Blogs from Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States, North America

Yellowstone is situated on an active volcano! Three major eruptions have occurred in the last 2.1 million years, the most recent only 650,000 years ago. Magma only 3-8 miles down provides the heat for the thermal features in Yellowstone. The Upper Geyser Basin, home of old faithful, is one of 3 large geyser basins along the Firehole River. We were there on a sunny day and we treated to eruptions from 3 other geysers in addition to Old Faithful. Along the many miles of boardwalk we passed numerous hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles (steam vents). At the north end of the park, the boiling water and steam travel to the surface through limestone, which dissolves to form a weak carbonic acid. When the hot water reaches the surface, calcium carbonate is deposited to form the ... read more

4 Jul 2016: Independence Day, Old Faithful, 100th anniversary of the National Park system. We find ourselves at the convergence of Americana today. We started out going the wrong way but soon realized our error and reversed direction. Jeanne has always been an excellent navigator and today she is using the park map with all the features identified. It's easy to tell you'Re going the wrong way when the lake that is supposed to be on your left is on your right. Since it's unlikely someone moved the lake, you are going the wrong way. First we reached the WesT Thumb Geyser Basin. This was a group of geysers connected by a series of boardwalks. It seemed a little too large a territory for Jeanne to travel so I made the rounds and returned with photos ... read more

We had a little rain and hail for the last 6 miles last night but not half as bad as this we got today between 1 and 2 o'clock. We were cycling fromWest Thumb towards Lake and I was tolerating the light rain and hoping to ride it out when suddenly it worsened. No sooner had I got out my waterproof (laugh) jacket than the heavens opened and the hail came down the size of peas tomake the verge a carpet of white. This was in stark contrast to the morning when we set off in sunshine, though rather cool after buying sandwiches for lunch. We err soon faced with climbing up to the first ridge, ... read more

Day 3 Woke to a beautiful sunny day in Jackson. Had breakfast at the local restaurant and then we’re on our way to Yellowstone – Yogi here we come! Stopped for gas and used up the rest of the Shell gas card - thanks credit union! Stopped for one last photo at the town square (at the Elk Horns) and then the Dollar Tree for another styrofoam ice chest and we were on our way! BTW – Evan is the driver! First you go through the Grand Teton National Park. I decided to ask about the Access Pass at the Ranger Station – since I didn’t get it in the mail from the Parks Service before we left – and the Ranger – seriously – no questions asked – after I showed him Tyler’s Disabled Permit ... read more

After a truly awful night of sleep, we dragged ourselves out of bed for some coffee and kicked off another day of sight seeing. Jon’s bites were bad and he was awfully uncomfortable. His elbow had swollen up and his skin was hot to the touch around two of the bites on his arm. I made two requests of him - 1) stop scratching! and 2) don’t tell your mother! We walked down to watch Old Faithful erupt again. This time we had a front row seat on the bleachers set up for viewing. We met a nice couple from Ohio traveling with their 10 year old grand daughter. What a nice thing to do together. Even better - this couple had been to Wales. Woop. Woop. The geyser erupted. People clapped... etc etc. But then, ... read more