Mom and Dad were staying at the Old Faithful Inn which was actually a pretty big hotel. It was super rustic inside. Our plan was to get Amanda set up for work in the morning but the service wasn’t nearly as good as the night before. So we had to find a new place for her to work.
Thankfully, the other lodging area near Old Faithful had reliable internet service and we averted a bit of a disaster. It was tense there for a bit but everything worked out.
After getting everything settled I went over to the geothermal area and I watched the Grand Geyser erupt. This geyser erupts once every day or so. It was cool to be able to see it. Most people who visit don’t get a chance to. The Grand Geyser is more powerful than Old Faithful but the latter erupts more often and more reliably (hence the name). So that is why it is more popular.
Amanda and I walked the entire area later in the afternoon and it’s really quite amazing. There are different types of geysers and springs. The springs are the most beautiful. There are different types of microorganisms that thrive in these springs and they give the pools such beautiful colors, especially on the outer edges.
A few pictures from the walk:
We stayed in Grant Village on Wednesday night, which is close to the lake. We met up with my parents for drinks – they were staying in the lodge a bit to the north of the campground – and then we passed out as soon as we got back to camp. We were exhausted.
We spent Thursday morning near Old Faithful and I watched the geyser erupt again while Amanda got some more work done. From there we drove the loop road to Canyon Village but we stopped at the Grand Prismatic Spring on the way there.
The parking lot was an absolute zoo and it took us a while to find parking. Some of the people out here act like children. Trying to cut the line of cars and yelling at each other. Is it really that hard to wait patiently for a place to park?
The view from the ground wasn’t that great to be honest. The pool is so big and the steam coming off of it makes it difficult to really see anything. We will come back later in the week and take the trail to the overlook point.
We got into Canyon Village later in the afternoon and drove over to the south rim of the canyon. We stopped off at the Upper Falls lookout area and hiked the south rim trail to Artists Point. The trail was fairly easy but offered amazing views of the canyon.
The lower fall was especially impressive. It’s such a powerful waterfall. The colors of the canyon were beautiful. Yellow, orange, red, and green are contrasted with the blue of the water. The view from Artist Point was exceptional. Honestly pictures don’t really do it justice.
From there we were ready to get back to the campsite and relax. The past week had been so busy between getting things ready for the trip, Cheyenne Frontier Days, and traveling with my parents. We hadn’t really had a moment’s rest.
We made some of the elk sausages that Rock was nice enough to give us and we sat out by the lake and watched the sunset. It was beautiful and there were so many fish jumping. Such a peaceful end to the day.