Actually, there are two different falls that visitors can get fairly close to.  And we do mean close! – The sound of the water rushing is almost deafening at one location!

After you have visited the other locations we’ve told you about, it is definitely worth a ride to the Canyon Village area, which is in the vicinity of the Canyons and the falls (Upper and Lower).

The walks at each location are fairly short and you might have to jostle for position in some locations to get a good photo, but do take the time to see the falls!Canyon Falls Visitor Education Center

We stopped first at the Visitor Education Center to get our bearings and use the facilities.  The Park Ranger are very patient, despite the fact that they’ve probably heard the same questions dozens of times within the last hour.

At several locations, you can see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which has colorful cliffs that plunge 1,000 ft.

Colorful cliffs of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

To the falls -

Next, we headed to see the Upper Falls (109 ft. high, the materials informed us) from the special viewpoint.  We could hear and see the falls – right near us and, if the viewing platform and fence were not there, the falls would have washed us away at the bend the river.  Majestic and amazing!

Then, we headed to South Rim Drive and stopped at Artist Point, which attracted a greater number of tourists.  The view was from more of a distance of the Lower Falls (308 ft.) than we had seen for the Upper Falls.

Regrouping, we traveled back to the North Rim Drive, which is a one-way road from the south, for another vantage point for the Lower Falls.  We stopped at both Lookout Point and Grand View, which are not very far apart.  The different perspective from each location is a great way to view them.   At Lookout Point, the chemicals in the water provided a streak of color at the edge of the falls that doesn’t seem to belong, but is certainly a variation in nature.

Nature is certainly nothing to discount.  We enjoyed the views, and were glad of the vantage points that allowed us to see so much.  According to the Park’s literature, the “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone plunges 1,000 feet.”  The volcanic activity that is at work in other parts of the Park is also at work here and created the colorful canyons we saw.

We hope you are able to visit Yellowstone, but enjoy our views!

Next week… We’ll backtrack and tell you about Grand Teton National Park, south of Yellowstone.

The next day, we weren’t disappointed. In a concentrated area at the Lower Geyser Basin, are some amazing, bubbling, perking evidence of very hot activity under the earth’s surface. The bubbling is in the Fountain Paint Pots and the nearby steaming is a series of geysers that are quite impressive.

A boardwalk takes you around the area and, as long as you stay on the boardwalk – which they require – you can see the activity and avoid the dangerous hot gases.

The first sight we saw was Silex Spring – a colorful pool with flowing water– but very lethal.  Hot steam and hydrogen sulfide are not especially great to inhale.

We walked around the Fountain Paint Pots, seeing something that could be out of MacBeth – “double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.”  And, there was certainly a lot of bubbling going on.  Even though we were early in the season, we still were able to see some really active clay-like deposits that, according to the Parks Department’s pamphlet, were used by the Crow Indian tribe to paint their tepees.

RECIPE – For the Mudpots of Fountain Paint Pots

As we continued our walk on the boardwalk, we came to an area that had a half dozen geysers in varying states of activity.  It was a bit hard to tell which one was which, but the photo here – we believe is Morning Geyser, which put on a spectacular show.  Notice the yellowish deposits in the geyser not erupting in front.  The deposits, while colorful, are other evidence of the many chemicals the erupting earth bring s to the surface.

Geysers erupting in Fountain Paint Pot areas

Almost nearing the juncture of the boardwalk path with the entrance walkway, there are some “Lodgepole pines” that have become mired in the earth’s eruptions. It is a stark reminder of how destructive, yet beautful the earth can be.

The entire walk around the Fountain Paint Pots Trail and the geysers in the vicinity can easily be seen in less than an hour.  It is great to stay longer and watch the changes.

Next week: We’ll travel to Yellowstone’s Falls  – the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  We’ll explore from several vantage points.