Day 42 (Thusrday, August 5th) Yellowstone National Park

Today is our day in Yellowstone National Park. First, let us caution anyone who wishes to tour Yellowstone; don't try to do it in a single day. We knew it would be tough going in and we only planned to see the lower half of the park. We were still way off and could have spent several days, or more, exploring this part of Yellowstone. As it was, our day was 12 hours long. Holly was very glad to see us when we got back.

Our campground was just outside of the park, near the west entrance. The roads in Yellowstone essentially form a figure 8 and we camped just outside the lower loop. Our route brought us in the west entrance and in counter-clockwise direction around the lower loop and then back to our campsite. Almost everything we wanted to see was in this lower loop and the mileage was very reasonable, so we figured we could do it in a day. Significant portions of the loop run along lakes, streams, and volcanically active areas. We misjudged the amount of time we'd spend gawking at amazing views, watching wildlife, sitting in traffic because of wildlife-traffic jams, and behind some construction delays.

We started with a visit to Firehole Falls. The falls aren't very tall but the area is very picturesque. There is one area where you're allowed to swim but the water was a bit too chilly for our taste. As we left there, we entered the Lower Geyser Basin and walked a series of boardwalks around the fountain paint pots and colorful springs. We got lucky when we reached the Great Fountain Geyser because its eruptions are irregular and far apart (9-15 hours apart). When we arrived, it was rumbling and they predicted it would erupt within the hour. We decided to wait and after 40 minutes, we were rewarded by a gigantic eruption of hot water and steam that blasted 75 feet above our heads, part of which rained down over us. It was incredible to be so close that we actually got wet. Our pictures don't do it justice because we had to move to get up wind from all the steam. By the time we found a better vantage point, the highest eruptions were over but it was still quite impressive. It was truly an unforgettable experience to be inside the "splash zone" of a geyser. We think we may have gotten lucky to see an unusually large eruption because the seats were within the splash zone and that's unusual in the park.

Midway Geyser Basin was next on our journey. The highlight of this section was the Grand Prismatic Spring. This is a huge, shallow pool with a rainbow of brilliant colors created in some cases by minerals and in other cases by organisms that can live in super heated water. It was interesting to see the different colors reflected in the steam rising from the spring.

From there, we continued to the Upper Geyser Basin to see Old Faithful. The area was very crowded. About 3,000 people gather to watch this famous geyser erupt every 60-90 minutes. We wish we could have gotten closer but nobody's allowed closer than about 100 yards. It was almost an anticlimax since we'd just gotten rained on by a huge geyser that was close to us but it was still exciting to see.

From Old Faithful, we drove over the Continental Divide twice on a winding road that finally brought us down at Yellowstone Lake in an area called West Thumb. Here, we walked through an area with several colorful hot springs right at the edge of the lake. One of the famous features here is called "Fishing Cone". Legend says that fishermen used to fish on the lake and swing their catch over into the cone and cook the fish while still on the line.

After leaving West Thumb, we headed through Hayden Valley toward Canyon Village. Up to this point, we were happy we had seen a few elk, some birds (falcons, pelicans, etc.) and a few bison. Little did we know what was in store for us in Hayden Valley. This area is known for bison but since we were driving through the area in the hotest part of the afternoon, we didn't have high hopes. Apparently, bison don't hide in the heat of the afternoon because we came across two very large herdes. The second herd included two bull bison that decided the grass was greener on the other side of the road. They caused quite the traffic jam while trying to decide exactly when to cross the road. Luckily, it also provided us with great pictures.

After we made our way through the bison-jam, we headed for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Although this canyon isn't many miles long and a mile deep, it was equally breathtaking. The Yellowstone river has carved its way through the colorful rocks creating a beautiful canyon with water falls. We viewed the lower falls and the river from Artist Point. The view was spectacular! We decided we really wanted to get a closer look so we hiked down Uncle Tom's Trail to a viewpoint of the upper falls. The hike was only 1/8 mile but it was 500 feet down so it included 325 steps. Although very tiring, it was well worth the trip.

By this point, we were way behind our schedule and decided to skip all of the features at the Norris Geyser Basin and head for the campground and Holly. We figured we'd be back in an hour. Unfortunately, our luck had run out. We ran into road construction that left us sitting still for 1/2 hour. So much for making stops at the gas station and grocery store on the way back. We decided to go back and get Holly first and she could join us on our shopping trip. It was quite late by the time we turned in for the night. Tomorrow, we'll leave by 9am to drive through Grand Teton on our way to Riverton, Wyoming. Once we leave Riverton, we'll be headed for Mount Rushmore.