Does the picture above remind anyone else of The Beatles, Abbey Road? Today, September 6, 2023, is OUR LAST day in Yellowstone. The weather was perfect all day. We started off with jeans and sweatshirts, but at lunchtime switched into shorts.
Almost there…
Another fun eruption we caught…Turban Geyser
Castle Geyser: Although I missed the main eruption, I really liked the effect I got with the steam, the sun, and the blue sky…
Sawmill Geyser:
Riverside Geyser:
This is a cone-type geyser. Its eruptions are very predictable and consistent, taking place every 5.5 – 7.5 hours. An hour or two before an eruption, water pours over the cone’s edge. Splashing and bubbling become more visible. An eruption will last about 22 minutes! Water and steam arch over the river to heights of 75-feet. Following the eruption, steam continues and often produces a rainbow together with the sunlight.
Daisy Geyser:
Daisy Geyser puts on a very impressive eruption show. I didn’t realize there were so many additional geysers that have significant eruptions. You have to be willing to spend most of the day here and do a good bit of walking to catch the different ones that have approximate eruption times. Some you just get lucky to witness as you are nearby.
Daisy Geyser is part of an interconnected group of geysers and hot springs. The Daisy Geyser is fairly predictable. She erupts for 3-5 minutes and to a heights of 75 feet or more.
Morning Glory Pool:
Morning Glory and Grand Prismatic are my favorites from childhood visits. But Morning Glory Pool just isn’t as spectacular as I remember. Both were also favorites of Abby and Richard.
Unfortunately, Morning Glory Pool is losing its brilliant color. (So my memory was right!) Through ignorance and vandalism, people have tossed objects into the hot spring, clogging its vent, and thus lowering the temperature. Brown, orange, and yellow algae-like bacteria thrive in the cooler water, gradually turning the vivid aqua-blue to a murkier greenish-brown.
All thermal features are at risk. Hot springs and geysers have fragile, complex plumbing that takes centuries to develop. Morning Glory’s future is uncertain. They ask that visitors immediately report any vandalism.
Other pools:
Grotto Geyser:
Grotto Geyser is one of the most unusual geysers in Yellowstone. The unusually shaped cone of Grotto Geyse has long captured the imagination of explorers, artists and visitors. I thought it looked like a huge turtle or sea creature of some sort from the angle in the following picture.
Grotto Geyser’s initial eruption can reach heights of more than 40 feet, but then it generally subsides to about 15 feet. But the duration of the eruption can vary from about 50 minutes to more than 24 hours!! Wow!
OLD FAITHFUL:
Old Faithful geyser is the iconic geyser of Yellowstone. It is the easiest to reach from the huge parking lot, and erupts multiple times every day. Next Eruption time is always posted and is quite accurate +/- ten minutes! Due to that predictability and the accessibility with seating, it draws large crowds for most all eruptions during peak travel season. Be aware though the eruption can vary from being impressive to mediocre. Height varies from 90 ft – 184 ft. If you are underwhelmed come back for another one.
Beehive Geyser:
Beehive is a favorite, but unfortunately, it erupts irregularly. The eruptions, however, are quite impressive lasting 4-5 minutes and reaching heights of 150-200 feet as its narrow cone acts like a nozzle.
Several people were sitting near Beehive today patiently waiting. They felt with the activity it was demonstrating that it was likely to erupt today, but it didn’t – at least not in the time we were here. A ranger came by “checking” on it.
When we were here in 2018, we witnessed a huge eruption right after Old Faithful’s eruption had finished. A ranger today told me it was most likely Beehive. Cool! It was definitely higher than Old Faithful was. A lot of people missed it as they headed away to the parking lot!
Lion Geyser:
Heart Spring:
Beach Spring:
Doublet Pool:
I was not expecting to see bison within the geyser area during the main part of the day! It was pretty cool though. We kept watch and moved out of the way.
As Barry and I were a walking the paved road/path back towards the Yellowstone Inn, a bison appeared from off to the right of the path…and then there were two.
Luckily, these two remained easy going and just moving along, and for the most part everyone stayed back and were quiet or they quietly and carefully walked past them.
We also checked out the Old Faithful Inn. It is pretty incredible. It is definitely worth going inside to see the amazing wood structure! There are original wood logs from when it was first built.
The visitor center here included an educational learning center.
There was even had a “Young Scientist” area that looked pretty cute, but I didn’t take time to check it out since our young ones weren’t with us. 🙂
They also have an auditorium that shows three different documentary movies related to Old Faithful, and other aspects of Yellowstone. We didn’t check out any of them. I’m sure they are excellent, and would be ideal to take in, especially if you need to cool off on a hot summer day.
We spent the entire day at the Old Faithful Geyser area. We wanted to arrive in time to see Grand Geyser but it went off an hour earlier than predicted. 🙁 It was still a spectacular day! We were ready to head back to Vinny to relax. Tomorrow we leave for the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole.