Madison Campground
Got up at around 5:30 am to make coffee ane enjoy the rising sun. Took my first cup for a walk through the woods. Walked only a couple hundred feet and made it to a clearing where the MAdison River streched out before me. It was so beautiful, I had to go get Kathi and we whispered to one another as the sun rose.
Madison morning....
As the girls slept, Kathi rustled up some pancakes for breakfast. When the girls got up they were cold! Kathi figured out that after she was finished making breakfast on the grittle the girls could flip it upside down and warm their bottoms as they ate.
Here's Hailey demonstrating the technique....
We left Madison for out trip to the Old Faithful (OF) area of the Upper Geyser Basin. But before OF, we took the Firehole Lake drive loop across from Fountain Paint Pots and enjoyed seeing Great Fountain Geyser.
I had read that you could get a better psespective of Old Faithful AND avoid the crowds if you hiked up Geyser Hill.
Geyser Hill Trail...
Kathi was still suffering from her brochitis so we took it easy up the trail, but found ourselves in position with about a half hour to spare. We rested, drank water and had a snack as a few other people drifted in. It seemed like a long wait, and OF was a little late.
Old Faithful as seen from Geyser Hill....
I have to say, maybe becaue of all the hype, the blow was a little disappointing, especially after dragging everyone up the trail. One side benefit of climbing Geyser Hill was seeing Solitary Geyser - very beautiful, and there was a shady spot to rest before continuing on down the trail.
Solitary Geyser...
Getting back to the geyser boardwalk near OF was an easy downhill stroll.
One the way down...
Kathi's bronchitis had left her winded and Dana was tired so Hailey and I continued on to look at more geysers. I'm not sure how much Hailey wanted to see more geysers, but she took great pleasure that she was doing something Dana wasn't and in calling Dana a "ditcher" That still enters into the conversaiton from time to time today!
On our loop, Hailey and I particularly enjoyed Grand Geyser, Chromatic Pool, Beauty Pool, and Grotto Geyser.
defunct geyser...
trees with "bobby socks" near Grand Geyser...
Chromatic Pool....
Grotto Geyser....
We made it back for lunch and an ice cream and then got in the car and headed towards Canyon Village where we would camp for the rest of our stay. We had heard that Canyon was not the best campground - that it was the Disneyland of campgrounds (and not in a good way). However, it was much nicer than I imagined. Besides, we weren't spening a whole lot of time in the campgrounds.
We saw male elk on out way to the Mud Volcano area and made a stop to cool off by dipping our toes into the Yellowstone River.
We saw numerous boiling mud springs along the Mud Volcano trail.
We also drove through the Hayden Valley and marvelled at the herds of buffalo. We saw a few males squaring off and butting heads in some late mating season rivalry. One buffalo, with apprently bad eyesight, almost rammed an Austim Mini Cooper.
We checked in at Canyon campsite C-69. Kathi made spagetti for supper. We washed dishes, brushed teeth and hit the hay. Long, but oh so rewarding days!
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