Among the many features of Yellowstone, a few stood out to us as the best to visit in our (sadly) limited time in the park; it should come as no surprise that one of those was the ambitiously-named Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, a marvelous hole in the ground with two waterfalls and plenty of spectacular views.  After getting our first look from the easily-accessible Upper Falls Viewpoint, we proceeded farther down the canyon to Artist Point, a popular overlook that provides a superb view of the lower falls framed by the canyon walls.

Artists Point stretches out into the canyon, but the remarkable views begin early on the walkway to the end of the point.  Of course, not knowing how far the path continued and how much more open the views would get, I took the first chance I got to grab a photo of the scenery; the above photo is the result of that impatience.  But, as I soon discovered, I wasn’t the only one to shoot without first exploring.

After spending a few moments observing the throng of camera-bearing tourists, we moved on to the actual point of Artist Point.  The views of the upper falls from the point itself weren’t remarkably different from those of the misguidedly popular roiling mass magnet, but since the point of the Point is actually in the canyon and beyond most of the obstructive trees, the views of the canyon as a whole are worth the short (and very easy) walk.