Road Trip Day 8

This day started with a bang...as in the back hatch of the car against my head. We've only had this car for 8 years, you'd think I'd know better. Luckily, my glasses survived the fall to the pavement, and I'm sporting a lovely knot and probable bruise above my left eye. Not all adventure is fun.

After spending a few minutes with an ice pack, we finished loading everything up and headed to the lodge to check out. Again, the smoke made it hard to see the mountains. We had breakfast again at the Pioneer Grill. I really enjoyed our meals there and our stay at Jackson Lake Lodge.

Except for some road construction in Grand Teton, the drive to Yellowstone was smooth and easy. After stopping for a photo at the Yellowstone sign, we headed into the park. The first stop was to take a look at Lewis River and the steep canyon it has carved, then at Lewis Falls. Next stop was at Kepler Cascades.

We briefly stopped at the Grant visitor center (yeah, another passport stamp!) then made our way to Old Faithful Inn. After checking in, we decided to walk out to see Old Faithful. Perfect timing, as it erupted within 5 minutes. Awesome! By this time, hunger was setting in so we walked to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge for lunch.

Now it was time for some serious geyser viewing. The Upper Geyser Basin is unlike anything I've ever seen. Geysers of all shapes and sizes, colorful pools, the beautiful Firehole River. We walked for a couple of hours. Had hoped to see Grand geyser erupt but it started earlier than the predicted time we'd seen at the visitors center. Saw it from a distance though and it looked grand indeed.

Feet tired and rain threatening, we headed back to the inn and moved our things into our room. We're in the west wing, added to the original inn in the 1930's. The room is smaller than our “modern” hotel rooms but it is comfortable and charming. Staying here has been a dream of mine for many years.

A few pics from the day: