We've Become Geyser Geeks

We spent much of this day at the Old Faithful Basin. We learned that you can either walk all of the planks and hope to be near a geyser when it erupts or you can sit and wait. Today we walked a lot, but also looked at the written estimates of the next eruption of the various geysers and chose to wait it out. We learned about the differences between the geysers and yearned to see ones go off that were less predictable or less frequent. Waiting for a geyser or walking to see the next bubbling pool, either way, the daylight couldn't last long enough. We chose the longest days of the year to visit these pools and geysers because we just couldn't get enough of them.


One of the unique geysers is Riverside, a fountain geyser. It is along the Firehole River and erupts 75 feet into the air over a 20 minute period. Many geysers have "indicators" as to the imminent eruption and Riverside's indicator is the overflow of water over its cone prior to an eruption. Above you can see its cone with a little overflow and below, the heavier overflow prior to the eruption which we waited for so eagerly.


Waiting patiently for Riverside Geyser.

Waiting some more and looking for the indicator.

Finally, thar she blows!


Riverside Geyser steaming out until the very end.






A future Geyser Gazer.

The colorful archeobacteria of Yellowstone.

Yellow flowers on pinkish red foliaged stems growing in white silt overlooking the crystal blue Firehole River. We are not in Kansas anymore!


Grotto Geyser bubbling behind the kids. We never saw a full eruption of this unique geyser.



Chromatic Pool, beautiful and yet deadly. Not long ago a man tried to retrieve his dog that jumped into this pool. The man died the next day, the dog never made it out of the pool. The planks are the only safe means to see these beautiful pools and geysers. Undersandably, dogs are not allowed on the walkways.



One of the geysers that we definitely had to see was Grand. Everyone talks about it and it is a favorite of many visitors. Grand has some wonderful unique features. It is associated with 2 other geysers, Turban and Vent. Turban Geyser erupts every 20 minutes. A Grand Geyser eruption always follows a Turban eruption. So if Turban erupts and Grand doesn't soon follow, you know you will have another 20 minute wait. During this wait, we would walk down to nearby Sawmill Geyser which was going off quite furiously and frequently. Sawmill is a much smaller geyser, but its spray and mist covered much of the walkway and it allowed us to play in it until we moved back to see the next Turban event that maybe followed by Grand geyser. Along with Grand and Turban, a third geyser, Vent erupts simultaneously, making it a grand event! All of the activity helped to make the time pass and made waiting for Grand, not only bearable, but enjoyable. These geysers are all "must sees" for any trip to Yellowstone.


Here you can see Grand and Vent off to the left side. Turban is behind Grand and in these pictures hides it.

Grand is a fountain geyser and the largest of all geysers in the world. It reaches up to 200 feet and sometimes follows with a second eruption that is taller and bigger than the first. The first eruption lasts 9-16 minutes and if it goes on the longer side, a second eruption is not likely. On this day, Grand did not have a follow-up to this spectacular eruption, but we would be sure to give it a second chance later in the week.

After the fabulous show at Grand geyser, we headed toward Castle and saw it erupt as well. Many years ago, before the walkways were in place, a visitor ran from Grand to Castle and fell into a pool and died. We are thankful for the safe passage to these wondrous geysers.

Castle erupting, and surrounded by the water from its eruption.




You can see the trees that have died as the heat and movement of the vents cause climate change for the trees. The white barren trees are a stark contrast to the lively blue sky and white silt that covers the ground, all of which create the perfect environment for archeobacteria to grow and multiply.


When we ran out of water, we knew it was time to head for some grub and refreshments. Soon after, we moved on to see some other surrounding sights.

We had heard of a unmarked trail that leads to some of the best bubbling mud pots in the park. Always wary of the wild buffalo, we carefully followed this trail, but never found the pots. This was an unnerving hike as it was surrounded by pools and hot spots.


This is the run off from the Grand Prismatic pool.


Walking toward one of our favorite pools.



It had become quite windy and many folks were losing their hats. They would blow off their heads and fly into the mud or the pools. While your inclination is to go after your hat, one cannot venture off of the walkway. So as to not endanger the natural environment, I chose a secured bandana to keep my hair in place.
We are walking up to Grand Prismatic pool. See the light blue and orange coloring in the rising steam? It was quite beautiful.

Walking closer to Grand Prismatic and its colorful steam.

Bacteria mats of Grand Prismatic.

Grand Prisnmatic and bacteria mats in all of their glory. We love them.

Now you see us....

now you don't. The steam from Grand Prismatic and the wind altered the visibility greatly. We could see the steam moving in toward us and we prepared to stand still on the walkway. It was an incredible sensation to be warmed and enveloped by the steam of this awesome pool.