Oh, the Colors You Can See! © 2010 Bo Mackison

We arrived at Yellowstone National Park on Saturday afternoon, set up camp quickly, and went exploring.

We stopped at several geyser basins. These geyser basins just seem to call me – I just can’t resist walking on the boardwalks, gazing at the many brightly colored pools, timing the predictable (and unpredictable) gush of the geysers, watching the muddy paint pots that burp out a pop of mud in rhythmic fashion.

When we arrived at Midway Geyser Basin an hour or so before sunset, we ended up lingering there until traces of the sun had all but disappeared. The thermal features are lovely at any time of day, but at sunset, everything is bathed in warm light and the oranges and yellows deepen. I couldn’t stop looking and I took way too many photographs.

This shot is one of my favorite from that evening. The Grand Prismatic Spring, seen steaming in the background, is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone, measuring over 250 by 300 feet. It is a brilliant icy blue in the center, and then turns bluish-green on the edges. But the parts that so attracted me were the rays of oranges, yellows, and browns that radiated from the spring as runoff.

As a bonus, the reflections in the pool and runoff waters are spectacular, as seen by these reflections of white clouds and blue sky.

Ah, glorious nature. What a show she puts on!