This was our first Yellowstone day! We left our hotel near Jackson early (around 7:30 am) and drove the 55 miles through the Grand Teton National Park and the little bit of National Forest that follows (with only one photo stop to look back at the Grand Teton range across Jackson Lake), to get to Yellowstone before it got truly crazy. This was a good idea, because when we pulled into the parking lot at Old Faithful, probably the biggest attraction in the park for 100 years, there were still plenty of spots–and OF was about to go off! We stayed, of course, and watched it spout water high up in the air and spew steam. It was fun, but it was the long walk through the entire geyser area and to a hot, polychromatic pool called Morning Glory that I thought was truly impressive–not so much the individual geysers (although we waited for one other predictable geyser to go off–Riverside geyser, which was quite fun as well, and spewed water much longer) but the sheer number of different geysers and the variety of colors, shapes of rims and scaffolding all over the area. Our round trip walk was about 3 miles and at least two hours, and no description would do it justice. Some of Mark’s photos do, though! I am however not surprised that the first explorers who reported the features of the area back to “civilization” were thought to make things up or hallucinate! It is a truly amazing area, and the idea that there is so much thermal activity just below the surface in this region is baffling.
When we got back around to Old Faithful, we got our lunchbox out and had sandwiches, fruit, and taffy in the shade while watching the hundreds and hundreds of people that were milling around the area; we then took off and visited a couple of additional spots that are on this southwestern quadrant of the loop through the park and feature more geysers and other hot springs. First, we stopped at Biscuit Basin and marveled at the features of the very blue pools there; and because there was a hike to a nearby waterfall area, we decided to go on a second hike–and when we were by the waterfall and had checked out the little hot spring right near its top, we decided to go back on a loop trail, so we ended up making another 3-mile round trip, this one with lots of ups and downs and switchbacks. But the waterfall (Mystic Falls) and the views were beautiful, and the trail wasn’t so overrun, either, so we had a good time. Then, we also stopped at the Midway Geyser Basin, where the “Grand Prismatic Pool” is, which is truly enormous, and again features all these different colors associated with different kinds of growth possible depending on the heat of the pool. We also saw a couple of those geysers where the water is just broiling when it comes to the surface, and these amazing sulfur-colored runoff trails, as the water makes its way to the Firehole River, whose flow we mostly followed as we drove on. By now, it was almost 5:30 and we wanted to make sure to get out of the park and find a hotel for the night, so we made our way to the West Entrance–but had to make one more stop, as we saw elk splashing in the river near the road going west. It was a beautiful sight, and the first wildlife viewing today (apart from two ospreys earlier that we saw in flight, but that were gone in the blink of an eye). What a perfect ending to our Yellowstone Day 1–especially since we had glorious weather, sunny, clear, and not too hot (upper 70s, mostly).
Once we were out of the park and in West Yellowstone, it didn’t take us too long to find a motel that was basic but just what we needed, and cheaper than we had counted on–plus, in walking distance from the main shopping/restaurant area of the town. So we decided to stay here for a couple of nights and explore Yellowstone from here before we head out either the East or Northeast exit. I actually like West Yellowstone a whole lot better than Jackson–a little grimy, a little rundown, with cheap, somewhat red-necky bars and stores, but much more down to earth and more openly tourist-oriented. None of that snooty super clean look that attracts the superstars to Jackson Hole and makes the real estate prices completely ridiculous (we looked at the pictures and prices just for kicks last night)–this is not Eddie Bauer and Starbucks, this is bars called “Bullwinkle” and Best Western motels. We had some wonderful, simple, and not outrageous Chinese food and some ice-cream from a hole-in-the-wall ice-cream booth. Then we walked back to the hotel and settled down for the night–the room is basic, without mini fridge or air conditioner, but just what we need to sleep and take showers! We won’t last long tonight, but the plan is to again leave very early in the morning and beat the crowds by at least a little bit.