Summer Vacation Part 4

Today I will show you our first full day at Yellowstone. We left West Yellowstone and headed to Old Faithful. Old Faithful holds a special place in my heart because that is where I worked one summer back in 1981. Above, you see me standing in front of the store I worked for. Even though it looks different inside, it still brings back such memories. I had sooooooooo much fun working there! Then we hiked up to Observation Point, as it would be a while before Old Faithful erupted.

We were told there had been a bear sighting on this trail, but all we saw was a marmot (above).

The view of the geyser basin is amazing (Old Faithful would be right in the center, above).

By the time we got back down, Old Faithful was just about to go off, so we found a spot to take in the show. Thousands of gallons of steaming water thunder into the sky with each eruption. On average the geyser erupts every 92 min., thus the name.

(My sis, my hubby, my daughter)

After that we headed out on the boardwalk that takes you all around the basin to see beautiful pools, hot springs, fumaroles, mudpots, and of course more geyers.

Fumeroles are one of the hottest features. They vent steam and have very little water.

Hot springs are like geysers, but their underground systems aren't constricted, so heat escapes through evaporation or runoff, so there is no eruption.

With Geysers, constrictions in the underground system prevent water from circulating freely to the surface, which eventually leads to eruption.

After this long walk, we were hungry and tired, so we ate lunch, and then headed to the famous Old Faithful Inn (below). It is a national historic landmark, built in 1903-1904.  Built with local logs and stone it is considered the largest log structure in the world.

(my daughter, my hubby and me)

The towering lobby features a massive stone fireplace and a hand-crafted clock made of copper, wood and wrought iron.

Stone fireplace with clock (above). Looking up into the ceiling (below).

Hope you've enjoyed my pix so far. Tomorrow, I will show you scenes from Yellowstone Lake and Lower Canyon Falls. Links to the first parts of my trip: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.  Bye for now!