Journey Through Yellowstone, Day 2: West Thumb Geyser Basin and Artist Point

After visiting Lower and Midway Geyser Basins and enjoying the treasures of Upper Geyser Basin including Old Faithful Geyser, our Day 2 in Yellowstone was not over yet. There was still plenty of daylight left, which meant plenty of time to explore and adventure in the park. For the first time hubby and I were on our own thanks to my parents, who offered to take our burned out kiddos back to the hotel. According to the park map, one of the closest areas that we had not visited yet was West Thumb Geyser Basin, which was located right on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. This sounded fantastic, so off we went.

Kepler Cascades

On the way there, we made only one very short stop, at the lovely Kepler Cascades. It was a gorgeous afternoon in Yellowstone, so I consider it a great success on my part that I didn’t make hubby pull over more than once. It took a lot out of me to demonstrate such restraint and control…really!

West Thumb Geyser Basin

When we arrived at West Thumb Geyser Basin, we were overjoyed to discover that there was no shortage of parking spaces. We pulled up into a convenient spot and started walking on the trail boardwalk.

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West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail: EASY boardwalk, 0.65-mile loop

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We didn’t have to walk far before a beautiful view emerged in front of us. We found ourselves in an area where the land was covered with geothermal features of various shapes and sizes. However, the best part was that we got to view all these features in front of the backdrop of Yellowstone Lake’s vastness.

As we continued making our way further along the trail, we kept making frequent stops just to take in this uniquely magnificent scenery.

Abyss Pool

The first memorable pool along the trail was Abyss Pool. As the name suggests, this one seemed to go deep underground – specifically 53 feet. In all honesty, the “abyss” was hard to see due to all the reflections on the pool’s mirror-like surface, but we could tell it was a long way to the bottom.

Black Pool

The next notable feature along the trail was Black Pool, which surprisingly didn’t look that black at all. It actually had a beautiful, deep, blue color and with Yellowstone Lake in the background, it reminded me of an infinity pool at a fancy, beachfront resort.

I learned later that Black Pool used to be much darker in color, but in 1991, its water temperature rose significantly, killing off all the bacteria that made it appear black. Its color changed to deep blue but the name remained.

Geysers at the Lakefront

After admiring Black Pool for a few minutes, we followed the boardwalk around and right along the lakeshore. On this stretch of the trail, we passed by several unique geothermal features that were either inside or right near the edge of the water. The first one was Big Cone, followed by Fishing Cone, my personal favorite of the lakefront features. We continued following the trail past Lakeshore Geyser and Spring, and then it lead us back in the direction of the parking lot.

Before returning to the car, we stopped at one more feature on the trail that caught our attention. It was Bluebell Pool – just a peaceful, small pool that had a subtle, blue color.

Deciding Which Way to Go

When we completed our magnificent tour of West Thumb Geyser Basin, we had to make a decision about which way to go. It was getting somewhat late, so we had to wrap up soon. Our minds voted for going back the way we came since it was the shortest distance to our hotel. However, our hearts insisted that we keep moving forward, circling around the rest of the loop.

I don’t know about you, but I am a person that tends to go with the heart if it happens to be in disagreement with the mind. Hubby, on the other hand, is more of a rational person, and he thinks through a situation more thoroughly before making a decision. On that day, however, both of us were in accord. We were going to continue driving forward, circling all the way around the loop.

Moving Forward

Hubby and I hit the road but before long, had to pull over a couple of times because there were great views of the lake, followed by a bison sighting in Hayden Valley.

As we continued driving, we passed the Fishing Bridge area, Mud Volcano, and Sulphur Caldron, which we had already visited the previous day. Then we got closer to Upper and Lower Falls and Canyon Village. On the spur of the moment, we decided to take South Rim Drive, a side road leading towards the falls and Artist Point. This was actually our planned starting point for the following day but there was still some daylight left, so we decided to take a quick peek.

The Falls and the Iconic Artist Point

We drove up the road for a bit, then pulled in the first parking area, near Uncle Tom’s Point. Hubby and I walked over to an overlook from where we could see Upper Falls. This was a beautiful waterfall but located a little far from this particular viewpoint.

After taking a few photos and enjoying the panorama, we continued up the road towards Artist Point. Once there, we parked and walked along the sidewalk to a set of stairs. We climbed up to the top and there it was – one of the most iconic views in all of Yellowstone National Park. Artist Point presented us with a panorama we had seen hundreds of times in pictures, but the reality of it was truly beyond words. We were staring at the magnificent Lower Falls which poured into the mind-boggling depths of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Never had I imagined or pictured this location quite so monumental and awe-inspiring.

Why They Called It “Yellowstone”

As I kept looking around, stunned by the scenery, it dawned on me that the rocks around us were mostly yellow with some pink dispersed throughout. For the first time, I felt I understood why the park was named Yellowstone. After all, these were some very yellow rocks and stones. I later came to find out, however, that my assumption was incorrect. Interestingly, the name was actually given by Native Americans who observed an abundance of yellow sand stones along the banks of the Yellowstone River in Eastern Montana.

Ending an Epic Day at a Taco Bus

We stood at Artist Point for a long time before we realized it was getting quite late, and it was time to head back to our hotel, The Lodge at Big Sky.  This is when it also dawned on us that our stomachs were growling, and we had to find a quick bite to eat. As soon as our phones showed any signs of reception, hubby and I opened our trusty Yelp Apps, and discovered a funky and fun-sounding place in the town of West Yellowstone, Montana. It was basically a taco bus, called Taqueria Malverde, which had glowing reviews and was open late. We arrived there completely starving, placed our order, then quickly devoured what tasted like delicious Mexican food.  This was the perfect ending to our second day in Yellowstone National Park – a day filled with incredibly colorful sights, adventures and fun.

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Resources to Help Plan Your Trip to Yellowstone

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• The Official Website for the Park – The official Yellowstone website by the National Park Service. Here you can find everything you need to know about Yellowstone.
• MAP of Yellowstone National Park – A map of Yellowstone from the National Park Service cartography site.
• My Yellowstone Park – A nice website that offers great resources and information about Yellowstone National Park. You can even get a FREE Yellowstone Trip Planner.
• Yellowstone National Park Apps – Here is information about the FREE Yellowstone Apps you can download for your smart phone.

Lodging and Dining

• Yellowstone National Park Lodges – Visit this website to see all available lodging options within the park, and to make a reservation.
• RV Rental – Here is a great website where you can rent an RV near your home, or if you prefer, rent an RV near Yellowstone. This is sure to make for an exciting and unforgettable adventure!
• Where to Eat in Yellowstone – Stop by this web page from the National Park Service to see all the dining options inside the park. This would be especially useful if you aren’t planning to bring your own food.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the photos in this post were taken by Vessy with a Nikon D3100 camera. Please send us an e-mail (vessy@feelgoodandtravel.com) if you would like to use any of them. All images are subject to copyright laws.

This trip took place on August 13, 2015.

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