At the end of the tour, we caught Old Faithful one last time:
Kourtney had mad knowledge of geysers, and hooked us up with some good places to explore. On her advice we walked over to Black Sand Pool, which had been exhibiting some unusual behavior recently. Every few minutes a menacing thumping could be heard far below us, and the ground would shake as if some heavy machinery was operating nearby. Normally the pool is inactive. It was an odd sensation when the ground shook, and I was glad to leave after a few thumping cycles. On the way back, we passed the far less ominous Opalescent Pool near the Black Sand Basin parking lot:
Again taking Kourtney's advice, we drove to the Fairy Falls trailhead in order to view Grand Prismatic Spring. After a short walk, we climbed a hillside and were rewarded with this spectacular view:
This is definitely the best place to view Grand Prismatic; it's far better than the boardwalk trail we had taken earlier. At this point, Laura's parents headed towards West Yellowstone (and home), and we drove with my parents to West Thumb. The West Thumb Geyser Basin isn't very large or active, but it is quite scenic since it's right on the shore of Yellowstone Lake:
After a quick tour of the West Thumb Basin, we headed towards Cody, Wyoming where we would spend the night. Our last (mini) beast jam was for this rugged and thugged bison on the way out of the park:
Great trip! Wish I was there!
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