Wow, two weeks since we left home—only 4 more weeks.  Time, as we perceive it, is really going by fast.  As we have stated in previous blog entries, Yellowstone National Park is really crowded, more than on any of the previous 4 visits.  We are trying to see it thoroughly, and thus are taking our time.  We still lack the thermal basins in and near Old Faithful, the magnificent falls in the Canyon area, and the wide open spaces, and animals, in Lamar Valley.  But, it doesn’t pay to go during the middle part of the day.
Firehole Canyon.  Today, we wanted to finish the west side, in and around Old Faithful, and waited until 2 pm to leave the RV park in an attempt to avoid the crowds.  The tire pressure monitoring system on the Honda showed a tire as being underinflated, so it was back to the RV park, digging out the compressor, and airing up the tires.  Finally, we left again and entered Yellowstone NP about 3 pm.  Immediately after going through the gate, traffic came to a near standstill—bear jam!  The black bear was on the ground, in the forest, and people were crowded all around it.  We didn’t see it, and slowly drove by, turned south at Madison Junction, and drove the 2-mile Firehole Canyon Drive.  The Firehole Canyon falls was beautiful, particular since there is plenty of water coming down the river.
Lower Geyser Basin.  As we entered the Lower Geyser Basin, we drove Fountain Flat Drive, finally found a parking place, and walked the boardwalks to view the thermal features.  There were several thermal pools and small geysers, and lots and lots of people.  Our next stop was at Fountain Paint Pot.  It’s much larger than I remember.  In fact, so many of the thermal pools and geysers look different—larger—and many I just don’t remember despite being here 4 times previously.


Midway Geyser Basin.  Prominent in the Midway Geyser Basin are two large pools, perhaps a half acre each.  Additionally, there are several smaller pools and a geysers.  Talk about crowds, we drove through the parking lot twice to find a space.  After crossing the Firehole River, passing a small geyser, Grand Prismatic Spring appeared.  This was a huge thermal pool, with water so clear as to allow a penetrating glace towards the bottom—simply amazing!  Further up the hill was another large thermal pool, with varying hues of yellow, brown, and blue.  The combination of thermal features in this area was breathtaking, and provided just another example of how great our God truly is.
Upper Geyser Basin.  As we neared Old Faithful, we stopped by Biscuit Basin for more thermal pools and small geysers.  The thermal pools were so clear, one could see into their inner depths.  One of the small geysers along the way erupted every 5 to 7 minutes and provided quite a sideshow.  Kay saw a trailhead sign for Mystic Falls, so decided to divert from our itinerary, and hike the one-mile trail.  Just as we began, we met a young man from Holland who asked to accompany us along the hike.  He spoke excellent English, was a biology/ecology teach, and was visiting the US to attend a biology seminar in Salt Lake City.  The three of us hiked the trail to view the most scenic waterfall we have seen on this trip.  As we were leaving Biscuit Basin, several fly fishers had begun plying the Firehole River.  It appeared one had hooked a fish, but he was caught on bottom!  Just down the road from Biscuit Basin was Black Sand Basin.  Immediately along the path, a small geyser was erupting every few minutes.  We laughed as we tried to time our shutter release with an eruption, getting lots of photos just before or just after an eruption.  A few small thermal pools completed the circuit along the pathway.
Old Faithful.  Last but not least, we made our way to Old Faithful, and as luck would have it, it had just erupted as we began walking to the observation area.  We sat in rocking chairs on the porch of the general store, shared an ice cream cone, and waited 90+ minutes for the next eruption.  As fate would have it, our new Dutch friend pulled up right in front of us, and asked to join us in watching Old Faithful erupt.  With plenty of time to kill, we go to know him better, and asked a lot of questions about the Holland educational system; it’s not too different than ours, but perhaps a little more advanced in its curriculum.  Old Faithful sure controls the show.  We waited, and waited, and waited.  Occasionally, a small fountain of water would rise, exciting all the visitors, then we’d wait again.  Finally, after fifteen minutes of this, she blew, at about 8:45 pm and just as the sun set, a great ending for another great day.

Several people who read the blog have asked for more photos, so we’ve tried to add more, balancing the addition of photos with time and data requirements for uploading those to the internet.  We have created a web album containing many more photos of this trip; you can access it at this link:  https://picasaweb.google.com/DunnGoneTravels/Idaho201102?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIyBlc3Wn9WGuwE&feat=directlink