Our final two nights in the park were spent at the Snow Lodge at Old Faithful. This allowed a full day where we actually didn't need to get in the car to travel anywhere - what a pleasure. The Upper Geyser Basin is entirely accessible by foot, and that's what we did thanks to our convenient lodging.
When we first arrived in the afternoon and had achieved some degree of orientation, we did what everyone else does - head to Old Faithful Geyser for the next eruption. Although it seems almost like a cliché, it's also an impressive sight.
As I said - this is where everyone heads.
Our first eruption at Old Faithful was a bit of a teaser in that it waited a few minutes beyond the anticipated time before going off. I have no idea how common this might be, but as we waited, another geyser erupted in the background creating an impressive scene. Old Faithful, on the left, is still warming up for its performance.
And here it is -
The crowds that gather for eruptions at Old Faithful might make you think that the surrounding boardwalks and trails would also be congested. But, as is typical in most every park, people aren't inclined to walk very far, and as soon as one was away from the big attraction it never seemed overly crowded. The morning we walked down to Biscuit Basin, I believe we saw just one other hiker on the trail.
The following collection of photos shows some of the other sights around the Upper Geyser Basin.
Another eruption we witnessed was that of Daisy Geyser which was also fairly predictable but not nearly as frequent as Old Faithful. An unusual thing about Daisy is that the outflow of water is not vertical. We spent quite a bit of time waiting out the appearance of the eruption but it was worth it. The second part of this video shows "liquid gold" running off from the geyser pool after the eruption.
It was difficult to resist the temptation to photograph the tourists, so here are a few more.
And now back to a final collection of still images.
Surrounded by cell cameras and selfie-indulgence for a whole week, we finally succumbed to the prevailing fashion and indulged ourselves. Hampered by failure to invest in a selfie-stick we had to rely on the only tool at hand - a primitive tripod.
That concludes my travelogue of Yellowstone National Park. I hope you enjoyed it.
©2016 John Aldrich