Hi! I’m Allie and I sold everything in 2020 to live solo in my RV full time. Traveling the United States, I camp mostly in public lands for free as I hike, bike and seek out quiet spots in nature.
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Yellowstone National Park Day 1 : Volcanic Features and Old Faithful
Call me silly but Yellowstone National Park was never on my bucket list to see. I honestly don’t know why. I’m an introvert so maybe thinking of all the crowds made me nervous to go.
But I can say I’m really glad I did visit Yellowstone!
It takes more than 2 days to enjoy this wonder of nature but I did only visit for 2 days. Here is my first day in Yellowstone NP.
The Early RV Gets the Parking Spot
I left very early in the morning to drive into Yellowstone National Park. It can be difficult at times to find parking for my RV, Minnie Rambles. Some parks have no RV parking and some have ample – I never know what I’m going to get.
The southern entrance is just a few miles north of where I was staying on Grassy Lake Road just south of the YNP entrance- how nice is that?
I was not very impressed driving into Yellowstone NP. The road coming in seems in desperate need of repair and contains a lot of potholes. I hate potholes in the RV since everything shakes so bad. I do understand snow, traffic, floods and other factors should be taken into consideration yet some of the potholes were very deep and could do serious damage to my RV.
It took me about an hour to get to the rather large parking lot. To my delight there was plenty of parking.
Seeing the Famous One – Old Faithful
I decided to view the most famous feature of the park today – Old Faithful! I was under the impression it was the only geyser in the park, not by a long shot! It’s just the most predictable. Going off every 90 minutes or so it’s center stage when it shoots hot water into the air up to 75 feet!
The National Park Service says “Yellowstone National Park preserves the most extraordinary collection of hot springs, geysers, mudpots, and fumaroles on Earth. More than 10,000 hydrothermal features are found here, of which more than 500 are geysers.”
As I walked toward the viewing I realized I completely missed the last eruption of Old Faithful. Yet I soon found Old Faithful is not the only volcanic, hydrothermal feature in the area! I headed toward the boardwalk that provides safety for pedestrians and protection for the natural resources.
It didn’t take long for me to discover the Old Faithful lookout about a half-mile up! I couldn’t resist! I had to see this beautiful place from above (and I get a good hike in as well, I love hiking.)
The trail was a beautiful stark contrast to the area around the geysers where most plants can’t grow due to the excessive heat from the hydrothermal features. On the way up I found pine trees, grass, plants, and flowers! Like much of the surrounding Wyoming forest.
Just as I approached the top, Old Faithful erupted! How exciting!
Down below there looked to be a couple of hundred people watching nature’s show, I was sure glad I was only watching with about 20 people up above.
Finishing Up with Old Faithful
Heading down (and keeping an eye out for grizzly bear) I had 90 minutes or so to kill so I headed for the boardwalk to view the other volcanic features, some just clear blue pools, others bubbling cauldrons.
Getting a bit hungry by this time and in need of groceries, I stopped at the very overpriced general store. Grabbed some bread, lunch meat and a frozen dinner for the night then headed back to my RV for lunch.
With a full belly, I remembered that I wanted to hit the visitor’s center. I got my bike down to ride there. Unfortunately, the park is not very bike-friendly but I didn’t feel like walking.
I started a new tradition this summer. I’d grab a book at every National Park I visit that represents something about that park and its history. This time I just had to grab a book on wolves! They were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 and I’ve always found the wolves an interesting and vital yet tortured part of nature.
I picked up The Rise of Wolf 8 by Rick McIntyre. (aff link)
From the visitor center I headed back to the grocery store for a couple of scoops of ice cream (that was quite the treat while watching Old Faithful!) and went to watch the big show!
Old Faithful did not disappoint. And just like its name it started to spew hot water after about 90 minutes since the last show.
For more photos and video please visit my Yellowstone Instagram post here.
I couldn’t help but ponder how wonderful our world truly is that we are granted so much beauty to enjoy. It’s truly a blessing and I’m beyond grateful!
What is something you are grateful for today?
It can be anything. Sometimes I’m grateful for cheeseburgers and sometimes it’s my health and everything in between. There’s no rules.
