Day 76 (July 31) – Yellowstone (Old Faithful)

The moon is almost full again.  That strikes me as such an odd thought to have.  I don’t think I’ve ever been aware of a moon cycle before.  I remember the last full moon.  We were in Yosemite.  There is something very pleasant and peaceful about this whole realization.

Today was a busy day.  Long blog entry.  We left the campground early to head to Old Faithful area.  I didn’t time it, but it may have been an hour and a half drive.  We drove through Norris and Madison areas, but felt like they were similar enough to Old Faithful to pass them by.  We did have to pull off to see our first hot spring and fumarole (steam vent).  The fumarole was loud and something was smelly.  These geo thermal things tend to have a sulphuric odor.  There was also a wildlife jam on the road.  The buffalo don’t really wait for a break in the traffic to cross the street.  They just wander across whenever they feel like it.  It was fun to see them up close from the relative safety of our truck.  The parking lot at O.F. wasn’t too full when we arrived.  We quickly toured the giant General Store.  Brad bought a bear bell, but the bear spray was $50!  We’ll just be careful.  Then we walked through the VC to get the geyser eruption schedule.  There were six geyser’s listed on the board with estimated times.  They also list the margin of error for each one.  Old Faithful is +/- 10 min.  The rest were +/- 30 min, 1 hour, or 2 hours!  The eruption we saw was 2 min earlier than predicted.  Hence the name…  We had just enough time for the girls to look in the science center before heading out to see O.F.  We grabbed a spot on the boardwalk, front and center.  At 11:38, it began to bubble and spew.  They time the eruption and if it is less than 2:30, they predict the next eruption will occur in 60 (+/- 10 min).  If it lasts longer than 2:30, the predict 90 minutes!  We saw it and took pictures and photos.  It’s the most famous geyser in the world.  Then Audra and I walked Geyser Hill.  The whole area is a collapsed volcano (Yellowstone Caldera/Basin) and that is what has created so much geothermal activity in one small space.  We walked around the loop to see a few.  None were erupting, but we still got an amazing intro to the area.  There were some hot spring pools.  Some geysers erupt from dry cones and some from pools.  Steam was flowing freely.  And the bright orange and blue colors are created from bacteria and differing pH balances and minerals.  I think.  Brad and Carmen were hot, so they walked to the gift shop to look around.  We met back at the VC and watched the movie that was more like a commercial for all the activities in the park.  Then we left the main O.F. area and headed back north with plans to stop at different places along the way.

Now, it was crowded.  At the first stop, Biscuit Basin, we drove around the loop 3 times and could not get a parking space.  Very frustrating.  We had to move on.  The second stop, Midway Geyser Basin, had a slightly larger parking lot, but was still just as packed.  We did luck out though and found someone pulling out.  We were starving (2:00) so we grabbed our picnic blanket, lunch stuff and headed for a shady spot, far away from the masses.  The Firehole River runs along this area, so it was a pretty view.  After fueling up, we walked down the river bank along a buffalo trail for a little way.  Brad and the girls took their shoes off and waded in the water.  It was too deep and rapid for Carmen so I walked her back up river to a friendlier spot.  Then Audra joined her and they waded to a little island full of yellow flowers.  Pretty pics!  Next we did walk the boardwalks through the geyser area.  This is the home of Grand Prismatic Pool.  It is large and colorful.  Lots of steam and hissing here!

Then we headed (with a little bit of dread) to the next stop, Lower Geyser Basin and the Fountain Paint Pots.  It was way less crowded.  Yay!  Carmen was anxious to see some mudpots.  They were there!  Bubbling mud.  This water is very acidic and breaks down the rock nearby into clay, which bubbles continually just like a hot spring.  There was also a neat geyser out here that was spewing pretty much nonstop.

After that, we headed back to camp.  I fixed a quick dinner of Ramen noodles for the girls and steamed rice and spinach with smoked salmon for me and Brad.  I’ll have to remember that one!

Old Faithful