2019 RV/Boat

Friday!

First…the thermometer hanging in a tree down the road, read 32° this morning.  That’s a 70° departure from a week ago.  I even put on a pair of jeans this morning.

Second…after a day in Yellowstone, my observation is that it’s a place enjoyed by hundreds, but thousands would like that experience as well.  The park is without question over crowded.  It’s also not very RV friendly and where it is, parking isn’t controlled so autos take up the RV spaces.  It’s the federal government…need I say more?

It is a beautiful place.  We visited the Old Faithful geyser basin this morning.  Of course Kathy insisted on a hike so we walked a couple miles and saw every steaming, water filled hole in the area.

The Little Firehole River runs through the basin.  It seems to be the life that flows through an otherwise caustic landscape.

There are dozens of these bubbling, boiling pools throughout the area.

Some are quite colorful depending on the minerals they contain.

The main attraction is Old Faithful.

Every 90 minutes, give or take and it spews water and steam for about 3 minutes.  According to the ranger, it takes 400 years for that water to seep into the earth and find its way back to the surface.

We stopped at another basin and I let Kathy take the hike.  I’d seen plenty of boiling water today.  No need for more.  It all looks the same regardless of the geyser basin.

We drove around the southern loop today and also stopped at Gibbon Falls.  They were rebuilding this whole area in 2009 and it’s a nice area now, but again limited parking.

While we walked along the rim, we noticed a few fishermen in the stream below the falls.

There were a couple other stops that were not accessible to an RV and others that were full.  Like I said, access is an issue here for the throngs that come.  The ranger said there was a social scientist on staff to figure out what to do about that problem.  I can answer that…mass transit within the park just like the other national parks we’ve visited this month.  There…problem solved. 

So I can’t wait for tomorrow’s excitement.  This wasn’t the best experience for me today.  I was here in 2009 so it’s all a rerun.  I could do without the crowds.