Old Faithful August 29, 2014

Check it off the bucket lists...we have seen Old Faithful in action--twice!  It is 32 miles from our campground to the east entrance of the park and from there it is another 60 miles to Old Faithful, but the ride is beautiful!  We stopped at some overlooks to admire the spectacular scenery, got gas and shopped at Fishing Bridge, then proceeded on to Old Faithful.  It was a picture perfect day.            

A fine looking group.  

Kepler Cascades.

Beautiful Yellowstone Lake

We arrived at Old Faithful in time to have a tailgate lunch before heading over to watch the geyser erupt.  We timed it right, so we only had about a 20 minute wait before the spectacular event occurred.  Afterwards,we all decided to hike the Upper Geyser Basin, stopping to admire the many hot springs and geysers there.  We were also delighted to see a buffalo grazing in a nearby field.  This landscape is so unlike anything else here on earth!  To see the ecosystem of the caldera is fascinating!

Right on time!

Awesome!

Old Faithful isn't the only one that's active.  

After our hike, we went to the famous Old Faithful Inn for refreshments before making the long trek back to the campground.   We were disappointed that we had seen so little wildlife today.  One elk and one coyote  along the roadside and one buffalo at Old Faithful was all we had seen.   On the way back, however, we were rewarded by seeing a huge grizzly bear and another (huge) buffalo.

Buffalo near Old Faithful

A big grizzly,

Resting beside the road.  

Back at the rigs, we had happy hour and Larry prepared quesadillas for our dinner.  We watched a lovely sunset at the campground before retiring for the night.

Happy hour.

Sunset at the campground.