Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Seems there are a lot of zigzags Mother Nature provides us, and my husband and I were fortunate enough to see this one up close and personal on our recent travels to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. We were stunned by the incredible colors of this canyon (created by hot water acting on volcanic rock). And as if the canyon’s colors weren’t enough, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow highlighted in the mist from the cascading 308-foot Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.
Now, to get to the lookout from where I took this photo required a 660-foot descent via winding gravel trails. Not too bad going down, but coming back up? Well, given that we were over 7000 feet above sea level, let’s just say I was huffing and puffing my way to the top. Was the effort worth it? At the time, I wasn’t so sure, but looking back at this photo, I have to say “absolutely”!
To view my zigzag from Rocky Mountain National Park, visit Trail Ridge Road. To see more zigzags, whether created by Mother Nature or not, visit this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge.
Visual Venturing 
Yellowstone is about a two day trip for us so imagine my chagrin (I had to look the up) when we discovered the park was closed when we got there! This was two winters ago and we have not been back. Granted we could only go on that particular date as we had the use of a cabin, a free cabin, for a week. So it wasn’t all my fault. I think the owners knew this and so offered that week.
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Well, Emilio, you just have to make plans to take that two-day drive! We drove from Boulder through Rocky Mountain National Park to Laramie on our first day, then Laramie on to Jackson, Wyoming on the second. Long trip, longer than we expected, but we stopped a lot so that I could take photos (of course).
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Wow. This is great shot for zigzag. I missed seeing it while on vacation.
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Thanks, Karen. We only spent one day in Yellowstone – I would love to go back and do the Upper Loop someday!
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Gorgeous!
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I feel so lucky to have seen it in person! Thanks, Katie.
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Breath taking!
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Hard to do justice with a camera what one sees with the eyes in this magnificent place. But this one definitely does help to tell the story of this canyon 🙂 So glad you liked the scene. Thanks!
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Nice take on the theme. I’ve never seen that part of the Park. The one time I passed through the Park on my way to northern Idaho, we were fortunate enough to see Old Faithful do its thing. Saw some nice bubble pits. There are a lot of things to take photos of in Yellowstone.
You’re welcome to come visit my late take on zigzag: http://wp.me/p255bn-ei
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Hi, Cris! Yes, Yellowstone is a photographer’s dream! We only made it through the lower loop (we travelled that in one day) and we could have spent much more time there. Getting back to the upper loop is now on my bucket list. And, yes, the bubbling “pits” were amazing. Have some great photos from there to post down the road. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoyed your take on this week’s challenge as well 🙂
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Thanks, mine was nothing compared to the raw beauty of Yellowstone. But then, there’s no place else in the world quite like Yellowstone. As beautiful as Yosemite is, it can’t compare with the versatility of Yellowstone. I’d like to revisit it someday, only with more time to spend there.
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There is a quote I think from Prometheus “God does not build in straight lines” a great reason why in nature nothing is straight and you had to walk around along a lot of zig zags.
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🙂
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Wonderful view Stacy and great shot with that shy piece of rainbow breaking the symmetrical sensation of the image. Though, a little weird; did you exaggerate a bit with saturation and contrast or that is the real aspect of that scenery? I feel it like taken from a war video game scene, just expecting the helicopters to show up and then shoot them down! Doesn’t it happen to you? In the enlarged version the sensation is even greater!
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Jaime, I’ll have to get back to you on this one. I did have two copies of the photo, one that ended up being a bit more vibrant than it should have been (in opening the shadows of the original, I had to play with exposure and vibrance a bit, though I had other untouched photos that I gauged my colors against so I would get them “right.”) It was late at night when I uploaded the photo, so I’m wondering whether in my fatigue, I uploaded the wrong one to the site… Though that being said, the colors were indeed amazing in the canyon.
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Just stunning! One of the places I most want to visit 🙂
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Thanks so much, Sarah. You must get there – the sites to see there are beyond what you could ever imagine!
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Such an extraordinary landscape and I’d love to watch and photograph the wildlife there! One day 😉
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The wildlife seemed to be hiding the day we were there, but we did see some elk up close and personal, and one bison. No moose, no bear though. Guess I’ll just have to go back 🙂 Hope you do get a chance one day!
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Maybe I’ll see you there 😉
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So cool 😊 x
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Sheena, how fun!!! And, yes, most definitely it was 🙂
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Wow
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My exact thought when I first saw this spectacular view! Thanks, Bruce.
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Brilliant shot, Stacy You even got some rainbow in the picture. Wonderful.
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Right place, right time 😀 Thanks so much, Hugh!
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What a magnificent shot, with a rainbow, mist and rapids through a steep canyon. Could it get any better, I don’t think so 🙂
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Only if the way back up to the top was via elevator 😉 Thanks, Karen!
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