Having gotten a peek at the crowds, we knew we needed to get up early and get to the park early. We hit the west gate at 8:10 and the line to get into the park was already a half mile long. We went straight to the Upper Geyser Basin. We made our way to the visitor center near Old Faithful to check on the expected eruption times. We collected our 39thPassport Stamp, explored the fossil exhibits, and watched the park movie. Then strolled out to the Old Faithful viewing area to await the eruption. Well, it was five minutes late but none the less spectacular when Old Faithful finally erupted. This was Leslie’s first geyser and she was thrilled. Following Old Faithfull’s show, we hiked the Upper Geyser Basin Trail (4 miles, 128 elevation change, 886 calories) and gawked at all the geothermal pools, geysers, and formations. Yellowstone is the largest concentration of geysers in the world (Other locations are Russia, New Zealand, Iceland, and Chile) and contains more than 50% of all the geysers in the world. The majority of the park is in the 640,000 year old Yellowstone Caldera.
Following our hike, we strolled over to the Old Faithful Inn (built in 1904) and marveled at the beautiful architecture, had a beer in the lobby (in honor of Matt and Karen) while we waited for a table in the restaurant where we had a late lunch. Then, a bit of shopping before making our way back to the Behemoth. We stopped and walked the board walks at the Black Sands and Biscuit basins to view some more geothermal pools and geysers. By the end of the day, we were getting a bit worn out on thermal pools but still enjoyed the geysers. Jaded aren’t we! It is an amazing and unique place!
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| Old Faithful Geyser |
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| Castle Geyser |
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| Grotto Gyser |
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| Cascading Pool |
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| Morning Glory Pool |
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| Turbin Geyser |
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| Biscuit Basin |
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| Biscuit Geyser |
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