We got up and out early this morning to avoid the holiday crush at Yellowstone. Today was geothermal day for us so we planned to visit the Park’s geysers and hot springs. We started at Grand Prisim Spring, the largest and most beautiful hot spring in Yellowstone.. Its bright colors are caused by algae and bacteria. I borrowed the aerial photograph from Google because it’s impossible to see the entirety of Grand Prism from the ground.
My ground level photos show details of Grand Prism, a place that is awesome and truly breathtaking.
Our next stop was Old Faithful, the world’s most famous geyser. One of nearly 500 geysers in Yellowstone, Old Faithful is not the largest or the most regular geyser in the park. However, it is the most predictable, erupting approximately every 90 minutes. When she blows, 3,700-8,400 gallons of boiling water are expelled more than 100 feet into the air. The huge crowds oohed and aahed with delight at the spectacle of Old Faithful erupting.
After Old Faithful’s fabulous display, we got into the truck to go back to the campground where Rhoda and the dogs were waiting. Then something truly extraordinary happened. Look at Jamie’s face.
A small group of bison was walking down the road coming straight toward us. They were being shepherded by a Ranger in a truck playing bison snorting noises over a loudspeaker.
The bison…young and old..large and small ignored us completely as they sauntered down the road. It was a wonderful experience for us but a major bummer for the hundreds of cars backed up for miles behind the bison parade.
We got back to Rhoda to walk the dogs and eat a late lunch. Taking a break from Yellowstone, we drove to the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center, just a few blocks from the Park. What a fabulous afternoon we had with Grizzly Bears and Wolves who ended up at the Center because they could no longer live in the wild. It was an honor to be so close to these awesome predators.
Days don’t get much better than today. What a privilege to have such great adventures On The Rhoda.
SO FUN!! Reminds me of a time when I was visiting my brother in Jackson, and we went out for a day ride on his Harley. On our way out of town, we were greeted with a similar scene: a large herd of bison 🦬 on the road in front of us. We stopped, marveling at these truly majestic beasts, and our only choice was to turn around, or try to continue the ride. My brother turns and asks “Feeling lucky?” to which I replied, “DO IT!” (If I died, it would have been yet another potentially good story for my family) So we cautiously and slowly continued through the herd, who were looking at us rather askance, like “are…