Celebrating A Special Friends Birthday @ At The Iconic Old Faithful Inn - Yellowstone National Park

Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park (62 degrees bright clear skies, chilly nights)

"Wherever we are,

it is our friends

that make our

world!"

Henry Drummond

Birthday Girl Patsy and Bob

(This is a catch up post... a little longer than usual)

Old Fairthful Lodge

We returned to the Grand Teton/Yellowstone area to celebrate our very special friend, Patsy's, birthday. Reservations were made a long time ago to stay at the beautiful and iconic Old Faithful Inn. This hotel opened in 1904 and was built with massive lodge-pole pine logs. It takes your breath away when you walk into the massive lobby. What a great place to celebrate our special friends birthday. 

Bison soaking in a natural HOT tub

Bison coming out later

We stayed here for two nights and it was great to be able to spend more time in the Upper Geyser Basin. We had seen Old Faithful go off numerous times but there are  much more spectacular geysers here which erupt at less predictable and infrequent basis. You can check at the Visitor Center for the approximate times but now there is a convenient free app for your smartphone which keep you updated too.

Grotto Geyser

We checked into our small rustic and cozy room. There is no dresser or closet with only pegs on the log walls to hang your things. There is also a small sink. We opted for a shared bath room to save money. However, we were not aware the shower would require going down a long hallway on the first floor, through the very busy lobby, and then up the stairs to the second level and down another long hallway. Sheesh!  Oh well, we took it in stride because after all we are campers! They did provide some cozy long white robes...thank goodness.

Frick and Frack

After checking in we quickly looked at the geyser schedule and made plans to head out to the Grand Geyser to see if we could witness it's eruption. Most of these geysers have a 90 minute or longer window of time. Only Old Faithful erupts predictably. . You can wait a long time and benches are provided. However, shortly after we arrived it went off in GRAND fashion. It's spectacular and the light caught it in such a beautiful way. 

The Grand Geyser

We had dinner at the Snow Lodge across the street. The food and service was only average and we found this to be true for the restaurants in  the area. We tried several places but really found them to be a little disappointing.

Full moon is red due to fires in the area

At approximately 9:45 pm the Castle Geyser was due to erupt. Patsy wisely declined to not go along with us. However, Bob, John, and I headed out to see it. This time we waited, and waited, and waited, and the temperature started to really drop. There are volunteer geyser gazers who occasionally will be at these eruptions recording certain statistics and taking videos. We met one around 10:30 pm who mentioned it should be going off soon. At this point you are really committed. None of us were exactly dressed for such low temperatures but we hung in there.


Around 11 pm the geyser gazer said sometimes they don't go off. What?? I started to think about Patsy in her warm bed and how very foolish this event was unfolding. Just as I was about to throw in the towel it erupted and it was really cool to see - literally! My photos did not turn out but it will certainly be an event  we will  always remember. Let's just say it took us all a long time to warm up after returning to the hotel...except for the birthday girl.

Morning Glory

Artist Paint Pots (north of Madison)

The next day Bob and Patsy suggested we hike out to the Lone Star Geyser. It's an easy 2 1/2 mile hike each way out to it. This cone style geyser erupts approximately every three hours and shoots about 35 feet into the air for about 30 minutes. The hike is very pretty and runs along a river Patsy and Bob fly fish. The time of the last eruption is not posted due to it 's remoteness, however, hikers coming back can update you to help plan how quickly you need to get there. Take some snacks or lunch. It was a nice relief from the crowds and we found only a few folks waiting for it to erupt. Yellowstone National Park has been jammed this summer but once you get off on a trail the crowds quickly thin out.

Lone Star Geyser

Berry Fire

The next day we headed back to Jackson. We are staying again at the Gros Ventre Campground. Sadly a couple of days later a huge fire erupted near the south entrance of Yellowstone and blocked the road we had just came down. A large resort and two campgrounds had to be evacuated because the fire had leaped across Jackson Lake and the main road. There were fires now all around us. Smoke from another fire in Idaho was has filled the valley at times with smoke. It was difficult to see the Teton Range and the smoke often caused our eyes to burn.

Damage near south entrance extends two 1/2 miles along road

We had visitors coming to see us after we returned. But, after a lot of discussion both cancelled due to the conditions. We were all very disappointed but are planning visits next spring when we return to work for Grand Teton Association (GTA).

Patsy at Yellowstone Lake

Black sand at Yellowstone Lake

So now we had three weeks with no plans. GTA was very short of staff and asked if we could help out at one of their downtown bookstores at the Visitor Center and National Elk Refuge. They offered us a nice full hook up site and pay.  Why not?  This is our first time working in one of the retail stores. The merchandise is of good quality. They have excellent guide books, maps, t-shirts and lots of little things to take home to remember your visit.

Jackson Hole/ Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center

It's sort of like being a cashier at Christmas time in a Walmart. Catching on to the cash register was fairly easy but I did cause it to short circuit a couple of times. Luckily everything can be undone and the staff were very patient and good teachers. John mostly helped stock and updated the inventory. Unfortunately I smashed a few fingers one day in a step stool and required an ER visit. I'm doing a lot better now and took a few days off until it calmed down.

Moose on the loose

Most of the visitors were wanting to know how to get to Yellowstone due to the road closure. or where to find a moose. Where are the elk is a common question. (only at the refuge in the winter).We met a lot of the staff who help run the Visitor Center and Elk Refuge, There are Forrest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Chamber of Commerce, and GTA retail staff all at this location. It's a busy place and the time flew by quickly each day. We work for a non profit company and it makes us feel great that the money made goes directly to the refuge to provide services federal dollars cannot. The center was built with money GTA donated. Nice!

Trumpeter Swan 

We will be leaving tomorrow and heading to Colorado for a couple of rally's. We will be attending a Newmar Fulltimer rally in Canon City and then going to Pueblo for the Newmar International rally. Afterwards we will be heading to Albuquerque New Mexico for the Balloon Fiesta with Bob and Patsy and Jen. This time we will be attending with the Boomers, an Escapee chapter. We are so excited, Be sure to check back soon. Thanks for stopping by today, Life on the road is great!

Majestic Bull Elk