We finally rolled into Yellowstone National Park, and wow—this place is every bit as wild and wonderful as we’d imagined. The whole park feels alive, breathing through hissing fumaroles, bubbling mud pots, rainbow-colored hot springs, and towering geysers. Add in the deep canyons, roaring rivers, and mirror-like lakes, and it’s like stepping straight into Earth’s science lab—with a few whiffs of sulfur and living bacteria to keep things interesting.

Our adventure kicked off at Mammoth Hot Springs, where terraces of white and gold looked like frozen waterfalls from another planet. From there, we looped our way through the park, hitting all the geothermal hot spots—Norris Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic Spring, and of course, Old Faithful.

At Old Faithful, we pulled off one of our favorite travel moves: a little stealth camping right in the parking lot of the Old Faithful Inn. The reward? Front-row seats to three epic eruptions . Watching boiling water blast skyward was pure Yellowstone magic. ( And hey.. If the governments gonna shut down campgrounds what options do you have? )

Before heading out, we made sure to soak in the sights of Yellowstone very own Grand Canyon and the shimmering Yellowstone Lake at West Thumb Basin, where steam rose off the shoreline in the crisp morning air when the hot geysers as a backdrop. It really makes you want to take a dip!

Next stop: Grand Teton National Park, just down the road—but it feels like another world waiting to be explored.