Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

These images were shot in late April of 2004. Yellowstone had just re-opened for the season so my Dad and I drove down from Bozeman to spend a couple days in the park.

Each season in Yellowstone is a different experience. Mid-spring is a time when the majority of snow has melted off the ground and most of the vegetation is just starting to show signs of life. The bull elk are all without antlers and the ubiquitous buffalo are emaciated and haggard. It is a quiet time in the park as its inhabitants begin the process of recovering from the long harsh Wyoming winter. The one constant from season to season is the thermal features.

Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Upper Terraces, Mammoth Hot Springs
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Run Off
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

I find this time of year in Yellowstone to be the least interesting from a photographic perspective. It is the transitional period between the pristine beauty of winter and the vibrant new life that appears later in May and June. Yet there is never a bad time to be in Yellowstone; at this time of year it is easy to feel you have the park to yourself—quite a contrast to the crush of people that crowd the roads and trails in later months.

Green Dragon Spring, Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Regenerating Forest, Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Norris Geyser Basin & the Gallatin Range
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Clepsydra Geyser
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Buffalo in Parking Area, Midway Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Bridge Over the Firehole River, Midway Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

I find Grand Prismatic Spring to be the most beautiful feature in the entire park and, I would guess, its most underappreciated. To fully take it in, one must view it from above—either from the air or from a higher vantage point than the boardwalk built along its eastern edge. It didn't occur to me at the time but the fire that burned the slopes to the west of Grand Prismatic created a terrific viewing opportunity. Seven years later these slopes are once again covered with trees large enough to block a complete view of the spring in all but one or two places.

Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Castle Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Firehole River, Upper Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Steam, Upper Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

The Upper Geyser Basin is a beautiful place in the late afternoon with all its columns of steam backlit by the setting sun. It is different but equally beautiful in the early morning.

Buffalo
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Two Buffalo
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Morning Glory Pool, Upper Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Daisy Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Eruption at Grand Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin
Yellowstone National Park, WY - April 2004

Dad and I were standing at Daisy Geyser enjoying its nifty little eruption when one of us looked back across the basin and saw Grand Geyser going off in a big way. We both set off on kind of a walk-run to try and get to Grand before it was finished. Fortunately for us, the eruption was a long one.