Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

On our second full day at Yellowstone, we set out early to see the sights.  Our first stop was to West Thumb Geyser Basin.  Though it's one of the smaller geyser basins in the park, we both think it's our favorite because of the gorgeous Yellowstone Lake in the backdrop.  It's underrated, which is fine with us, since it means smaller crowds!  While at West Thumb, we spotted our first wildlife in the park: elk! One elk was grazing and oblivious to all the tourists taking photos, while another elk down near the geyser appeared to be very agitated.  One of the park rangers said that the elk was agitated because her young calf was nearby.  The ranger closed off a portion of the viewing area so that people couldn't get any closer--this was probably to protect us from an angry elk, and also to protect the elk and her young.

We stopped at a couple of other points in the park and then finally arrived at the iconic Old Faithful Geyser.  We had just missed the eruption of Old Faithful when we got there.  We were able to catch the tail end of its spew.  Not a big deal though, because true to her name, Old Faithful erupts regularly almost every 90 minutes.  We walked along the boardwalks and designated pathways around the area and found plenty of other things to see as we waited for her next timed eruption.  (It's impressive how the park rangers have her estimated eruptions down pretty accurately.)   

After ooohh-ing and aahh-ing over her spews of boiling water 100+ feet into the air--along with hundreds of other visitors--we lunched at the historic Old Faithful Inn.  The Inn had been completely booked and are already taking reservations for summer 2012, and it's easy to see why.  The Inn is made of logs and wood, and it's incredibly rustic and beautiful.  I can totally imagine spending a day curled up next to the huge fireplace with a book and the views of the park. 

After lunch, we were lucky to witness another Old Faithful eruption.  We made our way to other parts of the park and also hiked down to the area of the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone," where the river had carved out massive boulders.  We stood at the top of the roaring lower falls and admired all the rushing water.  I have to admit--being this close to the waterfall and seeing all the rapids was a bit scary!

ELK

Elk burger and bison ravioli