Return to Yellowstone, Part 2

Old Faithful begins its eruption as Beehive Geyser's ends, as seen from the bleachers surrounding the world's most famous hydrothermal feature.

I had not planned to visit Old Faithful. Having spent the night at Madison Campground, I was eager to eat some real food, as I knew I would quickly tire of protein shakes on the trail. The nearest food service is in West Yellowstone, outside the park. Going there would require a re-entry. The nearest food service in the park is in, you guessed it, Old Faithful. Grudgingly, I headed that direction.

In 2002, I arrived at Old Faithful just after 5:30 in the morning and had the entire parking lot to myself. I and a handful of other people watched it erupt, as scheduled, and then I explored the geyser basin. Upon returning to Old Faithful, I found the bleachers, walkways, and parking lots jammed with people. Go early, or don’t go at all was the lesson. This year’s arrival would be a little later, but nonetheless the same result: an empty parking lot. To my disappointment, the food service establishments were not open, save for a coffee bar which offered expensive pre-made breakfast sandwiches. I sat in the hotel’s lobby looking out the big picture windows at plumes of steam, waiting for Old Faithful’s predicted time window. A squirrel inside the lobby kept us entertained. Crowds gathered outside as the eruption neared.

My unexpected trip to Old Faithful was rewarded by a remarkable coincidence. As Old Faithful prepared to erupt, Beehive Geyser shot a water column about 150 feet into the air. Beehive erupts irregularly, so this particular show was striking. The two geysers were nearly on the same line of sight from my position between sets of packed bleachers.

A small rainbow forms in the spray of Old Faithful.

Old Faithful did not disappoint the hundreds of people who came to see it, though I’m not so sure the throngs understood — or appreciated — the remarkable double eruption of two of the park’s most significant geysers. No matter. Most of the assembled horde retreated to the visitor services areas, and I left the area altogether. Having toured this geyser basin previously, I wanted to visit an often overlooked basin nearby.

The Black Sand Basin gets far fewer visitors than its more famous neighbor, yet it features some of the most beautiful springs alongside Iron Spring Creek. Cliff Geyser was quite active.

Cliff Geyser

The centerpieces of Black Sand Basin are Rainbow Pool, Sunset Lake, and Emerald Pool. Winds kept the steam clouds low over the first two, so only the latter was showing off its vivid coloration.

Emerald Pool

On the way back to the campground, I took the narrow Firehole Canyon Drive, which turned out to be exceptionally crowded. Turns out, this is one of the few designated swimming areas in the park, so the traffic was caused by dozens of cars parked on precarious edges of the road. The highlight for me was good views of Firehole Falls.

Firehole Falls

I packed up my campsite and headed west, out of the park. I had a nice lunch in West Yellowstone, Mont. Upon a friend’s recommendation, I visited the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, where I got face-to-face with these magnificent animals.

A grizzly bear, rescued as a cub, enjoys a sunny afternoon and a little attention from its human visitors.

I had never seen a grizzly before, and I am now grateful the two I encountered were on the other side of a protective barrier. These are massive, awe-inspiring animals, weighing hundreds of pounds apiece. Sam, pictured above, was orphaned in 1996. He was captured near King Salmon, Alaska, where he and his sister Illie were becoming troublesome with the resident human population. Illie, though smaller, was still a mighty creature. I watched them until their public viewing time was over, and they shuffled off through an open gate to their private sanctuaries.

A wolf rests in the sun.

I was surprised at the way the resident wolves seemed so similar to domesticated dogs. They were lying in the sun, in the various poses Chisos uses when she’s resting. They were not terribly active, though I didn’t expect them to be too mobile. Afternoons are, after all, my dog’s nap time.

The rest of this day was spent driving the beautiful canyon between Yellowstone and Bozeman, Mont. At several points, I could see groups of rafters enjoying the ride along the Gallatin River.

A Montana traffic jam.

In Bozeman, I got to hang out with The Dude (a.k.a. Joe), an outdoor adventurer and blogger I’d been following for a couple of years. We had a great time enjoying the night life there.

Joe, his fiance Stanette, and friend Tom came to Austin for the ACL festival. I got to spent last Monday afternoon and evening with them. I took them to Mount Bonnell so they could see what we in Central Texas call “mountains.” Then we had a beer at the Dry Creek Saloon, a quintessentially Austin dive bar wedged between multimillion dollar houses. We had dinner at the Oasis, looking over a much diminished Lake Travis. A thick blanket of low clouds cost us the sunset view for which The Oasis is famous. Then we caught a little of the football game over at Third Base. Here’s his account of his long weekend in the Live Music Capital of the World, which he declares is his new favorite city in the U.S.

Glad you guys had a great time. South by Southwest is in March, which would be a great time to get away from your snowboarding mecca for a few days of springtime sunshine and great music.

Old Faithful and Beehive Geyser, YE09-0810-5008R; Small Rainbow at Old Faithful, YE09-0810-50515R; Cliff Geyser, YE09-0810-5030R; Emerald Pool, YE09-0810-5038R; and Firehole Falls, YE09-0810-5056R, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming | Grizzly Bear, MT09-0810-5066R and Wolf Resting in the Sun, MT09-0810-5072R, West Yellowstone, Montana | and A Montana Traffic Jam, MT09-0810-5090R, Gallatin National Forest, Montana | ©2009 Jeff Blaylock

Potentially related posts:

• Return to Yellowstone, Part 1
• Riverside Geyser
• Yellowstone Lake
• Old Faithful
• Heart Spring
• Sawmill Geyser (7/9)
• Yellowstone River, Early Morning