Day six was the final day of visiting sites and we spent the entire day in Yellowstone - from Old Faithful to the Grand Prismatic Spring and Yellowstone's own Grand Canyon to see the magnificent Upper Falls and Lower Falls.
We woke up to an extreme temperature of 28-degrees F and everything had frosted over from the thunderstorm the day before. So instead of freezing our hind parts off in the tent, we got up- defrosted the car windows and headed out!
It was sad to drive out of the park later this day, knowing the road trip was coming to a close and in a short 16 hours we'd be back in Iowa looking at rows of corn and beans again. Thanks for coming along on this adventure with me, as told through photos. I really hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I did experiencing them first-hand and photographing them. Cheers!
I wasn't kidding about the frost.
The extreme cold from the night created some magical mist on Yellowstone Lake in the early morning.
Around every bend, the park got bigger and more grand.
Seriously. Around EVERY corner - THIS!
And then this!
"9:08. Plus or minus 10 minutes." the park ranger told us. In that time we discovered that this particular geyser is both old and faithful, as it was right on time like the ranger said. Old Faithful.
As you work your way back to see the Grand Prismatic Spring, your senses get tantalized with the copper colors and hot spring water.
Hot spring water meets cold stream and creates steam on the path back to the Grand Prismatic Spring.
Tourists gaze upon the Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park.
Steam rolls off the Grand Prismatic Spring. Because of the cold - the steam made the spring almost impossible to see - including it's rainbow of colors.
Another drone photo? Nope- the bacteria in the hot springs. It's like it's own small world in a matter of a meter.
The orange and red color of the minerals stand out against a green forest and blue skies.
The Turquoise Pool holds true to it's name.
Excelsior Geyser Crater definitely looks other worldly when you see it up close.
Next up on the loop was waterfalls. We started small and left the large for last!
Now that's a lot of water!
I hiked down to where these people were, but it was too difficult to see anything (or hear anything) but the roar of the water.
The first of three photos - just for size comparison. This is the wide, scene-setting shot.
A little tighter on the falls. Can you see the people on the right?
And the final shot with what I promise are full-sized humans on the right looking down on the falls. The sheer size of the upper and lower falls are just magnificent.
The trail to the bottom of the falls. This is about the only trail we didn't hike.
The cliffs are steep and the river runs quick with lots of rapids through Yellowstone's Grand Canyon.
Here's another shot from the same spot - but with a little more headroom to show the grandness of the canyon.
I could have spent all day just enjoying the sun and taking in the breathtaking sights.
If you haven't - go visit Yellowstone. This photo does absolutely no justice to the grandeur of the waterfall or the canyon.
One last waterfall/canyon photo. I promise.
When we went back to the campsite to pack up the tent, we stumbled across another elk.
The sun was setting as we ended our epic road trip. It was a great trip with a great friend and one I'll be talking about for many, many years to come!