Our first epic national park vacation was to the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. On our trip to Yellowstone, that Grand Canyon was referred to as “the Grand Canyon of the Colorado” because the Colorado River formed it and runs through it. Yellowstone has its own Grand Canyon–the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.
The Yellowstone Grand Canyon
Other than Old Faithful, the waterfalls at the start of the Yellowstone Grand Canyon were the busiest areas of the park we visited. Despite the crowds, we were able to get pictures that make it look like we had the place to ourselves. 😉
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado is famous for its horizontal layers of color, but the walls of the Yellowstone Grand Canyon reflect the geysers that used to be there. The different colors are from different iron compounds formed by the heat of the geysers, and continue to change from exposure to the elements. According to the National Park Service website, “the rocks are, in effect, oxidizing; the canyon is rusting.”
Can you see the fan/funnel patterns left by geysers?
While the Grand Canyon of the Colorado took millions of years to form, some geologists believe the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone could have formed in 30 days, after a glacier damn burst and sent the river crashing through the rhyolite–a soft rock formed from lava flows. Can you imagine?!
After we finished our hike, we drove to the north rim to see the Upper Falls. We took a wide, paved accessible path to steps that led further down closer to the falls.
Weekly Wrap
I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap, so here’s a quick recap of my second week back from vacation. This week my sleep struggles were caused by Scooby waking me up around 4:00 am, apparently needing to go out. Since my alarm goes off at 4:39 it hardly seemed worth it to get back in bed–but I did.
Monday: Strength Workout
Tuesday: Cyclebar
Wednesday: 4.5 Scooby Miles
Thursday: Strength Workout
Friday: CPY 2
Saturday: 22 mile bike ride + 5.6 mile run
Sunday: Hot Power Fusion (yoga)
Does your dog or cat wake you up too early?
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Wow those photos are really just breathtaking! They are making me very excited for my Alaska trip coming up in a few weeks
I can’t wait to see your pics. I really want to go to Alaska one day!
I am loving these recaps every week and seeing all of the photos! I can’t imagine what it would be like to see everything in person – simply breathtaking!
I can’t believe how much we did in one week. I am enjoying reliving the hikes for my recaps.!
I keep telling my hubs we need to do some more National Parks! Yellowstone for sure…your posts really have whet my appetite!
Wow what a beautiful hike. That rainbow over the falls is stunning. Because Carlo the Wonder Dog is pushing 19 years old now, he gets up most nights. It can be anytime. This morning it was 4am. I always go back to bed too. Haha!
The Grand Canyon was one of our favorite places of Yellowstone. Heck, who am I kidding… it was all so incredible, it’s hard to choose a favorite. But it was absolutely breathtaking!
It really is hard to choose a favorite! And there’s so much we didn’t see!
I was going to say that about the water before I even scrolled down to your text. So true. Have you seen the Rio Grande near Taos or Bandelier? Also one of my favorite river views. 4 and 4:39. WOW. I admire your early bird tendencies. I was happy with 6:30 on vacation
I have not been to the Rio Grande! I need to start my days early to get my classes and get to work before traffic gets too bad.
I can’t find the BAndelier one I’m thinking of that shows the blues, but this is from the Taos Gorge. https://www.flickr.com/photos/travellingcari/21365003670/in/album-72157658845602541/
It’s magic. You should put New Mexico on your list.
Again…such awesome pics!!! Max seldom ever wakes us up, unless there’s a storm raging outside (and then that’s NOT for wanting to go outside LOL).
Hah! Scoopby doesn’t mind storms but he’s less willing to go out in the rain than he used to be.
I didn’t know about this Grand Canyon. Love all your pics. What an amazing vacation.
Thanks. It’s a spectacular place!
That looks simply amazing! We came so close to going to Yellowstone this year & now I know I need to make it happen at some point.
Because I’m an early riser (and we close the bedroom door at night), no one wakes us up usually. I can often hear Gizmo pacing back & forth before I get up, though. He’s ready for his morning snack.
Mr. Judy always complains about Lola waking him up too early! I take Bandit out with me when I get up because otherwise at some point he’d get off the bed & walk around because he’d want to get to me.
Scooby was quiet all night when he was downstairs, but now that he’s sleeping in our room sometimes he wakes me before my alarm by putting his big nose in my face!
That’s what Lola does to Mr. Judy. Except it’s a little nose. Just as effective, though. 🙂
It’s ironic. I was in Vegas back in college and had no interest in the Grand Canyon. Now I am kicking myself for not taking advantage of the opporunity.
Molly wakes us up all night. She’s 14 and sometimes needs extra potty breaks. We make it work.
That’s understandable with an older dog. With Scooby I don’t want to teach him to get me up unless it’s really necessary — and so far he’s wanted to play more than anything else.
I had no idea there was a grand canyon in Yellowstone. And that’s crazy it could have been formed in 30 days! That’s impressive to think about.
It really is amazing! Water is so powerful and they rhoylite is relatively soft, so ….
We were going to go there last weekend and decided to do Herriman state park instead! We are planning on going soon though and making a whole camping trip out of it. So pretty!
I’m sure Herriman was lovely too!
Wow, what beautiful views! The natural beauty that our country offers us in some areas is truly breathtaking!
We have a lot of treasures close to home but this was worth the trip!
Love those photos! I didn’t realize that there’s multiple grand canyons…I need to see them all!
The cats are infamous for early morning wakeups…lately, Rocket has been joining us around 4 or so, but at least she’s quiet. Rosie prefers to wake us up!
I guess grand canyon is a geological term — I wonder how big it takes for it to be grand? 🙂 Scooby might go back to sleep if we let him in the bed but that’s NOT going to happen. 😉
So beautiful! A friend of ours moved near there and is always sharing pictures. You’ve captured the beauty too! Great share
It would e great to live near there — as long as there’s cell service where they are. 😉 That was the one hardship of our vacation although it did keep work away.
Your pictures are lovely. It does appear as if you are the only tourists there. 😉 I’m surprised by the pretty color of the water. Ugh – I have a dog or two that like to get up around 3 some nights. Most of the time I’m able to go back to sleep. Thanks for linking!
Oh, 3 is hard. I’m usually dead to the world at that hour.
The blue of that water is absolutely gorgeous! I need to go there to visit! *-*
Looking at the colors now they still don’t seem real. The lookout is called Artists Point for a reason I guess.
I’ve been to the grand canyon a few times but never hiked anywhere. I think the next time we go we are really going to go into the canyon! gorgeous!!
I have a cat that wakes us up. Like a little alarm clock. She purrs but then makes noise whilst purring (like a squeaky purr). And she purposely lays on top of my or my husbands pillow and does this directly in our ears. Every. Darn. Day. Another one will just constantly jump on the bed if he doesn’t get his crunchies on time. We are owned by cats. Something I’ve learned to accept really (husband is the cat lady, not me).
There’s really nothing you can do about cats but accept them. 😉
oh hold up – this isn’t THE grand canyon it’s A grand canyon!! DUH!! even more reason to go back to Yellowstone!!
LOL. I threw you off with my intro. It’s worth hiking into THE Grand Canyon too. 🙂