Sunday, October 3, 2021
Our lodging, the Kelly Inn, was the kind of place that had an automatic pancake machine. Who am I to resist comparing pancakes from a machine to mine? We got a fairly slow start and paid the price: a 30 minute wait at the west entrance. Yesterday had been an illusion: the park empties quickly in the afternoon, but, even in October, it’s a nightmare in the morning. The owner of last night’s eatery had said that the levels now were what the summer levels had been before the pandemic.
In the morning light, the Madison River was magical. It is one of the great trout streams, full of brown trout…and fishermen.
We decided to give the Great Fountain Geyser another try, and headed for Firehole Lake Drive. As we approached, we saw something unusual: trees with “Bobby socks,” rings of geyserite at the the bottom that had killed them.
Unlike the evening before, when we were feeling rushed, we took our time, stopping at most of the geothermal features. The first on the loop road is Firehole Spring, a deep blue with brilliant hues all around…the result of the interaction of microorganisms with the geyserite.
Returning to Great Fountain Geyser, we encountered what is apparently a frequent feature of the park: obsessive geyser watchers. An older couple from Los Alamos, dressed rather eccentrically, was seated at the center of the benches that surround the geyser; they spend an enormous amount of time in the park..all of it watching geysers. We guessed that he had been a scientist at Los Alamos, given his intimate knowledge of the park’s geology. He was certain that the geyser would erupt within 30 minutes because the water was overflowing the central crater, apparently a sure sign of imminent eruption. He told us to look for the “one meter boil”…and we did. Whenever the steam cleared a bit, I tried to get a shot of Mount Holmes in the distance.
After 30 minutes, though, the water level was sinking, so we decided to see other things and return. Just as we were leaving, the next geyser down the line, White Cone Geyser, blew its top.
The next area going south is the Midway Geyser Basin, centered on the Great Prismatic Spring. The place was mobbed: we waited about ten minutes in line for a parking place. We’ll worth it, though!
You first pass by the enormous crater of an extinct geyser, Excelsior. The crater is 200 x 300 feet; the overflow is 4000 gallons per minute! It must have been quite something.
Here is the overflow into the Firehole River: it virtually makes the river boil.
The main attraction, though, is Grand Prismatic Spring. This hot spring is so large that it really can’t be photographed from its edge. The Park Service has opened a trail to a high hillside above it so that walkers can get an overview. We weren’t able to get a good look at the water, but the runoff is in technicolor!
Our last geyser stop of the day was the huge Upper Geyser Basin, with its star attraction, Old Faithful. The buildings of Old Faithful Village are actually built around the geyser and its large mound. We had a bite of lunch and then took our places with the multitudes.
Sue and I did a long loop through the basin, Tom and Emily a somewhat shorter one. You cross the Firehole River through a lovely stand of trees as you walk toward “Geyser Hill.”
We didn’t see any of the really large geysers erupt, but the formations themselves are worth the trip.
The geyserite mounds around the geysers have taken thousands of years to develop.
We finished the day by driving counter-clockwise around the bottom loop of the Grand Loop.
The views over the vastness of Yellowstone Lake toward the Absaroka Range are splendid.
The drive up past the end of the lake and into the Hayden Valley is gorgeous.
It was a long but memorable day. We returned along the Madison River, and, at the inevitable critter-watching traffic jam, we saw an enormous bull elk with a full rack.
Dinner was appropriately western: BBQ. Tom and Emily had ribs, Sue and I sliced brisket….really good!