At last count I think we made it to eight of the United States National Parks last year. We are so fortunate to have these jewels in our midst, so many opportunities for capturing meaningful images. One could spend a lifetime and never see all there is to see in our parks. One of my first memories is a family trip to Yellowstone when I was five.

We moved to Idaho eighteen years ago and because we are so close I cannot remember a year that we have missed going to Yellowstone National Park.

About 600,000 years ago, huge volcanic eruptions occurred in Yellowstone, emptying a large underground magma chamber. Volcanic debris spread for thousands of square miles in a matter of minutes, we have all seen the special on the Discovery Channel. The roof of this chamber collapsed, forming a giant smoldering pit. This caldera was 30 miles across, 45 miles long, and several thousand feet deep. Eventually the caldera was filled with lava.

One of these lava flows was the Canyon Rhyolite flow, approximately 590,000 years ago which came from the east and ended just west of the present canyon. A thermal basin developed in this lava flow, altering and weakening the rhyolite lava by action of the hot steam and gases.                    Steam rises from vents in the canyon today and the multi-hued rocks of the canyon walls are also evidence of hydrothermally altered rhyolite. Yellowstone was born, just like nature this park never dissapoints you, always showing something new. I cannot say that I have a favorite park though, they are all special in thier own right.