USA 5: Yellowstone National Park: Geyser Basins

It took us 2 days to walk around all the geyser basins in Yellowstone NP. It was pretty hot because there were nearly no shadows but it was worth it anyway.



This geyser is called Fountain Geyser and we were really lucky as we came on time for the erruption. It was really beautiful as the water flowed down the steps after the first erruption and then continued so in little waves.


For the next geyser we waited probably half an hour but then the erruption was so long that we had time to take several pictures.



As mentioned before there are several hot pools in Yellowstone NP and they even feature a natural temperature indicator - bacteria and algae. Yellow and orange microorganisms live in the 'coldest' areas, followed by the green ones. The hottest areas are occupied by blue or colourless microorganisms. There the water is nearly boiling. (But then not exactly 100°C because of the elevation - over 2000m)
For those interested in biology: Thermus aquaticus, the thermophile bacteria which features the first thermostabile Polymerase (Taq Polymerase) was first discovered at Yellowstone NP.



I don't know exactly what this is, but it looks cool anyway so I had to take a picture. Could be some kind of bacteria covered algae...


This is the highest predictable geyser in the world. We waited about 45 minutes in the hot noon sun to see the erruption but then the water fountain was really huge, much higher than the surrounding trees.


Yellowstone NP is not only a place that contains magnificent views and the rarely seen geothermal areas but it is also a good place to see some wildlife very close. Unfortunately or fortunately, I'm still not sure about it, we didn't see a bear during our stay in Yellowstone NP.


If you are familiar with the Yellowstone NP you might wonder why I didn't post a picture of the Old Faithful Geyser, the most famous one in the park. It is because it is also the most unspectacular one...

USA 4: Yellowstone National Park: Mammoth Hot Springs

The Mammoth Hot Springs contain huge terraces that were built while the hot spring water cooled down and deposited calcium carbonate. Regrettably the water stopped to flow down the terraces but it's still a marvellous view.





The Mammoth Hot Springs also featured hot pools that contain nearly boiling water. Even though the sulphur smell is very strong near the pools and the air really hot it was amazing.


The different colours in the hot pool result from different bacteria and algae living in the hot water.

USA 3: Yellowstone National Park: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

On our first day in Yellowstone NP we decided to go on a day long hike that took us along the river flowing through Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We passed several parking lots and the viewing places next to those were packed but in the middle between two parking lots there were nearly no people.

When we first arrived at the Grand Teton National Park (see previous entry) we made sure to buy bear spray (50$, really expensive) which contains 2% Capsaicin (the stuff that makes chilies so hot). We carried it along the whole time and of course we took it into the tent at night.

As we made our way along the canyon we enjoyed an awesome view.


One of the most pictured views is the following one facing the canyon with one of it's falls.




The next picture was taken the day after the canyon hike. We were really exhausted so we just explored the park like most Americans do: Park, get out, take picture, drive along to the next attraction.
Anyway we made it down some stairs to a river were this picture was taken.

USA 2: Grand Teton National Park

In Wyoming we entered the Grand Teton National Park featuring the Teton mountain range. I would have loved to climb up there, but a 2 day tour was about 1000$ and we unfortunately are no experienced rock climbers, so we could not go on our own either.

But still, just wonderful to look at and we did at least a little adventurous hike through the woods because we watched out for bears. One part of me was eager to see one and the other part was desperatly hoping that we wouldn't run into one...

USA 1: Mount Evans

As I already told you several times I toured the USA together with Dominik during the summer. Finally I'll show you some pictures of our trip, but I'll probably handle it as Dominik does (for those who watch his blog as well) and post several entries to tell you about the whole trip.

On our first real day in USA (after two days of travelling) we started in Denver and drove straight up a very high mountain, in fact the highest mountain I've ever been to (4350m).


The view was literally breathtaking. Because of the thin air up there I felt dizzy when I first got out of the car, but still managed to get some nice pictures taken.
After that we made our way up to Wyoming with our ugly rented car: