Ahhh summertime. The best time of year to visit national parks, and the time when most folks do just that. Unfortunately, if you're heading to Yellowstone National Park part of the Norris Geyser Basin is closed for about a month due to reconstruction of some 400 feet of boardwalk.

Park officials say the project in the Back Basin of Norris Geyser Basin will temporarily restrict access to Minute, Monarch and Fearless geysers. They could not immediately say why the project was scheduled for the middle of the summer.

While there are other geyser basins to tour in Yellowstone, the Norris Geyser Basin attracts large crowds in part because it is one of the hottest and most dynamic of Yellowstone’s hydrothermal areas. Not only is Norris the home of the Steamboat Geyser, the world’s tallest active geyser, but it's one of the more colorful geyser basins in the park.

On top of that, a short project to improve the trail to Wraith Falls just east of Mammoth Hot Springs is turning into a trial. Initially envisioned as a weekend job, efforts to install handrails on the viewing platform overlooking the 100-foot waterfall were slowed when workers struck bedrock while attempting to install support posts, according to park officials. This has delayed reopening of the trail for several more days.