The Gratts Go West: Yellowstone Edition

Today would be our first full day in Yellowstone National Park!  We had plans to tour the upper loop road, see some geysers, hot springs and waterfalls, and end our day with an Old West Chuckwagon cookout.

Ben and I were up early and took the 5-minute walk over to the eatery for some coffee.

This was the only wildlife we saw.

We got huckleberry lattes because when in Rome!

The food choices at this lodge were pretty terrible.  Luckily Fran had brought her homemade banana bread so we all had that for breakfast!

We left about 8:30 am to start our day in the park.  Our first stop was the Norris Geyser Basin which is one of the hottest and most acidic of Yellowstone’s hydrothermal areas. This would be our first look at the geysers and steam vents Yellowstone is known for.

Many hot springs and fumaroles (steam vents) here have temperatures above 200ºF.

Along the way, Ben saw a rabbit which we would later find out was a snowshoe hare. 

See his little snowshoes?

We walked over to Steamboat Geyser, which is the tallest geyser in the world, erupting up to 300 ft.  Unfortunately, it is very unpredictable and you just have to get lucky. But it was still cool to see.

It was giving off quite a bit of steam and water and locals were actually starting to camp out thinking it might go off very soon.

Next, we headed north on the Grand Loop Road to Mammoth Hot Springs, which is another thermal feature inside Yellowstone.  Our route took us through Golden Gate Canyon which is a beautiful stretch of highway between Norris and Mammoth.

Rustic Falls.

We drove through the Yellowstone hoodoos which are large travertine boulders that broke away from Terrace Mountain to the west.  They are not technically hoodoos but were incorrectly named early in the park's existence and the name stuck.

Continuing towards Mammoth.

Once we got to Mammoth, we stopped at the Mammoth Hotel for lunch.  

Ben and I split a bison burger.  The burger didn't taste like much of anything and although I wanted to try it, it was the only one I had.  I thought the bison were cute and didn't like the thought of eating them!

We couldn't pass up Wilcoxson ice cream!  Wilcoxson is like our Blue Bell, only better!

All the general stores had everything huckleberry!

After lunch, we drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs which is an area of unique travertine terraces formed over thousands of years as hot water from the springs cools and deposits calcium carbonate.  

Liberty Cap.

Devil's Thumb.

Palette Spring.

There was hot spring water running down the terraces that you can't see in the pictures.

This is a huge area and you could stay here for hours seeing everything but we just made this a quick stop.

Next we did a short drive where we could see a few of the features up close.

Then it was time to drive east to the Tower-Roosevelt area.  Yellowstone is divided into different villages, each with its own unique features and attractions.  Roosevelt is where the Roosevelt Corral is located where we would be having our chuckwagon dinner.

We passed Undine Falls.

Tower Fall.

We spotted a black bear in the distance but it was eating so we couldn't get a good picture.

That blob is a bear.

We made it to Roosevelt Lodge and took a nice long rest on the front porch until it was time for the cookout.

Once at the Roosevelt Corral, we were given a safety briefing and then told to head to our wagons where we would take a 30-minute wagon ride to the cookout.  Unfortunately, we chose to get in one more bathroom stop which meant that Fran, Harvey and I ended up with a front row seat and in this case, that wasn't a good thing!

Introducing Locked and Loaded.

It actually wasn't too bad and we enjoyed the rest of the scenery on the way to the cookout.

It was Ben's turn to see a bison up close!

Little bird hitching a ride on the bison bus.

Pronghorn antelope. 

Made it to the cookout!

We found a table and waited for the dinner bell to ring.  Ben was getting a drink when it went off so he got in line right away and got his food first.

All of us were jealous of Ben's food.

The rest of us had about a twenty-minute wait.

While we were in line, we saw a coyote in the grass nearby.

I finally got my food!

Ready to chow down.

After dinner, Ben and I took a picture with our horses.

Soon we got the call to head back to our wagons for the ride back to the corral.

The cookout was fun and we all enjoyed it.

Fran got some great wildlife photos on the way back to Canyon.

I don't have any more pictures from this day so I think we all called it a night once we got back to Canyon.  The next day started bright and early because we were taking a 6:15 am wildlife tour and we had to check out of the hotel and be in the lobby by 6:00 am.  

This tour gave Ben a much needed break from driving and a chance for him to see the scenery.  We got in a bison jam almost immediately!

Our guide took us to several stops throughout Lamar Valley, a great location to view wildlife in Yellowstone.  Much of the wildlife was far away but we could see it through the special viewing scope our guide had with her.  We were even able to see a grizzly bear through the scope!

