Grand Prismatic Spring Oh the Colors You can See

We went to Grand Prismatic Spring pool early in the morning.  I advise you not to do this.  The temperature was cool out making the hot water from the steam of the pool.  I could barely see anything.  The boardwalks were like metal and when metal gets ice on them they get slick.  We decided we would come back again in the afternoon in a few days. I am posting a few photos of the first visit.

RUNOFF FROM THE EXCELSIOR GEYSER DUMPS INTO THE FIREHOLE RIVER

Ice on the boardwalk from the first visit.

2nd visit was a long wait in line to get a spot to park in the parking lot.  IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT!!!! Map of what we will see with the sun shining.

As we walked up the boardwalk the winds are pretty strong today.  There is a sign warning people to not wear a hat because it will blow off.  Every day they have to go out and use these long arms pickers to get the hats.  After walking up the boardwalk the first stop is to see Excelsior Geyser. We had to take several photos to show the various views.

Thought this was interesting information.  You can read or NOT LOL

What Makes the Grand Prismatic so Grand?

Deeper than a 10-Story Building
Extremely hot water travels 121 feet from a crack in the Earth to reach the surface of the spring.

Football Field on Steroids

The third-largest spring in the world, the Grand Prismatic is bigger than a football field at 370 feet in diameter. A gridiron is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide.

Rainbow of Colors
The hot spring has bright bands of orange, yellow, and green ring the deep blue waters in the spring. The multicolored layers get their hues from different species of thermophile (heat-loving) bacteria living in the progressively cooler water around the spring. And the deep blue center? That’s because water scatters the blue wavelengths of light more than others, reflecting blues back to our eyes.

A Living Thermometer
What living thing in Yellowstone has helped investigators solve crimes and NASA search for extraterrestrial life on seemingly inhospitable planets? Heat-loving microbes living in the Yellowstone’s thermal pools. In 1968, researcher Thomas Brock discovered a microbe living in one of Yellowstone’s extremely hot springs. In the years since, research on Yellowstone’s microbes has led to major medical and scientific advances, including the sequencing of the entire human genome.

On the way back from Prismatic Springs the wind picked up and it started to rain but not hard.  The wind was so strong that it was blowing dirt from the ground up into the air. 

Back to the Old Faithful Inn to sit on the mezzanine and watch Old Faithful.  The rain and wind had died down, so now it's time to watch Old Faithful.  Absolutely stunning view.  We had a couple cocktails to warm up.