Ridge of the Rockies - West Yellowstone Rest Day

No riding today - the only rest day of the tour.  It was a beautiful day in West Yellowstone, so after getting caught up on laundry, Retta and I headed to Yellowstone National Park.  Traffic into the park was heavy as to be expected on a sunny July day.  Once we got into the correct lane (pre-paid passes), we moved along and were soon on the main road to Old Faithful Geyser.

Along the way to Old Faithful, traffic had stopped in order for visitors to look at a couple of bison among the trees.  Plenty of signs were posted to the effect that no stopping along the roadway is allowed, but people tend to ignore regulations when intent on seeing something new and strange.  Retta did get a picture of part of the bison as we passed.

We were fortunate to arrive at the Old Faithful site about 15 minutes before the next expected eruption.  Eruptions are generally 60 - 90 minutes apart.  The geyser only delayed an additional 10 minutes before blowing.

There is a lot more to Yellowstone Park than Old Faithful, but we didn't want to spend most of the day driving through the park, so returned the way we came to West Yellowstone MT.  Our little excursion still took about 4 hours overall.

For a fitting end to the day, we had a dinner of bison steak (Retta) and a bison burger (me).

Bison in the woods

Madison River in Yellowstone

Some of the crowd waiting for Old Faithful

Starting to release some water

More steam and water

Full steam.  The performance might have lasted a minute or two.

Blue diamond spring pool