Even when we didn't see wildlife, the scenery was beautiful.

Ben searching for wildlife.

Bison babies with their mothers.

I took a few photos with my big camera. 

Our guide was knowledgeable about the park and told us lots of fun facts and history along the way.  It was alot of fun and we all enjoyed it.

After the tour, we started our drive down to the Old Faithful area of the park where we would be spending the next three nights.  Along the way, we would see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and also drive through Hayden Valley, another great area of the park to see wildlife.

Our first stop was Artist Point, a famous overlook on the south rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The point was inspiration for many of the early artists who helped get Yellowstone designated as the country's first national park.

View of the 308 ft Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is much like the Grand Canyon where you drive through and stop at the different overlooks, each offering a different perspective.

The Canyon has two waterfalls, Upper Falls and Lower Falls but there is nowhere to see both at the same time.

It was very hard to capture how close we were to the waterfall here!

Although Artist Point is the famous overlook, I thought the other overlooks were just as spectacular.

 

The multi-hued rocks of the canyon are a result of the hydrothermally altered rhyolite and sediments.

On our way out of the canyon we saw an elk on the side of the road.  Unfortunately, he was eating so I didn't exactly get his best side!

Heading toward Yellowstone Lake, our drive took us through Hayden Valley, another popular spot for spotting wildlife, although wildlife viewing is best at dawn and dusk.

But we did see a bison!

We stopped at the general store in the Lake Yellowstone area for an ice cream break.  I had planned to take pictures at the lake, but it was windy and cloudy so I didn't get any pictures of Lake Yellowstone.

This was my favorite general store in Yellowstone.

Harvey got a hot dog and the rest of us had ice cream lunch! 

No rules on vacation.

And then we made the last long drive to the Old Faithful Inn, our final hotel in Yellowstone. 

The Old Faithful Inn was built in 1904 and is one of the largest log-style structures in the world. It is the most requested lodging in Yellowstone and was designated as a national historical landmark in 1987.

The Inn had a clock so we would always know when the next Old Faithful eruption would be.

We had a standard hotel room in the West Wing of the Inn.  Once again, I only took one picture!

What a $600/nt room at Old Faithful looks like.

After hours of driving, Ben was ready to hit the Bear Pit Lounge.

Fran and Harvey joined us a little later.

Round two:  a local beer for Ben and a huckleberry margarita for me.  I had so much huckleberry on the trip!

We had a reservation for dinner at the Old Faithful dining room.  I had read horrible reviews about the food but everyone found something edible.

Ben got the short rib.  I had a taste of it and decided to get it on our last night.

For this dinner, I went with the safe option of soup and salad.

Then we all went up to the second floor balcony to see our first eruption of Old Faithful!

We got a great show, complete with rainbow! It was a great end to the night.

The next morning, Ben and I were up early and took a walk around the Old Faithful complex.  We grabbed some terrible coffee from the cafe and that put me on a mission to find better coffee nearby for the next morning!

This is the Old Faithful Lodge where I found better coffee.

Mission accomplished.

And here is the Old Faithful Snow Lodge where we would be eating dinner tonight.

We then headed over to the boardwalk to see Old Faithful for the first time up close.

We met Fran and Harvey for breakfast in the dining room.  

I didn't want a whole breakfast buffet so I decided to try my luck with a breakfast sandwich next door at the cafe.  Behold my mediocre $13 breakfast sandwich.

I chose poorly.

Today was going to be spent touring the Upper Geyser Basin which is a three-mile area of geysers and geothermal features near the Old Faithful Inn.  I planned this so Ben would not have to drive anywhere today and we could enjoy touring the park together.  

We planned to walk the entire boardwalk and see all the features.  Right away we saw a bison!  This guy followed us all around the park and a couple of times he was so close, we had to get out of his way!

This is my home and you are all just visitors.

Ready to hit the trail!

All the thermal features were interesting.

We saw the bison again and I took a video.

I love this screenshot of the bison with Old Faithful Inn in the background.

We came to the Observation Trail which is a short but steep hike up to an overlook where you can view Old Faithful.  We knew we had 15 minutes until the next eruption to make the .50 mi uphill so Ben said let's go for it!

#teambaddecisions

This is a hike that normally I could do easily but not at breakneck speed at high altitude.  At one point, I completely gave out and just wordlessly waved at Ben to go on without me.  I figured at least one of us should get to see it!  But eventually I made it up in time.

This had been on my list to do if we had time so I was ultimately glad we did it, even though it added a mile to our day.

