Mammoth Hot Springs

Today we drove up to the north end of the park to visit Mammoth Hot Springs. Here's a bison that was walking along the road.

What comes to mind when you hear "hot springs"? Most of us don't have visions of boiling water acidic enough to eat holes in your boots, but that's just what we found. The acid and the thermophiles (critters that actually thrive in the hostile environment of the springs) create wonderful colors and formations. The springs well up, dissolve minerals from the limestone, and then deposit them in fantastic terraces of travertine.

We stopped at the Visitor Center to see the displays and watch a short video on the challenge of preserving our natural and cultural heritage for future generations.

One the way home, we stopped at various overlooks. When we got to the Museum of the National Park Ranger, it was just closing. We'll probably visit it another day. We decided to visit the Artists' Paint Pots, a series of small pools and bubbling mud pots in various colors that reminded people of paints: bright orange and milky blue and dark brown and white and even turquoise. We walked a loop mainly on boardwalks and got to see the area from a high overlook.

It was much warmer than we had expected today. It's easy to get dehydrated at this altitude and especially in the bright sun. Annie was especially affected, but I had a bit of a headache too, despite trying hard to drink enough water.

When we got home, we baked our pizzas and Chris made salads. Then we played Ingenious, an interesting tile laying game designed by Reiner Knizia. Annie won the first round, and Chris won the second.