We woke up early from our home-away-from-home at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. It was a frigid -3 degrees Fahrenheit as we waited, silently anticipating Old Faithful’s eruption. At 7:31 am Old Faithful made an appearance, spreading a sense of awe within the group. Today was filled with trees of rime ice, nature reflection, geysers, rainbows of colors, and so much more. 

Our walk through the Upper Geyser Basin had so many surprises. We saw Grand, Beehive, and Castle geysers and ended up looking like some of the rime ice trees as our hats and hair froze around us. 

We listened for geyser gurgles, looked at the steam, and saw diamond dust. Anne Coe, an American contemporary painter, summarized the Geyser when she said, “It is the place where the center of the earth finds an exit and gives us a glimpse of its soul” (1998). As we turned every corner, the beauty of the landscape reminded us of the photos we’re used to seeing on our computer screens. 

After the geyser basin walk, we loaded the snowcoach to continue our journey through geyser land. Only a few minutes down the road, we stopped to go for another hike. Sun shining on our faces, we made our way down the snow-covered trail to Thumper (also known as Black Sand Pool). We spent the moment reflecting on the sounds, colors, and feelings that Yellowstone has evoked in us thus far. We concluded that the uninterrupted beauty of Yellowstone has rejuvenated us all.  

Coming back from the geyser, we found a large bull bison blocking our path to the snowcoach. Our fearless driver Norm went to get the snowcoach for us as we scurried quickly up the road, looking back over our shoulders constantly. We entered the vehicle quickly and breathed a sigh of relief to see the bison join another friend in a nearby meadow. 

The Grand Prismatic Spring was not quite what you might imagine, as the famous photos show what an aerial view would look like and we viewed it from the boardwalks surrounding the springs. Through all the steam, we were stunned to see tiny beetles about the size of a pinpoint thriving in the runoff from a hot spring. 

Silex Spring at Fountain Paint Pots had some of the most vibrant colors of the thermal features we saw. It made an artist’s palette pale by comparison, as different microorganisms give thermal features their beautiful colors. When we paused to take in the beauty, we noticed the steam makes an even more special effect: there was a radiant rainbow halo around our shadows when they were cast in a hot spring’s steam.

After a brief delay as we waited for a red fox that seemed to enjoy sitting in the middle of the road, we arrived back at the lodge. After a long, busy two days, it was nice to settle into another cozy evening. We can definitely check the box off for geysers. Onto more wildlife tomorrow!