The boardwalk snaking through Upper Geyser Basin approaches and crosses the Firehole River a few times. The geysers and hotsprings, also, occur along and under the river, which causes areas of the river and riverside to steam. Image on the right shows geyser/hot spring water running into the Firehole River at Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

Image on the right shows a massive geyser structure releasing steam; I think the one on the right is 'Giant' Geyser, but I'm not 100% positive on the name. It must have taken a very long time to develop a structure that large from the mineral deposits left behind with each eruption. These geyser structures build in a fashion similiar to a stalagmite.

Image on the right shows Anna on a deck in front of what I believe to be 'Giant' Geyser. Anna is about halfway between my location and the geyser's location, which shows to immense size of this ancient geyser.

Image on the right shows water spurting out of what I think might be 'Giant Geyser' in Upper Geyser Basin.

We heard lots of noise and people yelling up ahead on the boardwalk, so I raced to see what spectacle had caused applause and I found two geysers releasing large amounts of steam. The image on the left shows these two geysers called 'The Grotto'. I guess fallen or live trees near a geyser will get covered in mineral deposits and develop these large and strange formations. These geysers were making a big commotion, but their eruptions were not spectacular.

Image on the right shows another view of The Grotto.

Image on the right shows another 'close-up' view of The Grotto.

Image on the right shows another panned-out view of The Grotto at Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

I forget and can not find the name of this pool/hot spring, but it was not far past The Grotto formation. It was a nice and colorful hot spring, so I added this image to the page.

Further along the boardwalk past The Grotto we crossed the Firehole River again; there are two geysers along the river: 'Fan Geyser' and 'Mortar Geyser'. The two geysers were only producing steam at the time we crossed the river.

Image on the right shows another view of the Firehole River with 'Fan Geyser' visible on the left side of the pic.

Image on the right shows a hot spring (unknown name) at Upper Geyser Basin between The Grotto and Morning Glory Pool.

The main boardwalk at Upper Geyser Basin came to an end at Morning Glory Pool, which had changed color over the years due to ignorant people throwing objects in the pool and clogging the opening deep inside, which decreases the flow of hot, chemical loaded, fresh water from rising to the top of the pool. Excess bacteria then thrive changing the color of the pool. I still think it is a beautiful pool despite the discoloration.

Image on the right shows Morning Glory Pole at Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

Image on the right shows another view of the Firehole River at Upper Geyser Basin; this appeared to be a classic mountain river scene through the lense of the camera, but all around my location were hot springs and geysers.

Image on the right shows water spewing from a geyser (maybe The Grotto) as we work our way back down (southward) along the boardwalk. We then found a side trail leading away from the main boardwalk with other geysers and hot springs that was not only less crowded, but it was almost void of people! One thing about National Parks is that they might get really crowded at times, but if you walk a bit out of the way you will find solitude. Most people don't like to travel or walk very far, so go a little further and the crowds will disappear.

The image on the right shows on the geysers on the crowdless side trail we took in Upper Geyser Basin (I think it might be 'Daisy Geyser').

Image on the right shows Anna in deep thought near a geyser (possibly 'Daisy Geyser').

We found this awesome pool/hot spring near the end of this side trail and no one was around! It was amazing, because this was by far the most beautiful pool/hot spring we saw at Yellowstone. If something is not easily assessable then a majority of people will not bother. I'm glad this was out-of-the-way, because if it were close to a parking lot then idiots would clog it with garbage and stuff and it wouldn't be the deep blue color that it was. Image on the right shows this deep blue pool/hotspring (Blacksand Pool).

Image on the right shows Blacksand Pool at Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

Image on the right shows another view of Blacksand Pool; my favorite pool in Yellowstone National Park.

Not far from Blacksand Pool Shawn found this pool/hole shown in the image on the right.

We crossed the main road and entered 'Blacksand Basin'. There were very large steaming pools, a few small geysers, and at least one mudpot on that side of the road. Image on the right shows the crowds of people, because there was a parking lot about 100 feet behind my location. The Iron Creek can be seen in the photo along with what I think might be 'Green Spring' on the lower left side of the pic.

Image on the right shows a boiling muddy pool/mudpot.

Image on the right shows Cliff Geyser erupting next to Iron Creek.

Image on the right shows Iron Creek flowing through Blacksand Basin with Cliff Geyser erupting in the background.

Image on the right shows Shawn and Brandon on a boardwalk next to what I think might be Emerald Pool in Blacksand Basin.

Image on the right shows a very large and colorful pool in Blacksand Basin.

Image on the right shows a close-up of the edge of a large pool in Blacksand Basin.

While most people had drove and parked in Blacksand Basin, we walked a distance, so we had a decent trek back to our car parked closer to Old Faithful Lodge. The image on the right shows steam rising from the direction of Old Faithful as we walked back to our car. We passed small steaming hot springs on the side of the main road along the way, which shows the large number of bubbling holes where water is forced to the surface from a deep heat source.

Click Here to See Part Four of Yellowstone National Park