We got to walk through Sawmill Geyser as it was erupting over the boardwalk--so refreshing!

Our final destination was the Morning Glory Pool, a famous hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin known for its vibrant color.

The distinct color of the 23 ft pool is due to bacteria which inhabit the water.

Unfortunately, the pool has been the victim of tourists that throw coins and other debris into the water, which has caused the color to fade over time.

Now it would be a little trek to get back to Old Faithful Inn.

Old Faithful Inn way back there.

We saw the bison again and took a bison selfie!

We hit the general store for ice cream on our way back to Old Faithful.

While Ben and I were exploring the basin, Fran and Harvey had a day to themselves. They visited the Old Faithful Visitors center.

They also took a historic tour of the Old Faithful Inn and learned about it's history and architecture.  They toured the Old House rooms, some that still have their original furnishings.  Some of the old house rooms are still rented out today but don't have bathrooms. Guests of these rooms use a shared bathroom down the hall, just like in the old days!

View of the dining room from the second floor. 

The big stone fireplace in the lobby.

Information about the original architect.

Ben and I hit the Bear Pit lounge again before dinner.

We watched Old Faithful again from the 2nd floor viewing area.

Then we all walked over to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge to have dinner in the Obsidian Dining Room.  I had read that this dining room was slightly better than the one at the Inn so we decided to check it out.

Ben, Fran and I all got smashburgers which were pretty good.

Ben got huckleberry ice cream and it was all melty and delicious!

We said goodnight to Fran and Harvey and Ben and I sat out on the balcony and waited for the evening eruption of Old Faithful. 

Ben keeping it classy.

We got there early and scored a front row seat this time.

Best seat in the house.

Another rainbow!

I had planned for Ben and I to stay up and see Old Faithful at sunset but I was too pooped!

What a day.

The next day, Ben and I were up early again so we decided to catch Old Faithful at sunrise.  This ended up being one of my favorite things we did the whole trip!

Magical.

Even better, now we didn't have to stay up for sunset!  I needed coffee stat, so we walked over to the Lodge for a latte and a bite of breakfast.

Solid advice.

The Lodge also has a view of Old Faithful.

We met up with Fran and Harvey and got ready to spend our last day in Yellowstone. Today we would be touring some small geyser basins, taking a scenic drive and ending with the Grand Prismatic Spring, one of the highlights of Yellowstone. 

We took the short drive to Black Sand Basin, which is a small basin made up of geothermal hot springs and small geysers.

Next we headed over to the Fountain Paint Pots, which is an area where all four of Yellowstone's hydrothermal features are represented: hot springs, geysers, steam vents (also known as fumaroles) and mud pots.  We had seen all the features in other locations except for the mud pots.

Ben and I tried to take a selfie here but my hat kept getting in the way!

Mudpots form when acidic water heated by geothermal activity dissolves surrounding rock into a muddy consistency. Gases then bubble up through the mud, causing it to gurgle and churn, creating the characteristic appearance of a mudpot. 

The paint pots really can't be captured in a picture.

We then took the scenic Firehole Canyon Drive which is adjacent to the Firehole River and contains the 40ft Firehole Falls.

We headed back to Old Faithful, stopping for a quick hot dog and ice cream break at the general store.

Ben and I hit the Bear Pit Lounge for a non-alcoholic beer and a mocktail since we still had some sightseeing to do later in the day. We always enjoyed stopping here for a break in the afternoon.

Our last big attraction on the list was the Grand Prismatic Spring, which is the largest hot spring in the U.S. and one of Yellowstone's biggest attractions.  It is so named because its colors match the colors seen in the rainbow dispersion of white light by an optical prism: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.  It is best viewed after the morning steam has dissipated.  It is also always very crowded so I saved it for the end of the day hoping for less crowds and better views.

There was actually still quite a bit of steam so I took pictures at all angles to try and show the colors.

Many people lose their hats on the boardwalks and Harvey's hat almost made it into this picture but luckily someone saved it for him before it tumbled over the boardwalk!

Hold on to your hats!

Back at Old Faithful, Ben and I had one more drink at Bear Pit Lounge.

Huckleberry martini and local whiskey for Ben

We all had dinner at the Old Faithful dining room.  I got the short rib and it was pretty good.

And with that, our time in Yellowstone came to an end.  We had done just about everything on my list and we had the miles on the car and on our health app to prove it! Tomorrow we would be heading out of the south entrance of Yellowstone and into Grand Teton National Park.  

But would we make it to the Tetons?  To be continued......