Yellowstone Adventures 2022, Day 2

Due to our late arrival back to West Yellowstone on Sunday night, we did not enter the park until 7:45 a.m. Monday morning. We were able to save $35 dollars by using Kenny’s senior citizen lifetime National Park entrance pass. There was no wait at all and no lines.

EASY ENTRANCE

Snow and Bison were abundant when we headed to Madison Junction in the park. By 8:15 we had already stopped for pictures.

MADISON JUNCTION

Due to the snowfall, day 2 of our itinerary was a better option for us. We arranged the days based on the weather, road closures, and how to make the most out of our time in the park. The first stop on the agenda was the one-way road through the Firehole Canyon Scenic Drive. Even though it was 28 degrees and a little hazy, the scenery was breathtaking. Travis stopped multiple times for us to get out of the van to look and take pictures. Just standing in the Canyon and listening to nature, the quiet and the sounds of the water running was indescribable.

FIREHOLE CANYON SCENIC DRIVE

Finishing the Firehole Loop by 8:50, we were almost overrun by Bison on the move as we joined the traffic on the Grand Loop. They were all along the roadside and in the roadway causing traffic to have to stop as they meander across at random intervals.

BISON PARADE

LOWER GEYSER BASIN

The next place we stopped was the Lower Geyser Basin. This area is a short walk around several very active hot spots, including the lively Fountain Paint Pots and the spewing Clepsydra Geyser. These vats of bubbling mud contain the perfect mix of ingredients to create mudpots: heat, gases, water, volcanic rock, minerals, acid and even living microorganisms.

Grand Prismatic and Midway Geyser Basin

Next on agenda was the Grand Prismatic and Midway Geyser Basin. We were able to walk along Yellowstone’s largest hot spring! Grand Prismatic is famous all around the world for its vibrant rainbow of colors. We were advised to visit early due to the popularity of this stop and the larger crowds. So glad we did since when we drove back by at the end of the day, the parking lot was full and there were cars parked up and down the side of the road. As we walked around on the boardwalk, we also viewed the Excelsior Geyser. The air temperature was cool and the springs were hot therefore there was a lot of steam the morning we were there.

GRAND PRISMATIC OVERLOOK……….. NOT

We were unable to take the Fairy Falls Trail to the Grand Prismatic Overlook. The trail was blocked off and stayed closed the entire time we were there. We learned later that this overlook was closed due to a high level of bear activity.  This was one of the few things that we really wanted to see and weren’t able. I guess this will be the reason that we must come back one day.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

We finished up in this area about 10:30 and headed back to Old Faithful. It is amazing what a difference 14 hours makes. It was a totally different view. Both were beautiful though, and I am so glad we got to see it in different ways

OLD FAITHFUL

The Old Faithful area is always bubbling and spewing. There are so many trails surrounding it that as you wait for the next eruption you have many options. We chose to go in the Yellowstone Visitor Center. There they post when Old Faithful is scheduled to erupt next. We had time to walk around and read information explaining the different things we were going to see on the boardwalk as we walked around the area. Upon leaving the visitor center, we walked around to find our viewing spot to watch Old Faithful erupt. Travis and I chose to go to the back side and Kenny and Becky stayed on the front side closest to the lodge.

OLD FAITHFUL LODGE FOR LUNCH

We met back up at the lodge to eat in the cafeteria. Travis and I both had a protein bowl. You pick your rice, meat, vegetables, sauce, and toppings. They put it all in a box and off you go. Becky chose the same thing we did but Kenny chose Chili. There was a huge delay on the chili, so we got to sit for a while just visiting in the cafeteria…and Kenny got a free bowl of very late and very average chili! Beware the cookies: $5 each!

OBSERVATION POINT

After finishing our lunch, we headed out to the boardwalk area. There was a climb to the Observation Point that overlooks Old Faithful so up we went. When we go to the very top, we were told we had just missed the eruption. I was not overly upset since I had seen it at night in the snow and from behind with fewer folks already. The view from the top was worth the hike up.

SOLITARY GEYSER

We wandered over to the solitary geyser while on the top of the hill. It had a really neat history.  

The story went like this. “In 1915 we did not understand geysers very well. Why not tap water from this hot spring and put it to use? So a pipe lowered the water 3 feet. The calm spring immediately became a geyser, erupting every few minutes. Although the pipe was removed and the former water level restored, geyser activity continues. We learned that a delicate balance once tampered with often cannot be restored.” The Solitary Geyser erupts about 4 feet every 5 to 7 minutes. We stayed to watch it erupt twice.

UPPER GEYSER BASIN and MORNING GLORY

As we returned to the boardwalk, we continued our trek to the Upper Geyser Basin. We saw many different and interesting things along the way, but our goal was to reach the Morning Glory Pool. It was so worth the trip up even though Travis kept reminding us that the farther we kept walking away, the farther we had to walk back. It was WORTH IT!!! One of the prettiest places I saw on this trip. As we walked back to the car via a different path, we saw an elk as well as a couple of other pools.

Departure from the Old Faithful area was around 4:15. This was much earlier than our Sunday night viewing. We headed back the same way we came toward West Yellowstone. Of course as we got close to Madison, the Bison decided to cross the road again. We ate dinner at the Outpost before going back to the hotel.

OUTPOST RESTAURANT

DESSERT

Ice Cream for dessert hit the spot. However, I am not a fan of the Huckleberry flavor that they advertise all over Yellowstone. I tried a small spoonful and then went back and ordered a scoop of Moose Tracks. I walked back up the road to the hotel and purchased a long sleeve t-shirt for a souvenir. We found that the best prices are $20 for a long sleeve t-shirt.

Summary of Day 2

My Apple watch says that I walked 7.9 miles, 19,376 steps, and climbed 14 flights of stairs.  I had 0 idle hours. We left the hotel for Yellowstone at 7:30 a.m. and returned for the night at 6:45 p.m. It was a very productive day!!!!! We saw Bison, elk, a chipmunk, and an unidentified bird and rodent. Still looking for another bear and some moose!!!!!!