Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone was absolutely amazing. I still can’t believe how high some of those geysers shoot—absolutely gorgeous. As we were entering the park, we noticed a bunch of cars pulled off on the side of the road, so of course we joined in. People were clearly looking at something, and sure enough—we saw animals! I took some really good pictures, but unfortunately, it was mostly the backsides, so it’s hard to say exactly what they were. Some kind of deer or mule, maybe even a moose without antlers? Possibly an antelope? We’re not totally sure, but we’ll check that out later. Maybe female elk.

We made a stop at the Mud Volcano area and went up the boardwalk trail to the Middle Basin. There were signs everywhere warning: Stay on the boardwalk. Do not touch the water. The springs are extremely hot and can burn your skin off. It even warned to keep pets away from the springs.

But of course, not everyone listens.

While we were admiring the view, someone started yelling, “Get the dog! Get the dog!” A guy was chasing after his dog that had slipped out of his grasp. Thankfully, he caught the dog and no one was hurt—but seriously, people.

And then, as we were heading toward a spot where water was trickling down, I wondered aloud, “Is it hot water?” The woman in front of us bends down, dips her fingers in, sniffs it—and then tastes it. TASTES it. We were all standing there stunned. She turned around and said, “Well, if anything happens to me, tell the ranger what I did.” Like... seriously??

We also saw a few kids playing in the water while their parents stood nearby. There are signs everywhere warning not to touch the water. These are geothermal springs and geysers—heated by the Earth itself. It’s not just dangerous; it also disrupts the delicate ecosystem. It's wild to me how casually people ignore that.

Despite that, everything we saw was stunning. Yellowstone is massive—I had no idea just how big it was. We stopped along the way, but it still took us over five hours to get from the west gate to the north gate. And yes, the park entrances are surprisingly commercialized. There was a McDonald's right outside the west gate—we skipped it. The North gate didn’t have a McDonald’s, we weren’t about to drive 35 miles back through the park just for Janet’s new Carmel Frappe obsession.

One crazy part of the drive was coming down toward the north gate—it was dark, and the road was winding like crazy. That was an experience.

Oh—and as we were walking along the boardwalk near the geothermal areas, the temperature kept changing. It would be freezing one moment, and then when the steam hit, it felt like a sauna. One lady walking by was yelling, “Free sauna! Free sauna!” And honestly? It really did feel like one. That intense mix of cold air and sudden, steamy heat was bizarre but kind of magical.

We didn’t see as much wildlife as we hoped—just those mystery animals from earlier, whose behinds we managed to photograph—but even so, it was all so beautiful. Yellowstone really is one of those places that leaves you in awe!