Had to load the van with cold wet hands and that was not much fun. The weather was cold and rainy all day long, and to make things that little more adventurous it was nice and windy, adding that good old chill factor. So we drove down to a place called Firehole canyon drive, a cool little canyon that had been created by flowing lava or something like that. Then off to one of the highlights of the trip Old Faithful.
As we drew closer we stopped a few times to look at some of the other springs in the area. We stopped at the Grand Prismatic spring. It was very foggy and you could just make out the colours of the pools. Even in the shitty weather it was an incredible sight. Did I mention that it was COLD ?
We got there as Old Faithful was erupting and got some hurried photos, almost timed it perfectly. We then huddled into the visitors center to get warm and watch a film. We walked around the Geyser hill boardwalk. I never realised that there was so much to see and do at Old Faithful. Lots of geysers and springs around the walk. Some were very small to bigger ones that don't often erupt. So the old girl was due to go off at 11:30 plus or minus 10 minutes so they say. There we were standing around like a bunch of kids watching teletubbies.
Trying to keep warm and dry. Then at 11:34 off she went. It lasts for a while. It is not just a 10 second show. Unfortunately it was hard to tell the geyser from the sky but the sound helped, along with all the oos and ahhhs. Went and had lunch in the warm cafeteria. Geysers were going off all over the place saw at least 3 others go off from a distance within the basin. I reckon that they were longer or higher than good old faithful, but I suppose it is blind luck to see them go off.
Down to Yellowstone lake we went. We arrived at West thumb and decided to brave the weather and walked around the boardwalk. More beautifully coloured pools and springs. Walked along the lake for a bit. It was still nice but the postcards make it look breathtaking. On the way to the south entrance, we stopped at a traffic jamb.
Ooohhh a bear. It was sitting on the ground very still approx 60 meters away in the woods. As you can see I took the photo anyway. The bear is the little black dot right in the middle of the photo. Not quite the Canadian bear photos but at least it was a bear. We then drove through the Teton N.P. Visibility was poor to say the least, but what you could see was impressive. We stopped at the visitors center and did some more shopping, as if my backpack was not full enough already. We made the call to go for some dry accommodation. So we headed for Jackson and found some cabins. Beds were very small so I pulled up a bit of floor. Had a few beers but the plan for an early night was a success.
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