Yellowstone National Park is the first National Park of the United States (and perhaps the World depending on the modern definition) and remains a crown jewel of America's public lands, a massive volcanic caldera with a large number of geothermal features (some 10000 in all, including half of the World's geysers including the famed Old Faithful) and lots of Rocky Mountain wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, moose and elk. I've only been able to visit twice, but every time I have it has blown me away.

Grand Prismatic Spring is a massive hot spring (the largest in the US and the third largest in the World) located in the Midway Geyser Basin. It is known for its striking coloration of red, orange, yellow, green and blue, created by different groups of microbial mats radiating out with decreasing temperature (the center being blue from sterilized water).

The last time I was in Yellowstone was during a virology conference in Bozeman. The grad students in my lab were discussing whether to visit the park before the conference opened, only to be discouraged by our professor: "I think you guys should focus on what's going on at the meeting".

A few days later: "You know, Yellowstone would be pretty enjoyable."

The day after we landed: "I rented a van. I want you all to meet me in front of the parking lot at 4:00 AM and we'll have a fun time before the conference."

And it was.

From  theRoguez!

U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For