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!
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