Yellowstone Trip Day 3

On our second day in the park, we did a lot of hiking up and down the mountain. We started the morning early at the "Grand Canyon" of Yellowstone. The Upper and Lower Falls were definitely a sight to see. After winding our way down to the look out we were amazed by the amount of water gushing over the side of the rock cliff. We literally saw the entire water cycle taking place before our eyes. After the water sprayed from the bottom of the falls, it rose as vapor and we saw the start of a cloud. It was quite an amazing sight.

After climbing back to our car, we headed for Mt. Washburn. We intended to just climb for an hour or until we got tired. However, as we got closer and closer to the top, we kept encouraging each other to push on. By the time we reached the top, we were over 10,000 feet up. From the top, we were able to see the entire park in all directions. The air was thin, and they didn't have toilet paper at the bathroom on top, so we didn't stay very long, but it was quite an accomplishment for the whole group.

Our last stop of the day was Tower Falls. The sun was beating down at this point. Thank goodness the cliff we climbed down had some shade towards the bottom. When we got close to the river, the cliff became steep. We held hands as we all slipped down together. Dan decided to put his feet in the river, but Emma was still scared there might be leeches like her last river adventure. Instead we stood and gawked as other families slipped down the cliff to get to the river. The journey back up was a tiring one with lots of sweat dripping. We called it a day and headed back to the house for dinner. After dinner we went to Chico Hot Springs to soak in the heated pool. The hotel was originally a hospital where people visited when they were sick. They had lots of old fashioned photos as well as directives that were used at the time to heal people. We also got to see how the hotel was set up with small bedrooms and a common bathroom at the end of the hall.