June 5, 2022, Sunday. Yellowstone NP, Day 1

We get breakfast at 6 am because we want to get to Old Faithful before the crowds. We do not try to sign in to our home church service by Zoom because previous attempts were not successful. So for today, our worship will be enjoying God’s creation.

On the way into the park, we see a lighted sign, “Animals in the road.” We come to the entry station, show our identification and prepaid lifetime senior pass, and continue in. Before we go far, we see ahead of us a line of cars, sometimes moving slowly, sometimes stopping. Then we see a herd of bison, mothers and babies, walking down the road and blocking traffic. After about 20-30 minutes, we are able to pass the herd and go on to our destination, the Old Faithful geyser.

We do not know the time of the eruption because the Visitors Center does not open until 9 am, and we arrive at 8. We soon learn the eruption is expected at 7:58 +/ – ten minutes, and it has not yet erupted. It is starting to gurgle, however, a sign that an eruption is immanent, and within five minutes, the eruption starts, much to our enjoyment. It lasts a few minutes, then slows to wispy steam. It is a cool morning in the 40’s, so the amount of steam there and other places is perhaps more than usual.

We walk around the area viewing the various steam jets, until the visitors center opens and we get some information. Then it is back in the car, stopping at several active “basins” of colored pools and active geysers and springs. They are quite remarkable.

We leave the area of geysers and steam pools and drive to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. First the north rim with its view points of the lower falls and the Yellowstone River, then the south rim with its viewpoints of the upper falls and Artists Point. Not as big and grand as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but no less beautiful.

The walls of the canyon are hues of yellow and red, giving the name Yellowstone to the river and the park. It comes from the native American name for the river meaning “yellow rock river.” The red and yellow hues are the result of sulfur and iron in the rocks and oxidation when the rocks are exposed.

From the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we drive to the Lamar Valley, a plain where the Lamar River flows through and one can observe animals in their natural habitat. The area has been called the “Serengeti of Yellowstone.”

Most numerous are the bison, and it is calving season. We also see several grizzlies, a black bear, elk, and several prongo antelope.

By now it is time to check in to our hotel in Gardiner, Montana. After we check in, we begin looking for a place for dinner. The first place recommended to us was closed “due to staff shortage.” The second place we tried was to open at 5 pm, by now it is 5:15 and no one in sight. A place across the street does not have a good report by a couple who was there last night, so we do not go there. A hotel restaurant beside it is not open Sundays. So we end up at a place that serves mostly burgers, get our food, and sit outside to eat. We have elkburgers, and they are quite tasty.