Today was busy. We started out at 7:45 to finish seeing all the parks attractions. We were totally tourists. We visited the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone which includes the Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. It’s hard to believe that that river goes all the way to ND. It’s one of the longest undammed river in the United States. They are quite the site. From there we visited the Norris Geyser Basin. This included a lot of geysers, one being the infamous Steamboat. The whole place smelled of sulfur. In fact all of what we visited smelled of sulfur. Other Geyser areas we visited included other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumuroles. The number of thermal features in Yellowstone is estimated at 10,000. The various geyser basins are located where rainwater and snowmelt can percolate into the ground, get indirectly superheated by the underlying Yellowstone hotspot, and then erupt at the surface. We also visited Old Faithful and she was faithful as ever. Our last stop was Mammoth Terraces. Travertine terraces, found at Mammoth Terraces, are formed from limestone. Thermal waters rise through the limestone, carrying high amounts of dissolved carbonate. Carbon dioxide is released at the surface and calcium carbonate deposited as travertine, the chalky white rock of the terraces. From there was onward to Gardiner to rest up for the travel back to reality of school. Goodbye Yellowstone. I grew very fond of this place, and it certainly has a fantasy charm of its own with its high mountains and winding valleys there’s always something going on.