The memory is so clear in my mind that it can't be anything other than real -- me, looking at a photo of Old Faithful in an elementary school textbook.
A trip to Yellowstone National Park and seeing Old Faithful in person a couple of weeks ago checked off one item on my bucket list while putting me one step closer toward fulfilling another: visiting all 50 states. This month I checked off three more (Montana, Idaho and Utah -- having stepped foot in Wyoming as a kid), leaving only five states to go.
But back to the point. We spent the first four days of our vacation in Yellowstone, and seeing Old Faithful and many of the other geysers in the park was certainly a high point. We watched Old Faithful spout off 2 1/2 times -- once from the road as we were driving to the parking lot, and then once both before and after lunch.
Old Faithful's eruptions can be predicted plus or minus 10 minutes based on the time and length of its last show. We saw it once from a second floor deck inside the Old Faithful Inn, and then again closer to the action.
Of course, we saw a number of other geysers, large and small, including a big one near Old Faithful as we were awaiting another eruption. While those were certainly impressive, the smaller ones were just as interesting since we could get much closer to see it in action (although of course we stayed on the boardwalks).
One of my favorite stops of the trip was Norris Geyser Basin. It was thundering and sprinkling, so we didn't see it all by far, but it was a worthwhile stop with a dramatic view. The gray clouds and rising steam made the scene seem ethereal.
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| Overlooking Norris Geyser Basin earlier in the day. |
Off and on over the next few months I'll be highlighting other parts of our trip to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Utah. Stay tuned!
