The travel guide for Mammoth Hot Springs says the hikes around the springs take about two hours... we took so many photos that it was closer to three hours before we finished exploring all the areas of the springs.
From there, we continued our exploration of the park by heading counterclockwise around the northern loop drive with our next major stop being the Canyon area of the park and the Northern rim drive where we took several short hikes to view the falls, Osprey, etc. before continuing on to Tower Roosevelt.
A note about our Osprey viewing... there is one stone pillar in the grand canyon of the Yellowstone River where Osprey have nested for years and one can almost always be guaranteed a sighting in that area of the canyon... we were not disappointed this year... a mama Osprey was staying fairly close to the nest with short forays for food because at least one chick (maybe more) was chirping away in the nest (but not visible).
A view of Canary Springs at Mammoth Hot Springs...
Thermophilic (heat loving) bacteria thrive in the hot pools of Mammoth... which type grow where is temperature dependent...some idiot park visitors (tell us how you really feel) throw coins and kill the bacteria where the coins land (dark spots in upper right corner and along the top about 1/3 over from the left corner).
Looking toward Mammoth Village from the Hot Springs boardwalk...
Terraces at one of the many thermal areas at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park... love the cloudy sky here...
Mountain ranges provide a lovely backdrop to one of the Hot Spring features that is no longer active... wish I could remember what this was called... must find my trail guide and update the caption later!
View of the lower falls of the Yellowstone River taken from along the northern rim... from about this same vantage point, we were able to see the Osprey sitting on her nest and hear the young chirping away... but the view was a bit too far away to get a good picture, even with my 300mm lens!
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