Day 19 We got out fairly early and hit Grand Prismatic by 8:30 which was ideal because parking was completely impossible by 8:35. We heated bagels on the hood of the car and ate real quick before taking in the sights.

It was pretty neat. The cool morning air made it slightly difficult to fully view the pools as the steam was much more pronounced. However, what we could see was awesome. When we come back in 5 years, we will hike to the overlook to get a better view of the Grand Prismatic. It’s about a mile hike each way.

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After that, we drove Fire Hole Drive. This had some really neat and less known thermal features that we were able to get a look at.

We then headed up to West Yellowstone which is actually outside of the park. We visited the Bear and Wolf Discovery Center where animals who need rehabilitation go to live. We got some up close and personal views of Grizzlies and wolves and also sat through a Birds of Prey presentation. 

We hung around until the Junior Ranger “Hoofin’ It” program and learned all sorts of new things about the animals in the park. 

We also grabbed a few groceries before leaving town.

On our way back to camp, while Griffin slept, Tom and the big kids swam in a swimming hole off of Fire Hole River drive. It had just enough rapids not to disappoint. I would have taken G in, but it was a hike down many stairs basically into a canyon.

Another fun addition to today, is Tom’s new nickname, Captain Salami Beard. This is a result of too many Salami sandwiches. Yeah, Gross. I know.

After swimming we headed back to camp for the night.