Yellowstone Geyser Day! Bison Traffic Jam! Red Fox! Elk!
We got an early start and beelined it to the Upper Geyser Basin area next to Old Faithful. This was one of our favorite areas of the entire trip. It was really cool to see all the geothermal features steaming and gurgling in the early morning light and to have the boardwalk through the area almost to ourselves. We are so happy we got to experience this. Then we went to explore Old Faithful Lodge which features a spectacular 4-story stone fireplace with giant clock on it and multiple balconies looking out onto the central space. The crow's nest up to the very top has been closed since an earthquake in 1959 damaged its supports. It was on the second story deck that we found a couple benches to sit in to view the Old Faithful geyser eruption that morning. It really is remarkable to see and hear hot water pump 100' in the air with steam billowing out into a giant cloud around it.
We then went to Middle Geyser Basin and got to see the Grand Prismatic Spring up close, but unfortunately, the steam it was generating totally obscured seeing into the rainbow-colored pool. Luckily Emerald Spring nearby was a very intense turquoise and was delightful. We also stopped at Lower Geyser Basin to the see the Fountain Paint Pots. Then it was a drive east, stopping at the fantail Gibbon Falls before arriving a Norris Geyser Basin. We did a two-mile hike on boardwalks through the Back Basin which, after the first feature, Excelsior Geyser (which is the largest geyser in the park but erupts infrequently), was pretty uncrowded and had some interesting features to it. The Norris Geyser Basin is the most active and hottest geothermal area in the park.
We popped into Canyon Visitor Center before heading south through Hayden Valley once again. This time we were greeted with an absolutely thrilling encounter with an entire herd of bison on both sides of the road, including crossing it and creating a large traffic jam. After a rest at the cabin, we ventured out in the early evening to check out the fancy and enormous Lake Yellowstone Hotel done in a somewhat Victorian theme with a beautiful sunroom overlooking the lake. We also saw Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and the Bridge Bay Marina before finding a nice spot on the lake to relax and enjoy some sun and skipping rocks. We ate dinner at the restaurant in the Lake Lodge and the boys hung out in the lodge while Charlotte did some driving practice afterwards. We got to see a red fox next to our cabin while she was driving!
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