BOU AVENUE
Yellowstone National Park
On the first leg of our honeymoon, Kelly Wood and I visited Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming.  On 29 May 2007, we entered the park from the north and toured Mammoth Hot Springs before spending the night at the campground in Madison.
We're actually still in Montana at this point.  This is the arch at the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
Wandering off-trail is strictly forbidden.  Sonny takes a break on the railing of one of the many well-constructed boardwalks at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Very cool and very hot!  This is a small sampling of the rock formations at Mammoth Hot Springs.
On the morning of 30 May 2007, Kelly and I awoke in our tent and were surprised to see a herd of bison running through our campsite!  The US National Park Service apparently is not overly concerned about campers being trampled to death as there are no fences around the campground at Madison.  That is certainly an effective way to ensure that campers check out early!  After having breakfast and packing up our camp, Kelly and I hiked up nearby Purple Mountain which is little more than a big hill.  The hiking is easy as there is a good trail all the way to the top, but views are limited and not particularly inspiring.  After returning from Purple Mountain (3.5 hours round-trip), we drove south to visit some of the famous geysers in Yellowstone National Park including Old Faithful.  We then continued driving south through some beautiful country in western Wyoming and southeastern Idaho until we reached Utah.
Save this for an evening hike if you're camping nearby. This is Purple Mountain as seen from the road (4.2 kilometres one-way with 484 metres height gain).
The summit has roughly this same view! Kelly hikes along the good trail which leads past the treed summit to a viewpoint.
Hardly worth the effort. Kelly and Sonny reach the viewpoint overlooking much of the southwest section of Yellowstone National Park.
Those dots on the grass are bison. The Gibbon River can be seen winding far below the viewpoint.
This group seemed like a scrawny bunch. Bison can be seen all along the main roads in Yellowstone National Park.
"Clepsydra" is the Greek word for "water clock". Kelly checks out Clepsydra Geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin.
Looks tempting to dive in, doesn't it? This is Leather Pool (named for leather-like brown bacteria which thrive here) which is also in the Lower Geyser Basin.
The Inn was built in 1903-1904 and survived a massive earthquake in 1959. The interior of Old Faithful Inn is an impressive sight.
Just hanging around awaiting the next eruption of Old Faithful. Kelly stands outside Old Faithful Inn.
Yes, baby! Old Faithful lives up to its name at 4:00 PM on this day.
Photo courtesy of Kelly Wood