Part 3 of a dream journey--Yellowstone!

Arriving in West Yellowstone, Montana, I settled into my hotel and made my nest for the next five nights. So this was Montana! Little did I know that this small town was the only part of Montana that I would visit. As in Boise, the town was surrounded by mountains, but these were higher and snow covered. These were the Rockies!

Though it was May 16, snow still lay on the ground in places from the unseasonable snowfall the week before my trip. I had packed two wool sweaters, two fleese vests, a light barn coat, wool socks, and my hiking boots. These proved to be plenty of clothes to keep me plenty warm for the next eleven days. Except for one day of rain, I found the weather to be cool, sunny, and perfect for my whole trip. There was no more snow!

Except to know that it was named the first national park in 1872, I had not done much research on Yellowstone because I wanted to wait until I got there. So the next morning, I met Mary, who worked there in the hotel, and asked her where I should go for my first foray into the park. She suggested that I may want to go about thirty miles into the park to Old Faithful--which had the most famous geyser as well as a famous old hotel. Though I knew that I probably couldn't afford to stay in them, old hotels were on my bucket lists of places that I wanted to visit and perhaps have a meal there.

The picture above is from my first entering Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Immediately in the park, I passed into the great state of Wyoming! The park was magical. Lots of moutains and swift rivers (This one is the Madison River.) and wild life--especially buffalo. Lots of close encounters with buffalo and their newly born calves. Also lots water falls (over 200 in the park) and lots of geothermal hot springs of many different colors from green to soothing turquoise to yellows and bright oranges. As I drove slowly (speed limit 45 mph) through the park, I might see steam rising from an area and came to realize that these were hiking areas (usually on raised wooden paths) to see hot springs.

Once I reached Old Faithful Inn, I had taken several hikes and built up a healthy appetite for lunch in the restaurant at the inn. I even got to enjoy huckleberry bread pudding--a real treat! After lunch, I was just in time to watch the Old Faithful Geyser, which erupts about every 90 minutes like clockwork! It was discovered in 1870, usually erupts for 90 seconds to five minutes, and rises from 100 to 200 feet.

After Old Faithful erupted, I scouted and hiked several acres in front of the inn and found many geothermal hot springs and one stream that allowed me to begin to see how Yellowstone got its name.

I said my farewells to Old Faithful Inn and geyser and headed back through the park, stopping often to hike and view other hot springs and Firehole River, which is a favorite river for fly fishing but in some places it is definitely a white water raging river on the edge of the park, created by the volcanic eruptions that created the whole park and that still apparently bubble below its surfice. (More on that later.) Firehole River contains three of the park's major waterfalls.

Thus ended my first day in Yellowstone.Who would have thought that going about 60 miles would have taken me all day? But besides the slow speed limit, there was just so much to see! And tomorrow I would view the famous Grand Canyon of Yellowstone Park National Park!