YELLOWSTONE (Day 3 - part 2)

Stop #3: Grand View

Stop #4: (the end point of the North Rim Drive): Inspiration Point

Looking up the canyon...

... and down.

I then looped my way back down toward the South Rim Drive, detouring briefly along a side road that led to the Brink of Upper Falls.

Looking over the top of Upper Falls .... while a man preserves it in time with an old box camera!

Some 484,000 years ago, this spot was covered with hot, molten rhyolite lava. Over time, it hardened and was cut through by the river, which plummets 109 feet at this point.

The frothy Yellowstone River above the falls

I drove to the very end of the South Rim Drive then worked my way back.

Stop #1: Artist Point. Unfortunately, clouds had moved in, darkening the canyon and detracting from the vibrancy of the colors.

The colors and shapes in the canyon are the result of geothermal activity. Hot springs and steam vents have altered the chemistry of the rocks, turning them yellow, red, white and pink.

A view up to the Lower Falls

Stop #2: Uncle Tom's Point and the South Rim Trail. From here, one got a vantage point of both falls.

A map of the area .... A view across the river of the long trail down at the Brink of Lower Falls

Looking across the river at Upper Falls

I descended down Uncle Tom's Trail. H.F. Richardson (aka Uncle Tom) built a trail in 1898 and led tourists into the canyon. The trail was steep and included wooden ladders and rope handrails. Today's modernized steel stairway still bears his name.

Heading down

A glimpse of Lower Falls, with a rainbow ... A marmot rummages about in the rocky cliffs.

Going lower still ... a slightly better view of the falls (and the giant snow shelf)

Looking down the canyon

The view from the end of the trail

I hiked back up and wandered along the South Rim Trail for a bit. The clouds continued to thicken and dull the view.

Walking along the canyon edge ... An overlook of Lower Falls

Three different species of chipmunk call the canyon their home.

On my way drive back to the campsite, it began to hail and snow. So I watched the show from snuggled inside my tent and just called it an early day.

Pounding hail

A break in the storm

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