I had made the conscious decision to spend only one day seeing the sites of Yellowstone, mainly because of the number of people, but I clearly could have spent much more time there.  All camp sites were booked out, so I wasn’t going to be able to stay in the park overnight either, although if I had booked ahead, I think I would have liked spending a week there and getting to some of the more remote locations.   I left Cody early, and it was a beautiful cool morning to be on the road and driving into a place like Yellowstone.  When I got out of the car I could occasionally smell sulfur in the air, and there was a wonderful view down Buffalo Bill Reservoir toward the park.

There were plenty of places to stop for a rest and to enjoy the view, including this lovely spot at Sylvan Lake.

Once I got into the park boundary, the wildlife became more numerous.  There are apparently more bison in the US than I ever realized, and they were there again in Yellowstone.  This lone bull seemed to be keeping an eye on me, and I discovered his herd just around the next bend in the road.  Maybe he was just trying to figure out what the fuzzy dice were for.

This coyote was putting on a bit of a show near the road, tossing and playing with a few sticks it had found, and behind me there were several other cars stopped to watch.  Although I didn’t get a picture, I later saw elk as well.

Yellowstone Lake is in the center of the park territory and is really large.  I drove along the shore for a while, and there were steam jets coming out of the earth in places right next to the cool water.

The Kepler Cascades sounded as beautiful as they looked, and I spent a bit of time just sitting here enjoying the sound of falling water.

But if there’s one thing that everyone comes to Yellowstone to see, it’s the geysers, and one geyser in particular, Old Faithful.  Old Faithful got it’s name because of the regularity of it’s eruption, and the visitor center does indeed provide an estimated time for the next eruption based on it’s data, including the height, time, and duration of previous eruptions, but the time is plus or minus ten minutes.  So it’s still very regular for a natural phenomena, but not quite down to the minute as I had generally believed.  The one I saw was about 7 minutes later than the estimated time, and it made several false starts before the big event.  But it was pretty awesome when it did blow!

The geyser surges up to a maximum height in its initial eruption, then subsides slightly for the rest of the time.  Here’s a video I took of Old Faithful in action.

I’m not someone who particularly likes crowds, however, and this is the most popular attraction in a very popular park.  I didn’t feel exactly swamped with people, but if all places were like this I think I’d get frustrated very quickly!

What I enjoyed most about the Upper Geyser Basin was walking around the boardwalks though the various hot springs and smaller geysers.  There are many signs telling you not to walk on the ground, as you may be burned, but I’m not sure that that’s what this picture really conveys… it looks to me like it’s recommending throwing the kid into a geyser while his mother, in excessively bulky clothes, looks on in horror, and his father walks away in indifference.  Speaking of clothes, I had started out wearing a fleece in the morning because it was so cool, but the temperatures in this thermal area were quite warm, even hot.

In some places the water boiled directly out of the ground.

While other pools were warm and still, with beautiful jeweled colors.

The water in some of them was so clear that I could see into the depths, and I wondered if anyone had ever sent a camera down to explore what’s underneath.

One of my favorites was Grotto Geyser because of its unusual shape.  Geologist believe that when this geyser first emerged it may have been in a stand of dying trees.  Over time, layers of silica were deposited on the stumps and branches, creating one of the most unusual formations in the park.

I walked around the thermal areas for several hours, enjoying both the spectacular and eerie scenery, as well as the opportunity to stretch my legs.  Then I moved north and west again toward the park exit, coming across more wildlife and thermal regions along the way.  I also crossed the Continental Divide, which is the primary hydrological boundary between the western and eastern watersheds in the US.  All water to the west drains into the Pacific Ocean, all water to the east drains into the Atlantic.  So that’s cool.

I could show you a lot more pictures, but they’re mostly of more small geysers, hot springs, and wildlife.  There’s really so much to see here, and the geology and ecology of the area are so much more varied than I realized, that it’s really difficult to convey it in writing, you really need to experience it.  I’m also very curious about what the park looks like in winter when it’s covered with snow, and perhaps with fewer people.  Maybe I’ll have to visit again then….?