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Yellowstone Lake
- West Thumb
After a good night's sleep at Fishing Bridge Campground, we departed on another adventurous
day. This time we headed southwest on Grand
Loop road which took us along the northwest coast of Yellowstone
Lake. We stopped at Bridge Bay Marina where we encountered a family
of elk leisurely enjoying the morning sun in the crisp cool air. We
could see steam rising from several vents around the lake's
coastline and snow capped mountains beyond. It made us anxious to
see more. We proceeded along Yellowstone Lake's "West Thumb" then
pointed the RV north towards the continental divide and
Yellowstone's upper geyser basin.
Old Faithful and Friends
As we gradually climbed in altitude, the sun began to disappear
behind the clouds. It was starting to look like it might rain. There
were some beautiful sites along the road to Old Faithful, but
nothing prepared us for what we saw once we arrived. The Old
Faithful Lodge is a massive log structure with a beautiful rustic
interior, and on the other side is the main attraction: Old
Faithful. There is also a large expanse of walkways, some wooden,
some paved, weaving through various other geysers, springs, and
steaming pools. Old faithful was already erupting as we rounded the
corner of the Lodge. The morning air was still pretty
chilly, so the geyser produced massive amounts of steam. So much
steam, in fact, you could barely see the water shooting into the
air. It was not a disappointment though. It lasted for a few
minutes, then we had to decide how much walking we wanted to do.
We're Gonna Do What?
From the back of the Old Faithful Lodge, it looks like miles of
walkways stretching across many acres of geothermal activity. When
we announced our plans to walk "way down there," we got a bit of
blowback from the kids. "How many geysers do we really have to see?
Surely they all look alike, no?" After a few encouraging words
(threats and bribes), we were on our way down one of the wooden
walkways. It didn't take long before we realized that all
geysers DO NOT look the same. We were amazed there are many variations of
geothermal activity in this relatively small area. There are signs
warning visitors to stay on the pathways because of the questionable
stability of the ground.
Firehole River
The Firehole river runs through the upper geyser basin and is
constantly fed steaming hot water from the various geysers and
springs in the basin. The river's water is crystal clear and is
teeming with life. Because of the hot water feeding the otherwise
icy water, fishing is more productive in this river this time of
year. We made plans to try our hands at some fly fishing in Firehole
before we left the park.
Old Faithful Eruption - Take Two
As the day progressed, the clouds burned off and the air warmed a
good bit. Jackets came off and sun block went on. We couldn't help
but notice that there were many foreign tourists in the park, and
many of them were very careful about covering their entire bodies
with clothing. Not us man! We were loving us some sun! We spent
around three hours exploring the Old Faithful area, and we saw one
very nice eruption from the Daisy geyser. We arrived back at Old
Faithful just minutes before another eruption. This time the air was
warmer so we got to see the water shooting very high into the air.
Very impressive!
Moving On
We'd spent a lot of time in the Old Faithful area, but
we knew we had to get moving to see some more sites. We stopped at
numerous pull offs throughout the day. Again we were impressed with
the fact that around every corner was something different. We were
seeing plenty of wildlife and evidence of wildlife. We saw some
animal tracks by one of the geysers that were obviously from a
grizzly bear. We also met a young elk buck walking along the road
heading the other direction. At least he was on the correct side of
the road.
Grand Prismatic Spring
I can't emphasize enough the importance of stopping at all the pull
offs. You may think you've seen it all, but trust me, you haven't. A
great example is Grand Prismatic Spring. By the time we reached this
part of the park, we'd seen lots of colorful pools and steaming
springs. But as we approached this unique feature, we could see
something very different. The sunlight shining down through the
steam was changing colors. Not slightly, but dramatically. The mist
would change from a rich blue to green, yellow, and red. It was one
of the most incredible things any of us had ever seen.
West Yellowstone, Montana
By the end of the day we were ready to find our
campsite and explore our home for the next couple of nights. We had
reservation at an "RV park" in West Yellowstone, Montana. We thought
it was walking distance from downtown, but it was not. We went ahead
and checked in (had to pay cash, and way too much) and took the
motorhome downtown so we could eat. This was one of the rare times
we wished we'd had a second vehicle. I won't mention the name of the
RV park because I don't want to give them publicity. The campsites,
not much more than a parking lot, are barely wide enough for our rig
with the slides out. The "playground" consists of a single rusty
sears swing set. We paid a premium price for a sub par site.
The town of West Yellowstone is actually very quaint. There are
numerous shops and restaurants, all with the "old west" feel. There
are also several fishing outfitters, so we found out first-hand
where the best fishing was in the park. Most of the rivers are
"blown out" as a result of the snow melts, but the Firehole river
was fishable. That confirmed our plans for later in the week.
Rest-up - Big Plans Tomorrow!
We turned-in a little earlier this night because we had some really
big plans for the next day, but
that's another story.
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Scroll to bottom for the entire gallery.
Early morning sun across Yellowstone Lake
Old Faithful's chilly morning eruption
No two geysers look the same and
they all have names. This one is called "Grotto Geyser."
Firehole River runs through the
Upper Geyser Basin and is fed hot water from the springs and
geysers.
Morning Glory Spring
Old Faithful in all its glory
Grand Prismatic Spring, a must
see!
Stop at all the pull offs or
you'll miss something!
We saw these guys fishing the
Firehole River
and decided we must!
West Yellowstone Montana
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