Upper Geyser Basin Trail (Old Faithful area) at Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park (52 degrees, chilly, rain in the afternoon

May visit on left, current visit on right (what a dramatic change)

Last weekend we went with our friends Al and Karen to spend some time in the Old Faithful area of Yellowstone National Park. John and I had visited Yellowstone in early May.  You can see in the picture above how different this park looks now since spring has finally arrived. It was Al & Karen's first visit and since we are all here until October we thought the best way to enjoy this magnificent park was to concentrate on one area at a time.  The Old Faithful area is the most popular and certainly unique and weird.  We choose the Upper Basin Geyser Trail since it goes by many geysers (approximately six miles roundtrip).

Upper Geyser Basin Trial

Our first stop was the Visitor Center to find out when some of the predictable geysers were scheduled to go off to help us plan our route.  Old Faithful was due to erupt shortly so we headed out to the Observation Point Trail to observe the eruption 300 feet above. It gave us a wonderful panoramic view of the geysers and Old Faithful. What a great start!

Old Faithful erupting below

Click video below to watch Old Faithful erupt

Afterwards we accidentally headed up to the Solitary Geyser. Although this was not our original intention it was a very cool geyser which erupts about every five minutes.  It became a geyser by accident when in 1915 a diversion channel was built to take water to a nearby resort.  It was never used for this purpose and the channel was removed, however, it continues to entertain us to this day.  

Solitary Geyser eruption

We then headed back down to the boardwalk and left the solitude of the forest. There were lots of boiling pots along the boardwalk which were fun to observe. Plus, there were a lot of strange smells.

Castle Geyser

We passed the area where the Grand Geyser erupts.  It was not scheduled until later in the evening and several folks said it was well worth seeing.  However, it can only be predicted within three hours of eruption and you might have to wait a long time to see it.  So, maybe on another visit we'll check it out. Note how the trees are all dead surrounding the area where it erupts.  

Grand Geyser area

Check out the reflection in this pool

The Sawmill Geyser was very fascinating and actively boiling.  There were several in this area all going at the same time.

Sawmill Geyser

Daisy Geyser erupted in the distance while we were on the boardwalk.  Check out the video below. She erupts about every two hours.

Click on video below to see all the action

The Grotto Geyser has not erupted since 2010, however, it was bubbling and carrying on quite a bit.  I was sure it might go off at anytime. :)

Probably the most famous thermal feature in this area in the Morning Glory Pool.   Karen had purchased "The Photographer's Guide to Yellowstone" by Joseph Lang which gave us some great tips for photographing this area.  The key is sunlight which brings out some of the amazing features. We waited for the sun to come out in this area and were surprised by the difference in the appearance of this pool.  

We left the boardwalk and continued towards Biscuit Basin to check out the Gem Pool area.  This is a less traveled area and a very pretty trail with some scenic overlooks.

John, Al, & Karen

Below is another example of how sunlight changed dramatically the appearance of this pool  

It was about time for the Riverside Geyser to erupt so we headed back and waited and waited and waited.  After about an hour past the estimated eruption the sky started to turn dark and thunder clouds appeared.   With the first crash of lightening we decided to leave and of coarse only then did it decide to erupt.  This geyser can cause a pretty rainbow across the water during sunny weather but even without it this was a spectacular one to watch.  

Click on the video below to see the eruption

The lightening and threat of thunderstorms made the last one and half miles go by very quickly. We did not get very wet but certainly got a good work out.  Afterwards we had a nice dinner at the cafeteria and headed home after a very amazing day.  We really enjoy hiking with Al and Karen. More trips are planned in the future so be sure to check back. 

Fun Hike With Blogging Friends - Heron Pond & Swan Lake

(Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park) 56 degrees, blue skies

Beautiful Colter Bay

We spend a delightful day together last week with one of our blogging friends, Al and Karen, hiking out to Heron Pond and Swan Lake.  This is the first time we have met, however, we felt like long time friends. Karen writes a great blog called Wish Upon A RV Star. We have a lot in common: 1) frequently workamp 2) RV Dreamers having attended separate rallies 3) love to kayak 4) love dogs 5) enjoy exploring new places and so much more. It's like we've been friends forever which frequently happens when you finally met a blogging friend.  

