So, day 2 we are able to get into the park for FREE! We get up, get breakfast, play some games, and leave the "hotel" by around noonish. We were in a hurry, can't you tell? Today's objective was to go into Old Faithful and back. The entire east side of the park was still closed off due to snow because we were there so early in the season. The only thing on the east side that we could get to is the Grand Canyon which is part of day 4. As we drive along we kept encountering herds of bison meandering down the road. Growing up in Idaho this was just like driving through a cattle or sheep drive that was being pushed down the highway. Except there wasn't as much bison as there usually is in a cattle or sheep drive.
Bison along the Firehole River just off the road.
It was kind of a rainy day. As you can see in the photo above in the river. Our first stop of the day was at Fountain Paint Pot. Just off the the parking lot is a really cool tree root base and we did some family photos.
My sister Missi and her family.
My mom and dad.
Yellowstone is full of fun thermal features such as geysers, hot pools, fumerols, boiling mud pits, and so much more. The kids always have so much fun, and the adults are always left in wonder as to the amazing creation that we are given. Yellowstone park service has done very well with board walks everywhere to preserve the natural feel and look of the terrain. They as well have done a great deal of research into what it is the makes Yellowstone so special and the inner workings of each unique feature. The next stop of the day was Midway Geyser Basin with Grand Prismatic Spring. I believe it is the largest spring in the park. It always has beautiful bacterial matts.
A couple years ago when Jentri and I visited the park people had written in the beautiful bacterial mats, totally destroying the natural beauty the once existed. It was amazing to come back to that devastated area to see that nature had gone through and repaired itself. They were all grown over! My other "soap box" is about litter. People leave their trash out and it looks horrible mixed in with nature. It is out of place and destroys the experience for the next person. There are quite a few features in the park that were once more than what they are now, but due to past vandalism they are either no more or are a lot less. We had 2 more stops until we finally made it to Old Faithful. Once we arrived there it was time for a late lunch and my other sister, Jen, met up with us. We watched Old Faithful errupt and proceeded to walk around the village. Hoping to get into the Old Faithful Inn, THE COOLEST building in the west, we were bummed to find it closed. Again, we were there too early in the season! So we decide to head off toward Morning Glory Pool, a sight I have never seen!
This is a photo of our cool Phil&Teds Sport buggy with the double kit hauling all of the camera equipment. We put this thing through the paces on this trip. We ran it through one foot deep snow, mud, board walk with stairs, and gravel. Through it all it performed better than my sister's nice Mac Laren stroller. We are grateful for the purchase we made and think that it was very worth our money. On our way to Morning Glory Pool we got side tracked by Castle Geyser.
This was a definite hit! Most everyone says that Castle Geyser was the hit of the trip. This geyser erupted for over an hour straight, 20-30 minutes of water rocketing a near 200 feet then a steam cycle of 30-40 minutes! This is definitely THE geyser to witness when in Yellowstone. A lot better show than Old Faithful ever could be. After sitting through Castle Geyser we all decided to head back to the cars and go back to the "hotel". Morning Glory Pool will have to wait for another trip yet again. On our way out of the park I ended my day by shooting the sunset we were driving into.
