Yellowstone Canyon

Yellowstone Canyon was our destination today; we are spending our first four nights in the park at nearby Canyon Lodge. James had us up and organised early and we were on the trail by nine. The morning air was crisp and cool, which was a nice change after the hot afternoon at Mammoth yesterday. The trail took us along the edge of the canyon which was absolutely amazing; dramatically steep drops with a massive waterfall crashing into the river far below. We could see rainbows in the mist rising from the water and the trail was very peaceful and quiet. It seems to be mainly the parking areas that get busy in Yellowstone; only a select few actually go for a longer walk! When we meet people along the trail we usually say hello to them and compare notes on wildlife in the vicinity; for example a couple of bison up ahead, a grizzly rumoured to be on a nearby trail.

We walked along to the well-named Sublime Point then Lily Pad Lake and Ribbon Lake, both of which were very pretty and covered with lilies but also plagued by mosquitos as the day warmed up. Then we looped round though an area with geothermal activity where "mud pots" were boiling away merrily; it looked so prehistoric. Then came perhaps the most beautiful parts of the walk; Clear Lake which was turquoise in colour with little bubbles of hot air from fumaroles rising up though the water, and the meadow next to the lake, full of colourful wild flowers, where bison were grazing.  

The variety and beauty of Yellowstone astounds me; Davie is so happy to be here that he has a permanent grin on his face, and he and James chat away about plants and volcanoes. It turned out to be a longer walk than we planned at about six miles, and I found the last hour or so rather hot and sticky, however it was all worthwhile when we arrived back at Canyon Lodge for a cool drink.