Getting it right.

     That's correct, it's off to Yellowstone a second time, and this time we're going to get it right. We had a GREAT time in 2012 staying in West Yellowstone, MT three nights, Yellowstone Lake cabins three nights, and Colter Bay cabins (Grand Teton National Park) three nights. But after an all-too-short, six-day experience in the park, we knew we needed more time to see everything. As you will see--if you have enough time, courage, and caffeine to read through this account--we this time did it right.

     Sunday, 24Aug14, the Philadelphia airport, around 5:30 AM. That's me, waiting, as usual, for Sandi to come out of the can.

     Sunrise. And also rising, as we prepare to slip the surly bonds of earth*, blood pressures. Neither of us like to fly.

     On our way to Salt Lake City.

     In the aluminum tube, 35,000 feet above safety. The keening begins around the time the wheels lift off the ground. And I'M the one keening! You don't want to know what Sandi's doing.

     *see http://www.woodiescciclub.com/high-flight.htm

Idaho Falls.

     It's easier to "make time" when you're heading west, and even though our flight out of Philly left around seven-fifteen we were on the road in our rental by ten-fifteen Mountain Time; you gain two hours. Out of the airport in a 2014 Toyota RAV-4, left onto I-15, and into the desert. I took these pictures at the first rest stop.

     A digression on driving in the West: the speed limit on the Interstate is often 80 mph. At one point I was going 87 mph and a guy passed me in a pickup pulling a horse trailer. They're pretty manly out here, and certainly crazy.

     We got to the Idaho Falls Sleep Inn around two, checked in and did some repacking and resting, then headed out for our provisions. More on this later, but you're trying to buy just about as much as you think you're going to need for the ten days in the Park as it's a bit hard--and much more expensive--to buy food once you're in. Between the Super Walmart and Albertson's, two ice chests, the paper products, food, and, of course, bear spray we spent about $200.
   
     After provisioning, we ate dinner at Jalisco's http://tinyurl.com/nf6tlhb and then walked in and around the greenway and parks along the Snake River, right across the street from the restaurant.

Into the park.

     Monday, August 25th. After our breakfast in the motel and a final stop at a grocery store, we left Idaho Falls for West Yellowstone, Montana--the west entrance of the park is right in the town. Here's what our little SUV looked like full of our stuff.

     From the rear...

     ...and from the front.

     Note the boxes of cereal on the right. You don't want to have to buy a three dollar box of Raisin Nut Bran in the park...for six dollars!

     These next three were taken in West Yellowstone. It's a cute little resort town full of knick-knack and souvenir stores, restaurants, coffee houses, and bakeries, and a ranger station where, due to my advanced age (62), I was able to buy my $10 lifetime National Park pass (one per car). Very exciting. I smiled so widely my dentures nearly flew out of my mouth!

    Outside the army/navy store:

     We had a scrumptious cinnamon roll from the Woodside:

     The 437,912th photo of Sandi emerging from a bathroom; she knows to smile as she opens the door.

   
     And now we're in the park. Right away we stopped to watch a small group of elk grazing alongside the Madison River, and I took this girl's picture as she crossed to the other bank.

Nez Perce Creek.

     This won't be the only time I'll post this map, the official and ubiquitous map of Yellowstone Park. It gives you an idea of the scope of the park, and especially driving distances and times. Click to enlarge.

     Look to the left edge just above the middle. We came in the West Entrance, from West Yellowstone, MT. It's about 14 miles from the park entrance to Madison Junction.

     Digression: a note on the major intersections in the park. When you're sitting in your comfortable chair at home and reading about your upcoming adventure, it's natural to think that, like everywhere else in the civilized world, intersections have businesses and services and rest rooms and stuff. Uh...no. Madison Junction is just the meeting of two roads, although thankfully there's a public restroom nearby. And without putting too fine a point on it, you want to learn where all the public bathrooms are located.
 
     Sandi had done just a ton or research this time, and knew, by consulting her exhaustive compendium "If It's Wednesday, This Must Be Grand Prismatic Spring", Volume Three, Chapter Seven, Page 1481 ("Picnic Areas, Yellowstone Park, graded by 1) scenery, 2) likelihood of seeing animals, 3) proximity to water, and 4) the presence of a porta-potty") that the Nez Perce picnic area, about halfway from Madison Junction to the Upper Geyser Basin, would be a good one. It's not named on the map but is a little bit south and west of the green "Y" in Yellowstone National Park.

 
     Hey, I didn't say we'd be eating gourmet food, unless Caffieine-Free Diet MUG Root beer and taco chips are gourmet.

     I occasionally get my picture taken, just to prove I was there.

     Every picnic table in the park has this metal warning on it. You learn to eat with an eye to the trees.
   

Iffyness.

     In 2012 we had one or two days of grey clouds and some spatterings of rain but for the most part it was bright, blue skies and fat, white clouds. We expected that again in 2014 but got some iffiness. This was taken on Firehole Canyon Drive.

   
     And this was taken as we were heading south towards Firehole Lake Drive. Not iffiness, rain.

     Firehole Lake Drive http://tinyurl.com/kljd4cy is about halfway between Madison Junction and Old Faithful, on the opposite side of the road from Fountain Paint Pots. About half a mile in is Firehole Spring.

     Great Fountain (of which much more later) and White Dome are further on, and we got to see White Dome erupt up close, I think for the first time. This is it from the road, at Firehole Spring.

     And here it is up close.

   
     Waiting for the eruption. That would be Sandi right in the middle of the picture, talking to two women about the geyser.

     It bears repeating from 2012 what I consider a truism: it's very hard to do justice to these geysers in pictures, and not just because I'm strictly an amateur photographer. It's just difficult to represent the noise and the smell and the feel and especially the scale of many of the features. By the time White Dome went off it had clouded up again and I didn't catch a good one. It's much bigger than this.

     From the drive we headed south to check in to our accommodations at Old Faithful. You can stay just outside of the park, in West Yellowstone, MT (west), Gardiner, MT (north), or Silver Gate and Cooke City, MT (northeast), or you can stay in a hotel or lodges at Mammoth, Old Faithful, Roosevelt, and Lake Yellowstone. We opt for the cabins that are located near all these areas, as they are cheaper, more private, and quieter. Here's what an Old Faithful Snow Lodge cabin looks like. Cute.

Old Faithful.

     We nested (as Sandi calls it), by hauling everything in from the car, unpacking our suitcases, and setting up the room right for a four night stay, the longest of the trip. Then it's out to the visitor's center,  Old Faithful, and the Upper Geyser Basin. The really cool thing about the Snow Lodge cabins is their proximity to the big Old Faithful Visitor's Center and the trails of the Upper Geyser Basin, just a five minute walk away.

     Here Sandi begins her traditional "pestering of the ranger" ritual. Note on the wall to Sandi's left, just to the left of the gray column, a black, gray, and white board on the wall titled  "Geyser Predictions." That's really why we're here.

   
     Old Faithful is pretty big and, as geysers go, very regular. It's the most well-known feature of the park, and a visitor's center with gift shop and museum, two inns, a lodge, restaurants, a general store, a service station, and a bunch of other things, including our cabin, have been built to one side of it. Here's the view from inside the center...

     ... and walking out to get a closer look.

    The crowds gather. We've walked over to in front of Old Faithful Lodge on the far end of the semicircle. That's the Old Faithful Inn in the background.

     There it goes, between 90 and 180 feet or so high, and right on time.