Yellowstone - to Lake Area

At Old Faithful Inn, there is a sign disclosing the expected next eruption time (+/- 10 minutes) so we drank our coffee by the huge fireplace and spent some time in the beautiful lobby until time was close.

Old Faithful is the most famous geyser but you cannot set your watch by it as the story goes. The eruption we viewed actually narrowly fell within the time frame it was supposed to.

But it was impressive when it erupted and lasted long enough for us to video and take a picture of each of us in front of it.

In case you never have the opportunity, here is the beginning of Old Faithful.

Here is a shot of the crowd in front of the Inn that gathered to witness Old Faithful.

While we were at the educational center, we inquired about the trail we could not locate the previous day at Grand Prismatic. The ranger cautiously told us how to find the trail as she mentioned some hikers had been taken out by ambulance from that very same trail. From the Fairy Falls trail parking lot, we were able to find a short hike that gave us this view. Neither of us were wearing appropriate footwear (our New Balance's worked a little better on the pavement) for this hike, but it was so worth it. One of my favorite sights from the trip. Gorgeous!!

Next we headed to the Mystic Falls trail for another hike. We packed some pb&j and headed out to scope out a scenic picnic area for lunch along the trail. Thank you for carrying the fannypack lumbar pack, JD :)

Behold Mystic Falls. The guidebook mentioned yellow-bellied marmots often being seen sunning atop rocks on this trail but I was quite disappointed. Those little whistle-pigs were nowhere to be found!

We decided to continue up the trail to the Biscuit Basin Overlook and lunched along the way. This little squirrel was a little too friendly and I did get a little nervous.

But he was just offering to take our photo.

The overlook hike was well worth the effort and we were able to witness another Old Faithful eruption off in the distance.

On our way to Lake, we crossed the continental divide.

This is Isa Lake, covered in golden water lilies, which straddles the divide. Half of its water flows toward the Atlantic while the other flows toward the Pacific.

Yellowstone Lake, which is in the area simply referred to as Lake, was our next pitstop for the night. Hot springs and geysers were even located right along the edge of the lake. One of the springs located on the edge was named Fishing Cone as fish that were caught in the lake could promptly be place in the steaming water for cooking. However, as a contrast, swimming in the lake was not advised as hypothermia would quickly ensue.

HOT spring!

JD enjoyed a nice stuffed quail for dinner at the Lake Hotel. My duck was interesting but tasty. Most of the employees of the park were there for the summer and wore nametags that displayed the state they were from. It was cool to see how others were always eager to say 'hey, I'm from the south', too, whether it be Tennessee or Florida.

The Lake Hotel is the oldest in the park, opening in 1901.

Of course, a great view was offerered from the Lake Hotel.

Our individual lake cabin was too cute.

Next we head to Roosevelt's favorite park area!

Yellowstone - to Old Faithful Area

Finally, we made it to Yellowstone! It was rainy when we first arrived so we didn't stop for the photo op.

The park's main road called the "Grand Loop" is a figure 8 with several entrances. Luckily, our guidebook started at the west entrance which is where we entered. Each night we had reservations at a different junction along the loop so we planned on seeing the sights while we traveled from one lodging area to the next. Our first stop was along the Madison River for lunch.

We got our first wildlife, albeit small wildlife, sightings here. Some fish, ducks, and a heron dined in the area with us. In the previous pic, the sun was shining and the sky clear. In the span of 10 minutes, the weather can completely change. We learned we had to always be prepared.

These cliffs along the Madison River Valley are made of rhyolite, which was formed from lava flows.

The uintas ground squirrel was common everywhere. They were fat-bodied and skinny-tailed compared to our GA rodents.

Pull-over areas for watching animals and nature were everywhere along the grand loop - holding anywhere from one car to 20. Most of the "sights" were just a short walking distance from the parking area but also had hiking trails that could take you to other sights. One of our first stops along the grand loop was at the Junior Ranger Station.

Behind the station overlooks the campsite of the 1870 explorers that created the idea that the government should set aside this area because of all it's natural wonders as a national park for all to enjoy.

Firehole Canyon, created again by lava flows, holds Firehole Falls that is a 40-foot drop.

You could take guided tours in one of these cuties.

We never saw an entire herd of elk - only singles. This guy was grazing where you can still see evidence of previous forest fires.

The Fountain Paint Pots contained mud that bubbled, boiled, and gurgled. The coloring varied according to the minerals that were being broken down but was mostly clay colored when we were there. Several geysers and hot springs were also in this area.

