Old Faithful…who can come to Yellowstone and not see old Faithful. The entire geyser basin is amazing. We sat on the balcony of the Old Faithful Lodge and watched the geyser blow. Then we took a tour of the Old Faithful Inn to learn about its architecture and its history. The Inn itself is a treasure from the early days of the park. After the tour we ate lunch in the dining room. The meal was good and the ambiance was old fashioned. The Inn has such a 1900s feel, even the bathrooms are in an elegant art deco style. I’ve never before been tempted to
take a picture of a bathroom but the ladies room was lovely. We had a young man for a waiter who was very friendly and congenial. The company, Xanterra, who is the contractor for the commercial areas in the park seems to do a very good job. There were plenty of service people in the shops and restaurants. Many are young people from different places including overseas who spend the summer working here and live in dorms. There are also retired couples who work in various capacities and live in their rigs in the Fishing Bridge campground. Doesn’t that sound like a fantastic way to spend a summer? After lunch we wandered around the geyser basin and looked at the various features. I took several movies of the bubbling, gurgling, spitting and roiling features that I plan to put into a movie and will post it. We drove through to Madison and then through the construction before Norris. Next, we headed to the Canyon area where there are lots of wildlife. However, people stop in the middle of the road and block traffic to take a picture of a buffalo. You can imagine what Chuck had to say about that! We have seen 2 elk, a moose, many buffalo, white pelicans, an eagle and the recently reintroduced grey wolf. No bears – although the rangers tell you to make noise on the trail so you don’t sneak up on one. One species that is abundantly represented is people. As lovely as the scenery is, I am tired of all the cars, traffic and people everywhere. You can’t pull over on one of the turnouts to see anything because they are jammed. We wanted to see the paint pots but could not find a parking place after circling twice. I know this is the busiest time for the park but I hope we can come back in autumn and avoid all the people…and mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were awful in most of the areas but the Old Faithful geyser basin. Guess mosquitoes are smart enough to stay away from all that hot water. At the campground, they swarm people and dogs alike and make the outdoors miserable.
Old Faithful…who can come to Yellowstone and not see old Faithful. The entire geyser basin is amazing. We sat on the balcony of the Old Faithful Lodge and watched the geyser blow. Then we took a tour of the Old Faithful Inn to learn about its architecture and its history. The Inn itself is a treasure from the early days of the park. After the tour we ate lunch in the dining room. The meal was good and the ambiance was old fashioned. The Inn has such a 1900s feel, even the bathrooms are in an elegant art deco style. I’ve never before been tempted to 
take a picture of a bathroom but the ladies room was lovely. We had a young man for a waiter who was very friendly and congenial. The company, Xanterra, who is the contractor for the commercial areas in the park seems to do a very good job. There were plenty of service people in the shops and restaurants. Many are young people from different places including overseas who spend the summer working here and live in dorms. There are also retired couples who work in various capacities and live in their rigs in the Fishing Bridge campground. Doesn’t that sound like a fantastic way to spend a summer? After lunch we wandered around the geyser basin and looked at the various features. I took several movies of the bubbling, gurgling, spitting and roiling features that I plan to put into a movie and will post it. We drove through to Madison and then through the construction before Norris. Next, we headed to the Canyon area where there are lots of wildlife. However, people stop in the middle of the road and block traffic to take a picture of a buffalo. You can imagine what Chuck had to say about that! We have seen 2 elk, a moose, many buffalo, white pelicans, an eagle and the recently reintroduced grey wolf. No bears – although the rangers tell you to make noise on the trail so you don’t sneak up on one. One species that is abundantly represented is people. As lovely as the scenery is, I am tired of all the cars, traffic and people everywhere. You can’t pull over on one of the turnouts to see anything because they are jammed. We wanted to see the paint pots but could not find a parking place after circling twice. I know this is the busiest time for the park but I hope we can come back in autumn and avoid all the people…and mosquitoes. Mosquitoes were awful in most of the areas but the Old Faithful geyser basin. Guess mosquitoes are smart enough to stay away from all that hot water. At the campground, they swarm people and dogs alike and make the outdoors miserable. 
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