Wednesday, May 29th, 2013
We were moving slow in the morning and checked the weather. The forecast was saying there were going to be a cold couple of days ahead of us. We went to “Running Bear Pancake House” in West Yellowstone, MT for a hearty breakfast. The food was good, but we tried sampling their Huckleberry syrup on our pancakes. Never again.
We entered Yellowstone National Park and gawked at many Bison as they were grazing.
Like clockwork, most of the bison in our vicinity started defecating. It was awkward for all involved.
We made a pitstop at Firehole Falls before we parked at the Grant Village Visitor Center. The ranger informed us that a lot of the campgrounds were closed for the season or on the pricey side, so we settled on reserving a campsite at Madison campground. It cost a pretty penny, but it meant we wouldn’t have to drive all the way out to West Yellowstone at the end of the day.
If you’ve never been to Yellowstone, it is HUGE! It is located between three U.S. states (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) and spans over 3,460 square miles (over 8,980 square km). Over half of the worlds geothermal features are located within the park and it is also located on top of North America’s largest super volcano. In other words, it’s a ticking time bomb. It was also the first national park in the U.S., established back in 1872.
Our first stop was at the Old Faithful area. We walked the boardwalk along the Geyser Hill Loop and saw our first geyser go off, Beehive Geyser. We got sprayed with stinky, sulfur water, but we didn’t care. This was new and exciting!
We saw more colorful “bubbly water” before finishing the loop and returning to Old Faithful to grab a good seat. Old Faithful was 12 minutes passed schedule and was a little bit underwhelming in comparison to Beehive Geyser in my opinion, but it was still neat to see.
After visiting the gift shop, we drove to Black Sand Basin boardwalk.
After we hiked that, we headed to Biscuit Basin. Trevor couldn’t help yodeling when we walked by Jewel Geyser. To the younger readers, Jewel was a musician back in the 90’s and a lot of singers during that time liked to yodel for some reason.
Next stop was Midway Geyser Basin. Unfortunately, there was too much steam blowing around to get a good look at Grand Prismatic Spring. Our last stop was Fountain Point Paint Pot Nature Trail. It was a very short trail, but it was pretty.
Trevor was sick of “bubbly water” by the end of the day. We made our way back to Madison Campground, found our site and started to plan the rest of our visit in Yellowstone.
Jump Back to Part 40: Liquor Store Dining & No Potatoes
Jump Ahead to Part 42: The Other Grand Canyon & More Bubbly Water
OR
Start Over at Part 01: The Blue Bubble, Freebies & A Rude Awakening
Stubbs Rambles On 
I would LOVE to visit Yellowstone (despite the ticking time bomb thing!) We visited quite a few geothermal areas in NZ last month and I am not sure why, but I find them totally fascinating.
…It’s just a shame they are so stinky!
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Haha! Yep, they smell like egg farts, but they sure are pretty! I’m not familiar with NZ’s geothermals, but it’s definitely on my bucket list as a hiking destination. Iceland would be pretty rad too! Fingers crossed Yellowstone won’t be blowing up in our lifetime. Aside from the threat, it’s def a worthwhile place to visit, although being alive is preferable and is kinda a big deal, haha!
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Oooh if you are thinking of going, have a peek at my posts about Tongariro and Wai-O-Tapu. They were both amaaaazing for the walks (and that eggy/farty smell!!)
Iceland is epic too- especially with all the free hot springs! We went in winter, but I’d love to go back in the summer!!
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Nice! Will do!
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