Here is JD and Fountain Geyser. It errupted almost continuously while we were in the area.

Dead lodgepole pines which were one standing in water have bases preserved with silica now. The pines were used by Native Americans to create their lodges, hence the name.

Firehole Lake is one of the park's largest hot springs. Bacteria that thrive in the hot water create the orange and black "mats" near the front.

White Dome Geyser did not erupt for us but was an intriguing site to see. It is a cone-type geyser.

One of the most beautiful (and largest) hot springs is Grand Prismatic. Here people line the walkway in front of it. The center is a deep, clear blue and the algae along the edges creates ripples of various colors. It was overcast the first day we were there so we weren't able to really see the intensity of the colors.

Even the colors are reflected in the rising vapors. Our guidebook mentioned a social trail, meaning it wasn't recommended by the park, that took you to a better view of the springs in this area. We couldn't find it, which turned out to be good luck because we found it the next day. It was a much grander sight when the sun was shining!

The rainy windy weather combined with hot steam means I should probably just where a hat :)

Our first bison!! Animal sightings were usually pretty easy. Basically, if you saw a couple of cars pulled over just go ahead and join them because there is probably something to see. This guy was just a few feet off the road and paid the traffic and people no mind.

Sapphire Pool used to be a geyser but a 1959 earthquake changed that. It no longer erupts but is still a beautiful hot spring.

Our first night we stayed at Old Faithful Inn, built originally in 1904. Some of the rooms even still have shared baths!

The Inn overlooked Old Faithful and we were able to see (or really hear) a nightime erruption of the park's most famous geyser.

These original doors were extremely thick and have survived lots of winters!

The inside contains a huge main lobby with a great stone fireplace.

The Crow's Nest at the very top once held musicians for entertaining but an earthquake twisted some of the timbers so that it is no longer safe for occupancy.

Our room was very quaint with no tv, internet, or phone service so we really were able to get away from it all.

The CUTEST bison ever greeted us on our bed. I was super excited to take him home, but in fine print he said take me home and I will just be charged to your room - boo! Still a little upset about that one...

Idaho Falls, ID (pre-Yellowstone)

On Wednesday, we drove up through Big Sky Country to Helena, MT for literally a 20 minute work audit. This is the capital of Montana and had more of a city feel to it than Butte. While JD performed his audit, I sat in the bank lobby and quickly squelched any thoughts I may have had of becoming a Montanan by reading a magazine listing some of the local stats. Average number of freeze free days in a year - 120. No thank you. Even if my hair was loving this 70 degree, no humidity August day. (P.S. Rigby has his own little town in Idaho)

Then, it was back to Idaho for a few days. Our hotel in Idaho Falls (which regularly appears on the list of the top American cities to live in) directly overlooked the Snake River. The Falls are completely man-made as a part of a hydroelectric power effort.

Directly across from our balcony was the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, a temple of the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

It must sit due east also as I tried to obtain an early morning view of the temple and directly burned my retinas.

For dinner the first night stay in IF, we enjoyed Jakers. I highly recommend them even if my meal reminded me slightly of a segment where Daniel Tosh talks about the midwest and jokes about "fried mayonnaise balls".  I'm not sure if Idaho considers itself to be midwestern but I should have asked for my 'nnaise and sauce on the side.

Comedy Central's Jokes.com
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Unfortunately, I also left my workout attire hanging behind the door in the hotel bathroom this day when we left, so no more workouts for me! :)  Those were my favorite black running pants, but I'm sure Target will be there to help me out. *Edit: the clothes were shipped and beat us home!*

On day 4, I toured downtown Idaho Falls on foot. I stopped by this place to get JD his very own Snake River fishing t-shirt.

While snapping the picture of Jimmy's, something else caught my eye.

I'm not really sure of the gun laws in Idaho, but I stayed a few paces back.

Our best meal of the entire trip was at Snakebite. I spotted this little place while walking around town earlier in the day and it appeared to have a trendy atmosphere and a good looking menu. Upon arrival, the rushed service made us wonder if we were going to regret our decision. JD and I both ordered burgers, specifically the Grand Teton burger for me. Best.burger.ever. When in Idaho, go directly to the Snakebite (even if you have to overlook some below par customer service).

JD enjoying a hazelnut brew at Snakebite and representing the ATL

Stay tuned for actual Yellowstone posts on the way!