With our exhilarating morning hike behind us, we were all hungry, thirsty and pooped! There was enough time remaining in the day to continue our sightseeing but unfortunately there was little energy between us to continue walking. Dennis was a bit preoccupied with making sure we had enough propane to keep the refrigerator cold since he just stocked the fridge with cold beer. Taking all this into consideration, we decided we would drive to Fishing Bridge Village for propane and then, if time allowed, over to Old Faithful to see one of the world’s most famous guisers.
Yellowstone is comprised of 2.2 million acres so going from village to village is a feat in itself. It was more than 45 miles to go from Canyon Village to Fishing Bridge, separated mainly by Yellowstone Lake. Our first glimpse of the lake was so inviting, blue and icy waters. I’m telling you that Lake should have been classified an ocean! It went on forever. I kept expecting to see a lighthouse in the distance it was so huge. The kids were excited about fishing in the lake, especially since we were visiting Fishing Bridge. Yeah, you guessed it – no fishing at Fishing Bridge. The kids complained about the misleading name for the next 20 miles until we got to the gift shop and I bought them Huckleberry taffy…yuck. With propane tank filled to the brim, Dennis could relax again. With sugar quota met, the boys could relax as well. Me, well, I like being amused. Since Dennis was open for the ride, we decided to make one more stop at Old Faithful and save us the trip in the morning.
We continued south through Yellowstone to the most visited and populated area. I told Dennis it was about 30 minutes away but it was actually 45 because I never seem to calculate properly. As we pulled into the closest parking lot, I thought I was looking at Gillette Stadium. The parking lot was about the size of a lot you would see at the stadium, with the same number of people. There were lodges, restaurants, and gift shops of course. Uncharacteristically of the park, there were no clear signs directing you to the guiser so like everyone else, we followed the crowd then instantly you knew you were at the right place. Three rows of benches surrounded a rather small hill about 50 yards away. Not sure what to do, we sat. And sat. And sat. A couple times I tried to find a “next show” clock to know how much longer we needed to wait for this world famous spectacle. I couldn’t find anything so we waited and waited. The seats started filling in and it wasn’t long until it was standing room only and we had front row seats. The anticipation was growing. Originally, none of us were jazzed about seeing this but we knew we’d regret it if we didn’t but for the first time we were actually getting excited about seeing the trusty water show.
Then it happened. First a little spit and steam came out of the ground. Then another spurt, this time about 20 feet higher. Finally, the ranger must have turned on the water full blast and water jumped 100 feet into the sky. It danced there for a minute and then fell back down and disappeared. Those next couple moments were very confusing. We looked at each other and those around us. Was there more? Should we applaud? People began walking to the gift shops and parking lots. “I suppose we’re through here” I said sarcastically. I don’t know if I expected the earth to open up or hear angles sing but I couldn’t believe we just drove over an hour for a minute of squirting water. Okay, maybe two minutes but the wonder of it all was lost on me and my family. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I can say I saw it but I learned the hard way the reason Old Faithful is famous has everything to do with her being predictable and not because she entertains for hours.
Back in the RV, we decided to eat dinner in the parking lot since it was a good 90 minute ride back to the campsite. We finished the loop around the west side of the park to get another perspective of the landscape. The west side of the park was very mountainous, offering more incredible views and the promise of critters. It was easy to tell if wildlife was in view. Cars would slow down to get a good view. We were forced to stop in the middle of the road at one point when we saw a buffalo strolling down the side of the road without a care in the world. It was walking toward us and right in front of our RV it stopped. This wonderfully huge and ugly creature was literally 4 feet away. He looked directly at us scrambling to grab our cameras to immortalize this moment and then crossed the street as if to say he had the right of way. I never got the shot.
In the morning, we packed up early and headed out for another long day of driving. My only minor disappointment with Yellowstone was that I never got to see a bear, from a far of course. I wanted to load my pictures on the computer so Cam rode shotgun. All we needed was to make ONE turn and we’d be on the correct road for the west exit. Cameron pointed the way for Dennis and off we went…in the wrong direction. Betty kept telling us to “make a legal U turn” but we thought the mountain air confused her so we just ignored her warnings. From behind the laptop, I would question if this looked familiar. Dennis would shrug his shoulders and tell me it all looked the same to him after hours and hours of being behind the wheel.
After ½ hour, I decided to take a serious look at the map and realized we were heading north, not west. Not happy about an extra 60 minutes to exit the park, we were trying to make the best of seeing new views and then, the sight that made it all worthwhile…a baby grizzly bear about 10 feet off the side of the road. After two more bear sightings, another pass through Mammoth Hot Springs and through a Bald Eagle sanctuary with 2 residents perched high in the tree, we made it down to the west exit and off to our next stop just outside Salt Lake City.