The Waters of Yellowstone, Part 1: I Stand All Amazed

My son Tyler photographing Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone, June 2014
 

If magma is the soul of Yellowstone, water is her eyes.  Unlike in Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park, we never directly see the molten engine that drives her--and if we ever do, it will be an instant before incineration for us and Armageddon for the entire globe--but through her waters we come to know her well.  This first hit me when we visited in June of 2014.  Although I love the sound of her name, it is not very descriptive of who she really is.  It describes the colors in her Grand Canyon and the color of many of the geyser basins, but Yellowstone is so much more than these.  The 136 square miles of pristine water that is Yellowstone Lake is enough to warrant a national park, not to mention the 63,500 gallons of water per second that flow over Yellowstone Falls, and the varied bubbling, spitting and spewing waters of half the world's geysers which are located within her boundaries.  Simply put, the waters of Yellowstone are astounding.  If you ever find yourself in a bad spot and life has lost its meaning, do whatever it takes and get to Yellowstone.  Whatever power you attribute her art to, the fact that something that beautiful exists, makes all of creation from maggots and Donald Trump to Eagles and Mahatma Gandhi worthwhile. 

Yellowstone Falls

If that seems like a hyperbole, you have never looked out on a herd of bison grazing along the slow, blue Yellowstone River.



The Yellowstone River

Bison grazing near a pool of melt-water, late June 2014

Perhaps that is why I have avoided writing this post for so long.  As a writer, I seldom feel words are inept tools for capturing life.  But, with Yellowstone, it's different.  What is there to say?  If she were a song, she'd be Pachelbel's "Canon"--perfect.  But she's not.  It's one thing for man to show off, and quite another for God to shake out his splendor.

The rest of my life I may struggle with reverence, but looking deep into the waters of Yellowstone, I stand all amazed.

Text and photography © Steve Brown, 2015