20240922 EF Go Ahead National Parks Bus Tour Day 11/20 - Yellowstone

American West Bus Tour Day 11/20 - Tetons in the morning, Tetons in the evening, Yellowstone all day long

Heads up, dear readers...it's another photo-heavy post today because...well...you'll understand.

Today was Yellowstone day. But we aren't staying in Yellowstone. We're staying in Jackson. This means we have to drive past the Tetons to get to Yellowstone. Sounds like photos.

We stopped at Snake River Overlook for more looks at the Tetons.

Grand Teton, looking beautiful

Our entire group of 30 travels with tour director, Geoff right up front

No clouds were obscuring Grand Teton today

A little fog makes the view a little better

More wildlife

We rolled and spotted some wild bison in the distance.

We entered Grand Teton National Park on the way to Yellowstone.

We drove past the Tetons as they started being bathed in morning golden sunshine. We stopped at Oxbow Bend Turnout to capture those perfect views of the Tetons in this beautiful light.

Our fearless leader, Geoff, being one with the Snake River

Geese, showing us their butts

There was water, so...

Does this look like a postcard?

Arlona spotted a lone pelican

Who knew there were pelicans in Wyoming?

We continued on.

We passed several areas where fires were allowed to burn - nature handles the regrowth

Arriving in Yellowstone

We crossed the Continental Divide several times today

A divide is a spot on a continent where rainfall on one side flows naturally in one direction and on the other side, the other direction

Finally, it was time for Yellowstone.  We parked right by Old Faithful and timed it perfectly. Old Faithful erupted shortly before we arrived, meaning we had more than an hour to explore before we needed to grab seats to view the next eruption. Old Faithful erupts every 92 minutes +/- 10 minutes. We were on for a 12:33 eruption, of course, with the ten-minute over/under window.

Old Faithful was venting steam after its recent eruption

Since we had time before the blow, we walked the boardwalk that circles the area, passing by a ton of thermal features.

The Yellowstone River

Looking back at Old Faithful

This entire area is a super volcano and there are thermal features everywhere you look

Here is a video compilation of several of the thermal features.

Flags atop the Yellowstone Hotel - the U.S. flag and the flags of all three states that Yellowstone touches - Wyoming, Idaho, Montana

Eruption time was approaching and that meant that the benches were quickly filling. We made our way over to the Old Faithful viewing area and scored front-row seating. As 12:33 approached, Old Faithful made a couple preview spurts, just to tease the audience. 

Another geyser in the distance also gave the audience an appetizer for the main show.

12:33 came and went, but at about 12:38, well within the ten-minute +/- window, the show started.

Here's the show.

It lasted roughly five minutes and ended with applause from the appreciative audience. Old Faithful expelled scalding water around 130 feet in the air along with the associated steam and spray. It was an impressive show.

With the show over, we boarded the bus and headed to our next destination. We passed more wild bison on the way.

We stopped at Midway Geyser Basin, home to Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring.

High-temperature waterfalls running into the Firehole River

Firehole River

Excelsior Geyser

Grand Prismatic Spring

The various colors are caused by bacterial mattes reacting to differentiate temperatures 

Opal Pool

Turquoise Pool

We continued on.

More bison

We made a stop to check out the Lower Falls and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

There are two falls here - we went to the lower falls, and the larger of the two at roughly 300 feet

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

As we walked out, we could hear chirping

This chipmunk was chirping at everyone walking by

We saw huge herds of wild bison as we left Yellowstone.

We made a stop with a view of beautiful Yellowstone Lake.

We passed the Tetons on the way back to Jackson. The sun was setting behind them, making for a more silhouetted appearance.

We made our way back to the hotel a little after 7:00. Arlona took a walk to the store to grab more morning caffeine provisions as I started working on today's blog.

Today was a long day but another good day. We saw a lot and took in all kinds of beauty here.

Tomorrow will include more Teton time and a float down the Snake River.