Yellowstone - At Last

Now that I am (with great relief) back in South Fork, Colorado for the month of July, I too can at last write things down in my blog as I wait for water to boil for my coffee (as you know takes longer at higher altitudes).  With the ordeal of the Jeep finally behind, things now seem a blurr as last Monday began early at Flagg Ranch in order to catch that 7:00 a.m. shuttle bus to Jackson where the Jeep hopefully would be ready after 2 weeks of being in the shop.  The long 2-1/2 hour bus ride through all the Grand Teton stops only added to my anxiety as I waited to call the shop to be sure the Jeep was really ready at last.

Luckily, it was and I immediately drove it around for about a half hour testing it before heading back up the road to the Flagg Ranch and then on to Yellowstone.  First, this old man needed a rest and some food before heading up the road for the afternoon.  I planned to head to "Old Faithful" in my whirlwind tour of the park and expected the drives to be long and slow (which they were) with numerous stops to take pictures of all I could see along the way -- and did so.

The first leg of the drive to West Thumb, where I would head west to Old Faithful, had the most trees that seemed to survive the devastating fire of 1988 and the recent pine-bark beatle infestation.  The gorge where the Snake river dropped from the high meadows had few pullouts for stopping and just one or two cars already being there made for problems getting safely off the road -- of course, there were those who didn't seem to care and just let there butts hang out on the road creating hazards for everyone.  Upon reaching the high meadows, I was impressed with how green and lush everything looked there and the river again beckoned for me to get out one of my fishing poles (but, I didn't).

Lewis Falls were a small beautiful set of falls but, the short trail to the falls was closed as workmen split stone and made improvements for future visitors.  Still, I managed a picture from the far end of the nearby bridge before heading on past Lewis Lake to the fork at West Thumb.  This next section of road had all the signs of the monster fire that swept through the area and dead trees were down all around with small ten foot trees dotting the landscape of green grasses and shrubs.  Occasionally a small stand of larger trees would appear and made a sharp contrast with the smaller young trees surrounding them.

As usual the appearance of a few grazing Elk in a grassy meadow would create chaos as people parked erratically and carelessly jumped from their cars to get pictures -- I didn't stop except to get around their poorly parked vehicles.  With only a day and a half, I was focused on seeing at least a couple of the important spots in my mind (Old Faithful and Yellowstone Falls).

When I finally arrived near Old Faithful and parked, it must have been around 3:00 p.m. so, I hurriedly walked through the parking lot and focused on the Old Faithful Lodge as I eagerly hoped to catch the next eruption of steam and water.  I took up a seat on one of the many low benches arranged in a semi-circle around the Geyser and near the lodge I had walked past, choosing a view that seemed to have the trail of steam flowing from my left to right -- possibly making for a better picture once the geyser spewed forth (which I heard from others should be around 3:30 plus or minus ten minutes).  Like a watched pot, it seemed to take forever but, one small geyser on the far side of the basin seemed to gurgle and spout off a little -- perhaps a signal that the big guy was about to blow.  Not so but, shortly thereafter Old Faithful did erupt and I only wish the sky had been clear blue so that the contrast would have been better.

After Old Faithful began to fizzle to the small stream of steam again, the crowds dissippated and I headed around the geyser basin on the platform walkways to get some more shots -- amid the rotten egg smell of the geysers.  There were certainly some colorful areas all around the basin and such different looks from one area to another as pools gurgled and steamed.