day 18: i saw old faithful erupt

It has been slowly sinking in since Monday, but today when we stopped in West Yellowstone for lunch and I found it odd that the rainwater puddles in the parking lot weren't boiling, bubbling, hissing, or steaming, it hit me: for the past three days, I have been in the most insane place on Earth.

Featuring all the colors of one of those giant jawbreakers you ate as a kid, Yellowstone is home to two-thirds of the world's 900 geysers and is totally going to blow someday. Steam rises from the ground. Groundwater shoots hundreds of feet into the air. Mud puddles boil. 

And of course, there are geysers galore:

near the Fountain Paintpot en route to Old Faithful

Spouter Geyser

Cliff Geyser

Giant Geyser

Grotto Geyser

Castle Geyser

Anemone Geyser

Pearl Geyser

Old Faithful, pre-eruption

Old Faithful, mid-eruption

Geyser Hill

And finally the two geysers that appear to have been named specifically for my brother:

Depression Geyser

and me:

Tardy Geyser

Also, if you step on a geyser, you are so fucked: