August 26

The early morning was all rain, clouds, and plenty of fog. The entire Yellowstone caldera was covered in the white stuff. Could not see for more than a few hundred yards. By 10 AM the clouds had moved on and the sun had eliminated the fog. That made for a wonderful view of the Grand Prismatic Spring. Now I know where the professionals stand when they get their photo gallery level images. But this all happened after I cut open my nose on the Big Log at Fairy Falls. This is a 5-mile roundtrip hike to the 200-foot tall waterfall, one of the most spectacular in the park. Jamie, who works in the dental field, took the lead in evaluating my condition. After stopping the bleeding on the 1.5” long gash, and applying a couple of bandages, I headed to the clinic at the Old Faithful complex. The receptionist, nurse, and PA all knew what happened once I mentioned “Fairy Falls”. I was the fifth person this year to have tripped on the Big Log, followed by a visit to their clinic. Thanks to a great team at the clinic. I will mention to the park staff it might be a good idea to move that piece of wood.

Prior to starting the hike, I was driving around the Geyser region, stopping at Fountain Paint Pot, Biscuit Basin, and Black Sand Basin sub-areas, because it seemed the rain was going to be a kibosh on long hikes. On Fountain Flat Drive I came across about 50 bison. Cars were stopping to snap keepsake photos. The gentle beasts were right by the road, with a few crossing back and forth. But as the clouds started to disappear, I headed to Fairy Falls.

The complex at Old Faithful has changed since my last visit to the park. A huge new (new for me) VC is next to the famous Old Faithful Inn. A couple more buildings with food and services seem to have been added. And there are more benches around Old Faithful Geyser (my memory of a visit in the 1980s was no benches). Let me tell you, they were needed. Every bench was full at the 2:04 PM and 3:17 PM eruptions, along with hundreds of people standing (the place practically shut down for 30 minutes due to a heavy rainstorm, so everyone was still around for the 3:17 PM event). With lunch and a rested nose, I began the loop around the Upper Geyser section. Only problem was three bull bison not wanting anyone to walk on the main paved path. But us humans can adapt. A few folks found a detour which could be used through a section of woods, and most of us left the bison behind. Though, not two young men. After the bulls stepped off the path to munch some grass, these two guys walked towards the bull who was closest to the path in order to obtain an up-close-and-personal photo. Luckily the bull was more interested in the grass than, as the Hulk puts it in the Avengers movie, puny humans… ok, so he said, “puny god”, but you get the point.

Any visit to Yellowstone requires walking on the boardwalks in the Upper Geyser section, since you can do this in between Old Faithful eruptions (around 60 to 100 minutes between). I was able to view Grand Geyser erupting but from a distance because it went off before its expected time window. This guy is the tallest geyser (up to 200 feet) which erupts on a regular schedule (every 7 to 15 hours, on average). Be sure to check at the VC for its estimated timing, because it is one spectacular sight. While walking in this section of Upper Geyser, I met a great family from Canada. They even know the town of Botha, where my maternal grandfather grew up, along with his three siblings. To know of Botha is quite something, since it is so small, out on the prairie. They wished me the best on completing the Quest.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity of people and cars in the park today. It was not bad even though some of the smaller parking lots were full starting mid-day. Traffic kept moving without delay, and there was plenty of room on all the boardwalks. The Old Faithful complex had plenty of parking. Maybe the fact school has started in most states contributed to the relative calm. Will see how Hayden Valley and Canyon Village look tomorrow.