Old Faithful Again (With Rebecca and Cathy and Troy)

We drove over to Old Faithful this morning, this time to meet Rebecca and Cathy and Troy. They had arrived the night before and were staying in West Yellowstone, so Old Faithful was a good mid-point rendezvous. The geyser was due to erupt about 45 minutes after we arrived, so we went to the Visitor Center and looked through the gift shop. After we watched Old Faithful do its thing, we decided to drive south to Grant Village. Troy left us to go fly fishing in the Madison River.

Grant Village has accommodations, stores, and a visitor center, but no nearby attraction. It was built to provide a tourist area that would not impact the thermal features and critical habitat of Yellowstone. We went to the Visitor Center, which has a display on the role that fire plays in the park. The big fire of 1988, which burned over 30% of the park, is featured.

Right now there is a small fire burning, just seven miles southwest of Bridge Bay. Management has decided to suppress this fire, perhaps because it might threaten infrastructure and people in the Bridge Bay area. We've seen the smoke and heard the helicopters overhead.

At the gift store, Cathy found a sketch book. She's a budding artist and enjoys sketching wildlife, so it was a perfect find for her.

We went to the grill at the General Store for lunch. The menu is rather limited, but we enjoyed our burgers and chicken breast sandwiches.

Then we went to the porch of the Visitor Center for a ranger talk on the wildlife of Yellowstone. The program was on the bison, and a large bison hide was the featured display. When the talk was over, the ranger asked if there were any volunteers to roll up the heavy hide and carry it back into the Visitor Center. Cathy volunteered and had the hide rolled up and slung over her shoulder in record time.

Cathy exploring Lake Yellowstone

Cathy rolling up the bison hide

Cathy is interested in waterfalls, so we asked the rangers where the nearest waterfall was. It turned out to be Lewis Falls, a few miles south, where the Lewis River crosses the South Entrance Road.

Rebecca and Cathy share a laugh

Intrepid Cathy explores a log jam below the falls

On the way home, we stopped at the West Thumb Geyser Basin. It was once the premier attraction of the park, but has since been eclipsed by the Old Faithful area. We joined a ranger-led hike and learned a lot about the area. The famous Fishing Cone is located here. Anglers used to "hook and cook" here, swinging their catch into the hot spring to cook it, and then picnicking nearby. Unfortunately, the water contains arsenic, and the practice has been long discontinued. We saw the "Black Pool," which is actually a lovely teal blue now. The original cyanobacteria have been supplanted by white ones, which reflect the blue sky.

We got home around 6 p.m. and ate dinner. Then we got a text-to-email from Rebecca. Troy had lined up a guided fishing trip, and for the same price he could take her along. We had suggested that Cathy could come spend the day with us. In the text, Rebecca asked if 6 a.m. would be too early to drop Cathy off, since their fishing trip started at 8 a.m.

Well, that didn't sound appealing at all. We offered to meet them at Old Faithful to get Cathy. So that's what we did--another round trip to Old Faithful.