Road Trip 2015 - The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park has many facets. The wildlife, the hot springs, the geysers and the beautiful views. None were more beautiful than those we found in the area called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

The canyon varies from 800 to 1200 feet in depth and from 1500 to 4000 feet in width. Its length is about 24 miles. The hot spring activity changes the colors of the rock due to the differences in iron content.

On the eastern side of the loops where the upper meets lower is Canyon Village. There is a great Visitor Education Center there with a couple of videos to watch and several ranger programs. It's also the place we saw a bear spray rental. Apparently if you're into hiking the backwoods, you can rent a can of bear spray in case you have a bear encounter.

A south rim drive and a north rim drive give you several different views of the canyon and the upper and lower falls. The upper falls of the Yellowstone River is 109 feet high and the lower is 308 feet high. Both are impressive. The lower falls appears to have a green stripe in it but it is caused by a notch in the lip of the brink of the falls making the water deeper at that point and it doesn't mix with the air to cause the frothy look of a waterfall. Therefore it appears to be a deeper color and greenish.

We drove leisurely along both the north and south rims stopping in between to have lunch at the Canyon Lodge. There were times when the weather broke and the sun peeked out enough to enhance the colors. While it's not the size of the other Grand Canyon, it is certainly beautiful in its own right.