Again we had an early start and left by 9am. Today's plan was to see the Lower and Midway Geyser Basin, catch Old Faithful erupting, check into our new resort right outisde the South Entrance, and finally take a quick trip to Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone National Park. We left the hotel and got back on the Grand Loop via Mammoth via Norris via Madison to get to the Old Faithful area. Again near Mammoth we saw a head of elf grazing in the grass off in the distance.
In the Lower Geyser Basin we went to the Fountain/Artist Paint Pots area. It is a one-mile round trip walking trail, which takes visitors to colorful hot springs and two large mudpots. The large mudpots were cool. Next we got on the Grand Loop again and then exited to the Firehole Lake Drive road to see more geysers. This is an area of hydrothermal activity on a 3 mile long drive. We saw Suprise Pool Geyser, Twice-a-day geyser, the Great Fountain, and White Dome Geyser. We were just in time to see the Great Fountain erupt. That was cool. We weren't going to stay and then all of sudden it erupted. We were really good at getting to geysers when they were just about to erupt, which is good because then we didn't have to waste time waiting for them to erupt.
Next we stopped at the Midway Geyser Basin . Here we saw Excelsior Crater. It is a gaping crater 200 x 300 feet with a constant discharge of more than 4,000 gallons of water per minute into the Firehole River. Just walking a little further on the boardwalk we came to the Grand Prismatic Spring. This feature is 370 feet in diameter and more than 121 feet in depth. It is a bright lovely orange color with a bright blue. It is very awesome. Definitely worth the visit. We got back on the Grand Loop road to pull off into the next turn off because we wanted to take a hike on a trail (about 3/4 of a mile each way) to climb a small mountain hill to get a better view of the Grand Prismatic Spring. It took about an hour but well worth it. After we were finished we got back on the Grand Loop and right away we saw a huge bison on the side of the road grazing on some grass.
The Upper Geyser Basin has at least 150 hydrothermal wonders within a one square mile. The mose famous of them all is Old Faithful. It erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers, although it is not the largest or most regular geyser in the park. It wasn't as impressive as other geysers we saw erupt and you really weren't that close. There were many other geyers to see in the area but we didn't feel like see more steam and water shooting up into the air. Once you seen more than one geyser they start to look the same and lose their appeal. However, during the 30 minutes we sat waiting for it to erupt a bull bison came within the area and visitors were told to stay back.
We got back on the Grand Loop via Old Faithful heading towards West Thumb to get to the South Entrance where we were staying at. Right outside Old Faithful was Kepler Cascades. It is the most easily reached waterfall in the district. A marked pullout just south of Old Faithful and a short walk from the car offers the visitor easy access to view this 125-foot cascade. After passing West Thumb heading for the South Entrance we pass the Continental Divide at 8,262ft known as Craig Pass/Isa Lake. The next stop was at Lewis Lake and Lewis Falls. From a pull off from the road you can see these two sights. The Lewis Falls is a 29ft waterfall.
By the time we reahed our resort just outside of the South Entrance of Yellowstone it was dinner time and we were hungry and pressed for time if we wanted to make it to Grand Teton National Park before the sun set so we could get pictures. Grand Teton's road system conveniently carries visitors by most of the park's famous scenery. Drive the 42-mile Scenic Loop through the park providing views of the mountains. Remember to stop at the many turnouts along the scenic loop.
We arrived at the park at about 5:30 and that gave us a few hours to drive the scenic route to see the Teton Mountains. Just after we entered the park we saw a deer. Well we actually didn't just see the deer we had to press the brake pedal hard to miss the deer as it raced across the road. We didn't have time to take pictures of this deer but that wasn't a problem since we saw 2 more deers alongside the road. I got a really good shot with my camera, not the digital one. Our first stop at a turnoff was at the Willow Flats Overlook. Here Elk Island with mountains act as the backdrop. We saw a few birds with yellow heads and black bodies at this turn out. Our next stop was at the Mountain View Turnout, where Mount Moran acts as the backdrop. After that we stopped at the Cascade Canyon Turnout providing views into the canyon. Near Jenny Lake Overlook there is the possibility of taking a ferry over to the canyon and hike around but we didn't have time for that. We stopped at all the turnouts so there isn't really a need to list them all because they all provided views of the Teton Mountains. However, at Snake River Overlook it is considered by many the best spot to see the panorama of the Tetons. It also gives view of the Snake River and people river rafting. Again before we left back to our resort for the leaving we saw another 2 deers.
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