Monday 3rd October

Today was cloudy and very wet and a lot cooler than previously. 

We decided to drive along the Lamar Valley and on to Mammoth Springs. We stopped at impressive Undine Falls on the way.

When we got to Mammoth we were met by a stag elk and his family!

We actually managed to walk the boardwalks around the Main Terrace without getting wet and drove around the Upper Terraces, stopping to eat some sandwiches in the car for lunch while the rain lashed down. I was glad of my bobble hat and gloves as we walked around!
The Terraces were quite different from other formations we have seen in the Yellowstone NP.

They are built up of travertine and coloured by the different thermophiliac bacteria that thrive at different temperatures; yellow and transparent like it hottest, while the orange, brown and greenish prefer it a little cooler. The best we thought was the Mound Spring and the Canary Spring but they were all fascinating.

 

 I loved the shapes and colours of the different crystal formations and where the odd twig or fern had become covered in calcite crystals.