Color photo. Mammoth Hot Springs, in Yellowstone National Park. Tiers of mineral deposits, forming rough steps and ledges, rising up from the bottom of the frame. They are a sulfurous greenish yellow for the most part, with some brilliant white interspersed.

April 19 – 27 was National Parks Week in the US and I’d intended to post this then, but life kind of got away from me.  Nevertheless!  I’m a fan of the Parks Service, as might be obvious, and believe their mission to “preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations” is important.

Yellowstone was the first National Park, not only in the US, but in the world.  For more than a century it’s stood as a monument to the idea of preserving the past for the benefit of the present, and the future.  A monument to the idea that benefit can mean more that just monetary value.

In the US, the Parks Service manages sites big and small all over the country.  People don’t often even realize they have one in their back yard, so to speak, because places like Yellowstone and Grand Teton are what they think of when the subject of National Parks comes up.  I visited Little River Canyon National Preserve in Alabama years ago and basically everyone I talked to that day a) was from Alabama and b) didn’t know the Preserve was there until they’d stumbled across it that day.  I only found it because I went to the NPS website to see what was near where I was living at the time.

So consider this your permission to look into what parks or public lands are near you, of any sort: National, regional, or municipal.  I post photos of places like today’s, of Mammoth Hot Springs, to bring joy and beauty to you, certainly, but to also inspire you to go find some of your own.  I hope you can, and I hope you do.  If you want to support me in continuing to bring you beauty and inspiration, buying prints from my store helps do that, and is greatly appreciated.

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8 S

Prior posts from my 2023 National Parks trip:

Check out the Print Store for more natural beauty and inspiration

Color photo. Mammoth hot springs, in Yellowstone National Park. Tiers of mineral deposits, forming rough steps, rising up from the lower left to the upper right. They are a sulfurous greenish yellow for the most part, with some brilliant white interspersed. Behind them a rocky promontory rises, chalky white.
Color photo. Mammoth Hot Springs, in Yellowstone National Park. Tiers of mineral deposits, forming rough steps and ledges, rising up from the bottom of the frame. They are a sulfurous greenish yellow for the most part, with some brilliant white interspersed.
Color photo. Two pools of water, one higher than the other. The lower pool is covered in ripples. They are separated by a short shelf of mineral deposits, seven or eight inches tall, over which the water from the upper pool drips to the lower, making the ripples. The constant dripping has left tiny stalactites hanging from the edge of the shelf. The deposits are a sulfurous greenish yellow, with darker splotches in the lower pool.
Color photo. A short cliff of white mineral deposits, with steam along the top. It is at the top of a short slope, which has been stained a pale yellow by the water flowing down it. Beyond the cliff is a line of green pines below a deep blue sky. To the left and right of the slope are more pines. Growing over the slope is a gnarled pine, its long bare trunk barren and twisted until, at the end, is a cluster of branches bearing green needles.
Color photo. Mammoth Hot Springs, in Yellowstone National Park. And older, dry section of the springs. These shelf deposits are a brilliant bleached white, looking almost like rough chalk. Beyond them in the distance is a tall, flat topped cliff covered in sparse pines. Rolling hills, also sparsely covered in pines, are in the far distance. All of this is below a deep blue sky, dotted with clouds on the horizon.