Day in Yellowstone National Park

July 29 – It looked to be a beautiful day out today so we decided to head into Yellowstone after lunch.  Bruce came down this morning and fixed my driver side blinds that had come down at one end.  We all learned how they were installed so next time we’ll know quicker how to remedy the problem.

We stopped at West Yellowstone to fuel up and Bill had a problem with my debit card.  It got rejected twice at the pump and twice inside, so I gave him my credit card and we were on our way.  I called my bank while he was driving and she could see a rejected item for $91.00 but said it now was not active.  I would have to call tomorrow as we won’t have much cell service in the park and they were closed by the time we got home.

Sock trees

We stopped at several places along the way to Old Faithful and walked several geyser pools.  There are many stands of Sock Trees at most of them.  They are stark white at the bottoms due to the acidic waters and it causes them to turn white, which looks like socks, therefore the name.

The crowds were not as bad as we’ve experienced in the past.  Once we arrive at Old Faithful we had no problem parking and the crowd was gathered around Old Faithful so we knew it was close to time for her to do her thing!  We sat back away on downed dead trees which was preferable to standing.  Then off she went, gradually rising higher and higher and then slowing melting away again to a steady mist rising from the ground.  The crowd dissipates very quickly.

The Visitor Center was right beside us so we went in to use the restrooms, check out the gift shop and also watched the

At her peak today

extremely informative movie on the formation and forces behind the geysers.  It was a very well done explanation of the centuries old geysers and what might be expected in the future. 

Next door is the Old Faithful Inn that we couldn’t ignore.  The fireplace is the showpiece of the lobby and the wood décor is beautiful.  Everyone was ready for ice cream so we stood our turn in line for singles

Lodge fireplace

scoops of various flavors.  Next door is a gift shop and although we spend a bit of time there, no one made any purchases.

It was time to start heading back and there were some traffic issues along the way.  We did take in another geyser loop that “less travelled” than the main road. 

Out the truck window

Closer to the exit we encountered a male bison right along the road, so of course we stopped for photos and then just a bit further down the road on the water side, there were 3 elk.  Sharon was happy we finally got to see some wildlife!

We stopped in West Yellowstone for dinner at the Wild West Pizzeria and Saloon.  Sharon

Lady elk

and Bruce shared a pizza and Bill and I made the mistake of each ordering a calzone.  They were huge, so we shared one and brought one home.

No excitement on the drive home but it was a great day in Idaho/Montana!