This morning we woke up and decided to hit the big stuff... Old Faithful, the lodge and inn, the Grand Prismatic Spring... the things people associate with Yellowstone. We got up early, ate a quick breakfast, and hopped in the car. As soon as we arrived at the geyser basin, Old Faithful began erupting. We have great timing. Old Faithful erupts every 93 minutes (give or take) so we knew we'd get to see this awesome sight again.
Justin had been to Yellowstone as a kid, and the only thing he really remembered was the Old Faithful Inn, so we headed over there next. It was just like he remembered it. The kids were excited because it reminded them of the Grand Californian Hotel at Disneyland. Disney patterned that hotel after this one and the Awanee at Yosemite. It was pretty cool to see the original inspiration for GC Hotel.
There is a very cool restaurant, which is pretty packed during lunch and dinner, inside the Inn. We wanted to eat there, and the host recommended we come right at 11:30. Since we had an hour to kill, we went over to the Visitor's Center to take that in. The kids have already learned a ton about Yellowstone, so they knew a lot of the information, but it was still cool to see. Connor spent at least 10 minutes at one exhibit, which compared the acidity and alkalinity of the different features at the park to household items. One hot spring has the same acidity as battery acid!
Then it was lunch time at the Old Faithful Inn, where everyone (except Tatum) sunk their teeth into a delicious bison burger. Let me tell you... bison is delicious! We loved it!
We checked the geyser schedule, and Riverside Geyser was set to erupt an hour after we finished lunch. It was on the end of the boardwalk about 1.5 miles away. We really wanted to see it erupt, so we walked as fast as we could to the end of the boardwalk. We passed some really awesome geysers, hoping to see them better on the way back. Luckily, we arrived just as Riverside was erupting. It was awesome! We liked Riverside better than Old Faithful.
Some of our favorite geothermal features were the hot springs. They are brilliant and beautiful. Here is Morning Glory Pool. Once we hit the top of the trail, we made our way back down to catch the geysers we missed on the way up.
One of our favorites? Grotto Geyser. It was formed when trees at the base of the geyser were covered over with deposits from the water in the geyser. The result was this crazy geyser.
After spending hours on the geyser boardwalk, we were ready for a rest. We headed to the Bearpaw Deli for some huckleberry ice cream while waiting around for Old Faithful to erupt again. We all loved the ice cream. Huckleberry flavored products were everywhere here, and we sure liked the local flavor... and Old Faithful didn't disappoint.
We were able to witness another eruption from this great geyser before heading out of the basin. Then we headed to the Midway Geyser Basin hoping to glimpse the Grand Prismatic Spring. Alas, it was too windy, and we weren't able to see much more than steam. We did see a couple of cool springs, like Crater Geyser Spring.
At the end of the day, we were starting to feel a little fenced in by the huge crowds. Yellowstone was really busy, and we weren't even visiting during the busy season. Parking is hard to come by, and there are tourists everywhere. We felt like we had seen all the sights we were willing to fight to see, so we headed back to camp.
Justin grilled us up some chicken for dinner, and we had a peaceful night around the campfire. We love seeing the sights of Yellowstone, but as our tour progresses, the park is getting busier and busier. Sometimes a little peace and quiet is definitely on the itinerary.
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