sheepeater Cliffs

The Old Faithful Inn is a really cool building. It's immense, made of wood, and blessed with some impressive architectural features.

In addition to the curved logs that hold up the window gables, there are the log pylons that support the building that tops the covered parking area. The ceiling and multi-tiered balconies rise high above a vast open reception area, drawing gasps of awe as people enter its cavernous lobby. And it's all made of logs. I'm thinking I might like to stay there some day.



There's also a gigantic stone chimney adorned with an eye-catching pendulum clock. It was a busy place, with lots of people milling around. I'm not sure how many were guests, and how many were simply curious tourists. But I'm glad my friend Reynold had told me about it, or I probably would've skipped coming inside.

Out in front of the building, there was an interesting vehicle; it seemed to be the unholy offspring of a school bus, a limousine, and a taxicab. Hmm.



Alas, such luxuries were beyond our means. Returning to our mere Subaru, Tanner and I then headed north to the Grand Prismatic Spring. The park literature said that this geyser pool reflected its rainbow of mineral colors into the steam plume, displaying the spectrum across the sky. It was still overcast and drizzly, so we probably missed out on its full glory...but it still looked pretty cool.





Looking up at the surround caldera rim made me think this would be a great place to film a vampire movie.



I brightened up the following photo to emphasize the variety of colors.



We talked about how there's probably a Goldilocks spot in the river, where the water temperature is just right...





After the prismatic ponds, we once again headed north through the park. The next stop was another scenic vista, Gibbon Falls.



Along the way, we skipped some additional geyser clusters, several hiking trails, and even some intriguing-sounding pulloffs like "Artist Paintpots." But we decided we just had to see the Sheepeater Cliffs.



I still remember the thrill of seeing bighorn sheep for the first time. They are impressive animals, and something you just don't see as a boy growing up in Kansas. But now that I see them nearly every weekend when I run in Waterton canyon, I have come to think of them as nothing but a nuisance, clogging up the road while they look stupid and stink. I was secretly pleased to discover that the Shoshone enjoyed eating them. The next time I meet any Shoshone, I plan to take them out to Waterton, inform them that I have a working barbecue grill, and, you know...see what happens.

Anyway, Tanner decided to climb the cliffs while I stood below to take pictures. It didn't take him long to scramble up the rocks to stand triumphantly at the top. As I snapped this shot, he yelled "Look!"

"I am looking, ya doofus" I shouted back. "I took a picture!"

"No, look!" Though he appeared to be unable to articulate what he wanted me to look at, he did manage to point back down toward where I was standing. I turned around, and was startled to see a chubby little badger trotting down the path. He must've passed within a couple of feet of where I was standing.

Unfortunately, he didn't pose for a photo. I tried, but didn't get any clear pictures. I guess National Geographic will not be bidding for my services. Sigh.







Regardless, it was pretty cool to have this unexpected and benign wildlife encounter. The little fellow scampered uphill as Tanner was coming back down, but they didn't run into each other. After the badger had disappeared and my son had returned, we got back in the car and headed for our final Yellowstone geyser field; the Mammoth hot Springs Terraces! I hope you'll return for that discussion. In the meantime, have a great day!