Karen, Al,  and John

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast with great views at Signal Mountain and then set out to Colter Bay for our hike. The weather  was chilly but the blue skies made everything seem so perfect.  Bear spray was taken along just in case.

The hike is easy and runs along some of the beautiful shore of Jackson Lake. It's a loop trail, however, be sure to follow a hiking guide because at times it's not clearly marked. The trailhead has several options and the one we choose was about 3 1/2 miles in length with little elevation change.

Wildflowers were blooming and we saw a few birds mostly from a distance (Trumpeter Swans, Bufflehead, White Pelicans, Cinnamon Teal, and lots of Canada Geese. ) 

Large Beaver Dam

Heron Pond was very pretty.  Check out the clouds reflecting in the water.  Water lilies were plentiful and about ready to bloom.  

Heron Pond

                                                                                                                                                           

Mount Moran

A short time later we came upon Swan Lake. We stopped several times just to drink in the spectacular scenery. John says this is his favorite hike to date.  

Swan Lake

The last part of the hike went through a very lush forest.  The light was dappling through the trees and I'm sure there were fairies hiding in the tall grasses.  :)

One last view of Jackson Lake and the mountains was seen as we wound back to the parking lot. There were a few folks kayaking and canoeing in the lake.  It's still a little too chilly for us but we'll soon be out there.

Afterwards we followed Al and Karen back to where they are workamping this summer - Luton's Teton Cabins.  It's a beautiful ranch with nineteen cabins constructed by the owners about 19 years ago. They gave us a nice tour and told us about their job responsibilities.  It's hard work clearing all these cabins, however, the owners have been great to them and it rewarding working for a place which provides a top notch experience (rated 5 stars on Trip Advisor). Check out their recent blog which tells about their new job and location.

Next week we are planning a trip to Yellowstone with Al & Karen.  We are really looking forward to it.  Check back soon for more details.

Jenny Lake HIke to Hidden Falls

Grand Teton National Park (62 degrees, blue skies)

Jenny Lake

The iconic and spectacular Jenny Lake was the first area developed in the Grand Tetons National Park in the the early 1900's. There are numerous trails around the beautiful lake.  However, be prepared for crowds of people and very busy trails.   

We stopped at the visitor center to get some suggestions due to many of the trails being under construction and to be sure we didn't choose a snow packed trail.  Jenny Lake has been  literally loved to death and a 16.4 million dollar project is underway to repair trails, bridges, and visitor complex.  

The ranger suggested we take the horse trail out to the Hidden Fall area and take the ferry back.  It was about a three mile hike with a 750 foot elevation. 

One of the GTA bookstores (the company we work for this summer) is also located in the visitor center.  It's a small store and has a nice inventory of guides and hiking supplies.  

The trails are well marked and usually run right along the lake.  However, right now you take a detour up to the horse trail.  This trail is very rugged with lots of loose rock.  I use two walking sticks when hiking now.  This was suggested to me  last year and I have found it much easier to hike with them. It gives me a greater sense of balance. I have nice titanium poles which are very light weight and collapsible.  It was a great investment. 

You could often see pretty views of the lake as you walked along the trail.

We did need to pull over often to let people pass.  The trail was very busy which surprised us since the season has not really started yet.

It took us about two hours to get out to the falls.  There was still snow in this area but we were able to get over to the falls without too much difficulty.

Here is a beautiful video of the falls.  Due to the snow melt it was roaring and quite spectacular.  

A very fat marmot was hanging out in the area too.These are large squirrels commonly seen in the mountains.  He was very tame and looking for a few snacks from visitors. Sorry Charlie we don't feed wildlife.  

From here you could travel up to Inspiration Point but we decided to head down to the ferry instead due to a lot of snow being up in this area and numerous switchbacks.

The ferry ride ($9 one way/person) was nice and leaves about every 20 minutes until 7 pm.  There are also one hour scenic trips three times a day around the lake. It was fun to look back over the area we had just hiked.  If you decide to hike completely around the lake and not take the ferry it's about 7.7 miles.  Be sure to get an early start. 

There is still snow in high elevations

As we were heading back to the parking lot we saw this very pretty bird, a Western Tangier.  What a striking bird and a new one for us too.

Although the views were spectacular I found this hike a little too difficult for me and way too crowded. Next time I think we will try the scenic boat trip instead or get a very early start.  However, it was a great day to be out enjoying this beautiful place.