A Firework of Orange and Turquoise

Yellowstone is full of hot springs, bubbling mud pots and hissing geysers. One of the most famous thermal features that seems to be on every calendar, collage postcard and in every article about this beautiful national park is the Grand Prismatic Spring. Since we had never seen it before (I don't really know why) we visited it this time.

When you get there it doesn't really look like much, especially when the sun is hiding behind the clouds.

But then you get closer, and the sun leaves her hiding spot behind the clouds, and suddenly the entire scene changes!

The colors are just spectacular! You do need the sun out to see this place in all its glory. It's rather drab in overcast or even rainy weather.

I also loved the reflections of the clouds.

But it was the intense vivid color that completely fascinated me.

When you look toward the wooden hill in the picture above you can see people standing up on a small hill in the right half of the photo. Of course we had to find out how to get there.

It was only a 20 to 30 minutes walk up there and it was fully worth it, every single step. Just see for yourself.

Here you can also see the crowds - it was incredible. However, it didn't dampen our excitement about this amazing view.

If only I could bottle those colors and take them home!

It wasn't only the color, but the texture as well.

The Grand Prismatic Spring - located in the Midway Geyser Basin - is the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world. Of course it got its name for its striking colors. Its colors match the rainbow dispersion of white light by an optical prism: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. The water is mineral rich and the colors are a result of microbial mats around the edges of the water. The spring is about 370 feet in diameter (bigger than a football field) and 160 feet deep.