Day 33 / 365

"Far away I hear the others calling,
The voice I hear and answer is my own.
The first of winter snows will soon be falling.
I'm a long long way from the Yellowhead,
Here in Yellowstone,
Yellowstone.

We travel light,
Whatever we could smuggle through the night.
Running from the Rangers who pursued us,
Giving them another day to loose us.
Then we'd be free!
As wild as we were ever meant to be!
But they'd been closing in and when they caught us,
From the Yellowhead to Yellowstone they brought us.
And let us go.
We'd fled the only cage we'd ever known" -from the song Yellowhead to Yellowstone by Ian Tyson

Last night, I entered Yellowstone full well knowing that I would not be able to get a spot to stay overnight anywhere. Anywhere, that is, except for one of the many parking lots in the park. It is illegal to camp overnight there, but I reasoned with myself that being crammed into the back seat of a VW Rabbit in the fetal position due to severe space limitations even for a 5'4" girl did not exactly qualify as 'camping'. At least I chose my parking lot strategically - Artist Point, my chosen sunrise location. Scaredy-cat that I am, I barely closed an eye that night, even though my door was locked. The parking lot was over a km off the main road, and two pick-up trucks came, hung out for a bit, and then left that night. I was also convinced that if a Park Ranger saw me there and was to shine a light into my car or knock on the window to make me move, I'd most definitely suffer a hear attack right then and there. The upside of spending a sleepless night was being able to watch the trees and clouds being lit up by the moon - it was both ghostly and beautiful.

I didn't really awake at dawn, but rather decided to end the uncomfortable back seat origami and get my gear ready. Artist Point is the viewpoint for the Yellowstone Water Falls, which is quite popular. However, that morning, there was only one other photographer there to watch the sunrise, and he happened to be an accountant too.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is where the National Park gets its name from. The Canyon is decomposed rhyolite lava rock, its width varies from 1500 to 4000 feet, and the depth varies from 750 to 1200 feet.

CLICK ON any IMAGES to view a larger version.

Not sure why the clouds in this last one look a bit fake, but that's just how they looked. If you look carefully, you can see a very faint rainbow above the top left of the waterfall.

Next stop was the Norris Geyser Basin. Yellowstone is a very magical place, tourists aside. It is definitely one of those "50 places to visit before you die". Being here feels like having landed on another planet. Everything is steaming and bubbling. This is my second visit here, the first one was over 10 years ago. I want to return here again one day, this time in early winter, to have the contrast of snow added to all the intense colours.

A note to anyone who has not been here - the photos below might seem oversaturated in colour to you, but they are not. This is truly how it looks there! One colour more vibrant than the other. A note to photographers, do not come here without a circular polarizing filter, you will regret it.

Emerald Spring - not difficult to guess where it got its name from.

Cistern Spring

Huff 'n Puff Geyser

Norris Geyser Basin vista

Pearl Geyser

Corporal Geyser

Last stop before heading out of the park, was Mammoth Hot Springs.

White Elephant Back - that is the actual name! And standing here, it certainly does feel like sitting on an elephant's back.

Orange Spring Mound: Bacteria and algae create the streaks of color. It is noticeably different from many of the other terrace formations nearby. Its large mounded shape is the result of very slow water flow and mineral deposition. To be  honest, it puzzles me why the terraces are called Mammoth Hot Springs and not this mound. Looking at this photo, it most closely resembles a mammoth, in my opinion.

Another angle of view of the same mound - a more dramatic view. One of my favourites :)

I LOVE my wide angle lens! Most of these shots were taken with my 10 - 24mm lens. Every photography trip I have taken so far, I have been immensely lucky with regards to weather and skies. Sunshine, intensely blue skies, and just enough clouds to diffuse the light for increased contrast in landscapes as well as add an interesting element to the photos. A bright blue sky is actually quite boring, speaking in photography terms.