We woke up today to beautiful weather. It rained all night last night, and it was slightly overcast this morning. We decided to take a drive to Mammoth Hot Springs and take in the sights at the terraces. On our way to Mammoth, we stopped to take a short hike to Wraith Falls. Here is Justin making Connor into a Ring Wraith... it's a Lord of the Rings joke. Only nerds will find it funny.
Wraith Falls was quite breathtaking. The beauty here is almost overwhelming. We've seen lush valleys, countless waterfalls, and so much wildlife, it is ridiculous. We've stopped paying attention to bison. They are everywhere. We've seen 2 grizzlies, 2 black bears, 3 moose, a wolf, a coyote, elk, a marmot... just about everything they advertise in the Yellowstone brochure.
At Mammoth, we took the boardwalk to view all the amazing terraces. There are no geysers at Mammoth because the Yellowstone Caldera (volcano) does not extend to this area. There are terraces, which stream hot, mineralized water and leave deposits in a terrace type formation.
The terrain here is quite different. It is pretty barren, unlike the rest of Yellowstone. It is definitely not as pretty as the other areas, but it has a unique beauty. The kids were also happy that the sulfur smell was decidedly less pronounced here.
After our drive to Mammoth, we still had a few hours for sightseeing. We decided to take in the Mud Volcano area. There are all types of geothermal features here, and it is definitely one of the stinkier areas of Yellowstone. The smell of sulfur is constant. One of our favorite features was called Dragon's Mouth.
This one belches steam and water constantly. It is loud and very active. There are several legends and old stories about it. It was really interesting to watch. You can tell Tatum just loves watching geysers.
And as the perfect ending to a great day, we went home, made dinner, and played games all evening. We are really enjoying ourselves, and looking forward to another great day tomorrow.
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