Geysers, Otters and Bison, Oh My!

Day 14 - Wednesday, June 26

It was another day in the park, and we headed to the Southwest section to see Old Faithful. 
She didn't disappoint--it was magnificent! 



Gotta love an otter!

We hiked to the lookout post, which is 200 ft above the site of Old Faithful.  You get there by following a 1/2 mile trail through a wooded area, which had some steep incline to it. (I'm sure our legs will be feeling it tomorrow.)  During the hike we saw an otter, and also a bison in the woods. 
We waited at the lookout point for about 15 minutes and then we saw it!  It got very quiet, a strong wind came through, then small gushes of water came up, and then the big geyser spewed forth.

The view from the side
 

 The views were spectacular!
 From above, it was amazing to see the display of steam and water.  Even from afar, you could hear the cheers and shouts from the crowds of people 200 ft. below as the geyser appeared. The wind caused the steam to block part of our view of the water spewing, but still made it quite a sight.  We decided to hang around for the next eruption, so that we could see it from a different view.   It is about 90 minutes between the eruptions.  We did a little shopping, visited the visitors center, and had a "picnic lunch" of peanut butter crackers and coke while we waited for the next appearance of the geyser.  We were glad we waited to see it.

This is the view from the lookout 200 ft above

 Then, we traveled to Craig Pass and Lake Isa which is on the continental divide.  This separates the watersheds of the oceans.  Yellowstone's Isa Lake is an unusual phenomenon because it contains both Atlantic and Pacific Ocean drainages.  The lake's west side feeds into the Atlantic Ocean through the Firehole River, and the other side feeds into the Pacific, through the Snake River. Confusing????

Obviously, I didn't pay attention in my geology classes either.  I don't remember much about the continental divide, so this was all new.  I also have learned new words, like fumerole, and caldera.






Later,we visited the Kepler Cascades, and viewed these awesome falls, which drop 150 feet!

This elk walked across the road right in front of us!  Spot was with us and went crazy...growling at the big thing. It just wandered to the other side of the road and into the woods.

The bison were also out.

 

Then, as we left the park, the female elk were out to send us on our way.  We ended the evening watching an IMAX movie on Yellowstone, and learned even more about the history and early explorers of Yellowstone Park.  What an amazing story. 

And...what an amazing place to visit.