TravelWorld National Parks Summer 10

Above: East facing meadows explode with thick growth in the weeks before Summer. Wildflowers challenge the brisk air, warmed by the steam from these hot springs. The meadows, draped by mountains in the distance leave one with an eerie vista, and a bit unsettled.

Below: The trail to Artists’ Paint Pots is spotted with burbling pools of mud, some a dull grey, some dried and cracked white, but both with the distinctive sound of bursting bubbles as the acrid gas breaks the surface. Some pots are brilliantly colored, as here, by micro-organisms that thrive in the heat and malodorous air.