I'm not alone in Yellowstone

Nope, I'm not alone....it is me, Don, Sandy, Jerry about 10 million other people at Yellowstone on Saturday. Or at least it seems that way. Aren't all those families with children supposed to be back home, getting their kids ready for school? Okay, I may be exaggerating just a wee bit, but there sure are a lot of trucks and cars on these roads!

The four of us have decided to do Yellowstone in stages, since we will be in the area for 5 days. If we were here for only one or two days, it would be hard to figure out just what areas we wanted to visit.

Our first drive was through the Firehole Falls loop since it was on our way to see Old Faithful.

Old Faithful put on its spectacular show right on time. The boardwalk was crammed with tourists, all waiting with their cameras to catch the display on their cameras. Old Faithful didn't disappoint anyone that day. If it wasn't so darned cold here during the winter, I would absolutely love to come when there was snow on the ground and less people. It would be a great time to get some wildlife pictures. For now, I must be content with capturing geysers and hot springs in varied colors.
Our next stop was Black Sand Basin. No, that is NOT me "spouting" off to Don. We are in front of Cliff Geyser.
This is a better shot of Cliff Geyser, once the old "geezers" were out of the way!
Iron Spring Creek meanders through the Black Sand Basin, the blue water creating a beautiful contrast with the orange and white runoff from the geysers and pools.
As we walked towards Rainbow Pool, we passed through a sauna-like mist that drifted off this hot spring. It was like being in an open air sauna!
What impressed me was the variation in the colors of the pools of water, ranging from blues, to turquoise and deep green, as seen in Emerald Pool in the picture below.
This is the Wall Pool, which reminded me of the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
Our third stop was at the Biscuit Basin area, which was named for the unusual biscuit-like deposits that used to surround Sapphire Lake. Following the 1959 Hebgen Lake Earthquake, Sapphire Lake erupted, which resulted in the "biscuits" being blown away. Still, I think Sapphire Lake is one of the prettiest blue pools in Yellowstone. It's amazing how clear the pool water is.
These types of trees are referred to as "Bobby Sox" in Yellowstone since they look like they're wearing bobby socks. The white "sox" are created when calcium in the water is absorbed by the tree, eventually killing it.
Jerry, Sandy and Don paused on the boardwalk long enough for me to take a picture from the front.
The end of the day brought us a full moon over the Idaho mountains. This is a view from our campsite at Henry's Lake State Park. After a day with all the crowds and the hustle and bustle, we're glad to have peace, quiet and a large space all to ourselves!