Got up early and packed up in order to get to Old Faithful early. We arrived at the Old Faithful parking lot a little after 9:00. The parking lot was only about ¼ full and we found a parking space in the shade at the very back for Slinky. We walked up to Old Faithful and found seats in the front row. We waited about 15 minutes and Old Faithful did her thing. We decided to have breakfast before we walked the paths to other geysers and springs.
If you ever get to Yellowstone walk the paths around Old Faithful. The colors of the waters and rocks are beautiful. One of the first things we came upon was the Grand Geyser. The Grand Geyser is the tallest geyser of all of the predictable geysers such as Old Faithful. It was a little before 11:00 when got to the Grand Geyser and the sign said the geyser would go off somewhere between 11:10 am and 1:10 pm. A tough decision. Do we sit it out or do we walk around and hope to catch it on the way back? We decided to sit out. Luck was on our side, the geyser went off in about 45 minutes. And what a show it was. The Grand Geyser lasts about 8 minutes way longer than Old Faithful. We didn’t see any more geysers up close but we did see the Daisy Geyser go off from a distance. We took lots of pictures and walked about 5 miles. It was an amazing 3 hour walk.
Before leaving we visited the Old Faithful Lodge. I don’t know how to describe this wonderful building. We took some pictures. WOW!
Old Faithful is on the lower loop of Yellowstone as was our campsite. Leaving Old faithful we went north to join the upper loop. Shortly after leaving we ran into a traffic jam, meaning only one thing, some sort of wildlife spotting. It turned out to be a black bear running through the woods. Diane got some nice photos.
We crossed the Continental Divide for the second time before we got to the upper loop. We passed over for the third time on the upper loop. The upper loop was filled with panoramic beauty. From one lookout view point you could see the Tetons. Other times there were wonderful rock formations, river gorges, beautiful valleys and meadows.
Just as we were about to leave the park between Mammoth and the northwest entrance we spotted 2 moose. They were across the river and seemed spooked by something. We got a couple of pictures. Super cool. Seeing a bear and a couple of moose was a treat.
Diane had reserved a spot at a Livingston RV camp for us for the night. We checked in and went into town. Diane’s sister Betty had lived in Livingston in the 70’s. Livingston is known for a town of 21 bars. A lot of bars for a smallish town. We went to the Katabatic Brewery. They had good beer and it was a nice place. Katabatic is a wind that carries high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. We drove down a valley from Yellowstone to Livingston where this wind was generated. Diane bought a Katabatic Brewery t-shirt and on the back of the t-shirt it says “Livingston a drinky city that has a wind problem.”
Montana breweries that make between 10,000 and 60,000 barrels per year can only sell a total of 48 ounces per person per day in their taprooms. In addition the taprooms can only sell beer until 8:00 pm. The Katabatic pours pints, 16 ounces, so that means 3 beers each. Sometimes 3 beers is enough and sometimes it’s not. I’m pretty sure that the big bars, restaurants and breweries had something to do with this law. Just guessing.
So interesting!!
Geysers!! What a phenomena!
Did you see Morning Glory Pool?