Black Sand Basin

7/20/2010


Now that we had seen the east side of Yellowstone, we wanted to view the west side of Yellowstone.
We drove up past Old Faithful which is about 38 miles away, and an hour drive. The speed limit in Yellowstone is 45 miles per hour, and the roads are very twisty curvy. We pulled into Black Sand Basin, our next viewing stop.
Cliff Geyser.
Bacteria mat.

I had shorts on, as we set out to walk around the basin. We had not been out of our car for more than a few minutes, and decided to return to our car for jackets and I changed into pants. We always keep extra cloths in the car, ever since we got caught on top of a mountain peak in Estes Park at 10, 000 feet and realized how temperatures can drastically change in elevation.
Usually it is always cool in the mornings in Yellowstone and as the day goes on, it gets very warm when in the sun. If you find shade it usually is perfect. So we dress for warm afternoon sun.
I love this hot spring with the blue and green water and the yellow and white around the edges.
It was also very windy and cloudy this day. It made for good reflection pictures in the springs, but not a fun day for site seeing.
Because it was so cold and cloudy out, the hot springs were producing mega steam.
Which made it hard to see the springs and their colors.
Get the picture!
We had left Mallery home with the windows open, so when it warmed up, she would not overheat. Dogs are not allowed on the boardwalks.
Spouter Geyser.

Now we were worried about rain, because it kept getting colder and cloudier.
Opalescent Pool.
We could not leave the air conditioner on back at our RV because Fishing Bridge is a no hook up campground. Because we were not enjoying the windy, gloomy, cold day and we were worrying about rain back at the RV, we decided to go back home. After an hour drive back home the sun came out, and it became a beautiful day. We have learned when you are out west in this area, the weather can change on a dime, and storms pass through very quickly.