This photo was taken with my iPhone while walking on the boardwalk with my 10 year old daughter, my 8 year old son, my husband and aunt. We were visiting Yellowstone for a family reunion. I was teaching my children that science and medicine would not be the same without Yellowstone. Without heat loving organisms living in a Yellowstone, like the ones that create the bacterial mats of this spring, we may not have genetic tests or viral PCR tests because the enzyme used to replicate DNA was found in Montana, Yellowstone. Without Yellowstone, my husband’s job as a geneticist may not have ever been. My work as a physician would be completely different. It is so important to teach the next generation the importance of preserving special places like Yellowstone. I love how the mountain behind is almost the same shape as the orange and brown bacterial mats like a reflection below. Nature has provided such vibrant colors that it almost doesn’t look real. To give perspective, this photo shows visitors in the background enjoying this magnificent natural wonder.
tagged: grand prismatic spring
