Yellowstone National Park: Part I, Grant Village

The campgrounds are no frills (no electricity, water and sewer lines), but the park has full accommodations for every type of camper – RV, pop-up, and ground tents. Yellowstone is ideal for family vacationing since it’s packed with service areas including, restaurants, general stores, markets, laundry + shower facilities, and bathrooms. 

Making a wish on a dandelion that we don't come into contact with any bears!

Mark and I were glad to have the opportunity for real camping (many of the campsites on our trip have been asphalt and concrete – not conducive to a genuine camping experience). Our “neighbors” at the site were families from Colorado, Holland, and England. After a full day of hiking and exploring, we built a fire each night and on the second I prepared my first campfire dinner – veggie hot dogs, baked + black beans, a vegetable and corn medley and a tomato + cucumber salad. No s’mores, though…we will be making them at the next site, for sure!

Night one: a fire with red wine and Table Topics, The 60's.

We received these wine glasses as a wedding gift - thank you Rick + Vick!

Night two...a full meal : )

When you’re here, you realize the entire park is sitting atop a cauldron of magmatic heat – bubbling springs and geysers, boiling mud pots/pools, and the fact that the Yellowstone Lake (45 miles long) was formed due to a volcanic eruption hundreds of thousands of years ago is testament that this park is pulsing with geothermal activity. 

Highlights for us were the hydrothermal sites including: Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Pool, and West Thumb, which sits on Yellowstone Lake. A notable point during our visit was the evident devastation caused by the 1988 fire, which ravaged thousands of acres of the park. But Mother Nature is resilient; new growth is springing up and Yellowstone will be lush with timber pines once again. 

A crater spring near Old Faithful.

Anxiously awaiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

Old Faithful - 50+ feet!

The area of Old Faithful is bubbling with springs, pools and geysers.

The water is crystal clear since the temperature is so hot and bacteria cannot survive.

We hiked to the side of a mountain to get an aerial shot of the Prismatic Pool.

Up and close at the Prismatic Pool.

West Thumb along Yellowstone Lake - another hot spot and my hair looking like it's 1985.

You can smell the sulfur as you walk by.

In some areas growth is slow even though the fire was in 1988.

Poor Mother Nature...it's been nearly 25 years and she is still struggling.

Heading to another campsite in Yellowstone, so more to come.

Ciao' for now : )