09-06-08 Norris Geyser Basin

After sleeping ten hours, we awoke ready to carpe diem! Norris Geyser Basin, one of the hottest and most dynamic of Yellowstone’s hydrothermal areas, was our destination. According to the trail guide, many of its hot springs and fumaroles (steam vents) have temperatures above the boiling point (200F here) – danger, stay on the path! Also, it’s part of one of the world’s largest active volcanoes. We walked around the two-mile back basin and porcelain basin loops... and most of the area smells yucky! The sky threatened several times, and it never did warm up, but this was one fascinating excursion.