We woke up to temperatures in the mid fifties inside. It was probably even colder outside. I made pancakes for breakfast as we needed something hot to warm us up. After a late start, we stopped at the post office in West Yellowstone to pick up our mail. We were in the quick line at the west entrance to Yellowstone thanks to our Senior Pass. The road in to Madison follows the Madison River which Ted was ready to put a kayak in if we hadn't left them back at the campsite. There were quite a few turnouts along the river and we only stopped at a few knowing we would come back this way often this week. The remains of the huge fire of 1988 was very evident along this stretch of road. What amazes me is after twenty-six years there are still so many dead trees still standing. The young lodgepole pines along the way made a beautiful new forest.
Once we reached Madison and headed south, we took the one way side road of Firehole Canyon Drive. This beautiful drive followed the Firehole River with high cliffs on either side. We stopped to see the falls and again at a place where you could get in the river to swim. I asked a woman in the water how cold it was and she said not bad, just refreshing.
Back on the main road we started seeing signs of steam coming out of the ground There was a lot of traffic and I expect that this is the busiest tourist section in the park. Parking spaces were at a premium but we managed to find a place at the Lower Geyser Basin. The land is unstable in these areas and it is mandatory that people stay on the boardwalks. I bet I saw at least a half dozen hats out on the ground that people had lost and weren't able to retrieve. At this area was the Fountain Paint Pot, a cauldron of hot reddish-pink mud, blooping and spitting. Any hot spring could become a mud pot with the right balance of acidity, moisture and clay but a constant flow of water keeps most springs clear. There were many more springs and mini-geyserss as we walked the boardwalk loop.
Back on our way we saw a bison grazing beside the road. Lots of cars had stopped but we kept going on to Midway Geyser Basin and another fight for parking spaces. We walked across the river and up the hill. Water from the geysers was flowing down the bank into the river. This area is known for the enormous crater of Excelsior Geyser which hasn't erupted since 1985 but puts out four thousand gallons of scalding water every minute. Also located here is the Grand Prismatic Spring which is three hundred seventy feet wide and the largest and most beautiful in the park according to what we have read. Again there were many other smaller springs and geysers in the area which looks like a moonscape with water. The water flowing out of the springs have bacteria and algae that form mats of different colors depending on how hot the water is and what can survive at that temperature and in whatever chemicals are present.
We arrived at the Old Faithful complex and got a parking spot right away. Just as we were walking to the visitors center, Old Faithful was just finishing erupting. We went into the visitors center, asked about kayaking, got a stamp and looked at the exhibits. The Old Faithful Visitors Education Center, which opened in 2010, contains interactive exhibits explaining Yellowstone's rare thermal features, life in extreme environments, volcanic geology and scientific investigations of these phenomena. Unfortunately the theater wasn't open. By the time we were done, it was almost time for Old Faithful to go off again. We went to the semicircle of benches that face the geyser and waited with the hundreds of other people for the show to begin. I filmed the whole five minutes of the eruption after several false starts of it spitting four or five feet up and then subsiding. It sprinkled off and on while we were waiting and watching but nothing serious.
When we were done watching Old Faithful, we walked over to Old Faithful Inn to check it out. It was built in less than a year between 1903 and 1904 with fewer than fifty workers at a cost of $140,000 or $3.7 million in today's dollars. The lobby is four stories (86') high and built with huge logs with support braces from gnarly, crooked trees and branches and burls from trees. It is very unique. Because of the windows and lighting, our photos didn't come out very good. We browsed the gift shop where Ted found a t-shirt and after exploring the first two floors, with the second story balconies looking into the lobby and an outside balcony that looked out at Old Faithful geyser, we each had an ice cream.
From the inn we climbed up to Geyser Hill where there were many more springs and geysers bubbling and erupting but none erupting higher than a few feet. With the altitude between seven and eight thousand feet, we are both noticing the difference and need to stop more often on walks. In the distance we watched Castle Geyser erupting for twenty minutes. There were lots of people sitting around that spectacular geyser as well. We sat on a bench to watch that geyser from a distance as well as all the other activity in the smaller geysers and blooping, bubbling springs around us and saw Old Faithful erupt again.
