The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark. – John Muir

What I learned, Day 8:

I learned how to embed videos!!  Now you’ll get to see what I’m talking about instead of relying solely on my description.

What goes down, must come up.  Our first stop of the day was Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  It was probably the one thing I couldn’t wait to see in Yellowstone.  Sure, you can see it from above.  But why when you can see it from below?  So down we went the Brink of Lower Falls Trail.  Here again maps fail you at scale.  The trail didn’t look too bad.  And several times we thought we were nearing the end.  Why not?  The water was right there!  We could hear the falls!  But switchback after switchback down we went…. down down down.  No one warned us about up up up.  They did look winded coming up.  But they were all so unhealthy looking.  Nope.  All of us look unhealthy coming back up.  The air is thinner too so everyone is breathing heard.  Fortunately it was well worth the effort.  It was one of those moments when you get down to the bottom, your knees weaken, you grasp the handrail with white knuckles, and maybe say a choice word in your head.  It was magnificent.  One of my favorite things I’ve done so far. Yes, it really is that color.  Every time I saw pictures of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, I thought, “Why do they have to put that old timey filter on it?”  It just has an appearance of an old photograph.  But it really is that color!  These photos have no filter.  The whole canyon looks like it is oversaturated, over contrasted, and over the top.  It is breath-taking.  By far the best spot in Yellowstone. This guy is an idiot.  That’s all I have to say about that. The elk don’t care you are there.  These females were just enjoying their morning.  What you can’t see is to the left a baby elk romping around.  The bull we saw at the Canyon.  If you see a traffic jam, its probably elk… or maybe these…

The bison don’t care you are there either.  Just don’t get too close.  That big one in the picture was grunting a lot as we passed by.  I just figured it was best to keep moving.  I love the candid moment in the video…. “What’s nursing mom?”  Another discussion for another day.

Blue means hot.  The center of these pools are around 198 degrees.  Some of them can be more acidic that stomach acid.  And they all usually smell.  But they are so beautiful to look at.  Deep blue colors that look like the ocean waters of the caribbean. Fishing is good for the soul, even if you don’t catch anything.  A majority of Yellowstone is fly fishing only.  We have spinner rods.  What I learned is that a fly is too light to cast.  That is why fly fishing uses the weight of the line and the whipping action.  So to fix the problem they sell you little clear bobbers.  Worked like a charm…. except we didn’t catch anything. Kids could have cared less.  And I have no idea why Wyatt is ducking.

Route/Itinerary: Yosemite National Park.  West Entrance to Canyon.

• Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
  • Inspiration Point
  • Artist Point
  • Brink of Lower Falls
• Noris Basin