Before returning to the car, we went into the gift store at the Old Faithful Lodge and I found a t-shirt which is rare for me. With as much traveling as we do, if we bought t-shirts everywhere we went, we would have hundreds. We saw the same bison in the same place on our way home and also saw two groups of four elk along the river.
Once we reached Madison and headed south, we took the one way side road of Firehole Canyon Drive. This beautiful drive followed the Firehole River with high cliffs on either side. We stopped to see the falls and again at a place where you could get in the river to swim. I asked a woman in the water how cold it was and she said not bad, just refreshing.
Back on the main road we started seeing signs of steam coming out of the ground There was a lot of traffic and I expect that this is the busiest tourist section in the park. Parking spaces were at a premium but we managed to find a place at the Lower Geyser Basin. The land is unstable in these areas and it is mandatory that people stay on the boardwalks. I bet I saw at least a half dozen hats out on the ground that people had lost and weren't able to retrieve. At this area was the Fountain Paint Pot, a cauldron of hot reddish-pink mud, blooping and spitting. Any hot spring could become a mud pot with the right balance of acidity, moisture and clay but a constant flow of water keeps most springs clear. There were many more springs and mini-geyserss as we walked the boardwalk loop.
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| Typical View From Roadside |
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| Crowded Boardwalks |
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| Celestine Pool |
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| Fountain Paint Pots |
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| Another View |
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| Leather Pool |
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| Glacial Waters Flowing Into River |
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| Colorful Bacteria Mats |
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| Grand Prismatic Spring |
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| Excelsior Geyser Crater |
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| The Flowing Water Creates Layers |
We arrived at the Old Faithful complex and got a parking spot right away. Just as we were walking to the visitors center, Old Faithful was just finishing erupting. We went into the visitors center, asked about kayaking, got a stamp and looked at the exhibits. The Old Faithful Visitors Education Center, which opened in 2010, contains interactive exhibits explaining Yellowstone's rare thermal features, life in extreme environments, volcanic geology and scientific investigations of these phenomena. Unfortunately the theater wasn't open. By the time we were done, it was almost time for Old Faithful to go off again. We went to the semicircle of benches that face the geyser and waited with the hundreds of other people for the show to begin. I filmed the whole five minutes of the eruption after several false starts of it spitting four or five feet up and then subsiding. It sprinkled off and on while we were waiting and watching but nothing serious.
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| Old Faithful Resting |
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| Old Faithful Erupting |
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| Huge Crowds, More to Our Left |
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| Old Faithful Inn |
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| Looking Toward Ceiling in Lobby |
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| Lobby From Second Story Balcony |
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| Second Story Outside Balcony |
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| Outside Balcony Looking Toward Old Faithful |
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| Outside Detail |
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| Yellow Bus Like Red Ones at Glacier |
From the inn we climbed up to Geyser Hill where there were many more springs and geysers bubbling and erupting but none erupting higher than a few feet. With the altitude between seven and eight thousand feet, we are both noticing the difference and need to stop more often on walks. In the distance we watched Castle Geyser erupting for twenty minutes. There were lots of people sitting around that spectacular geyser as well. We sat on a bench to watch that geyser from a distance as well as all the other activity in the smaller geysers and blooping, bubbling springs around us and saw Old Faithful erupt again.
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| Geyser Hill |
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| Sponge Geyser - Water Kept Going Down Like Being Sucked Up By Sponge |
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| Castle Geyser |
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| Old Faithful From Geyser Hill |
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| Beach Spring |
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| Bee Hive Geyser |
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| Ear Spring |
Before returning to the car, we went into the gift store at the Old Faithful Lodge and I found a t-shirt which is rare for me. With as much traveling as we do, if we bought t-shirts everywhere we went, we would have hundreds. We saw the same bison in the same place on our way home and also saw two groups of four elk along the river.
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| Old Faithful Lodge |
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