Day 9

As we sat in our tent with the gentle downpour of rain trickling all over our shelter, we contemplated what the course of action should be for packing up the tent and everything inside of it. Just then we caught a break in the rain and broke down our site as quick as we could. We took one last look out towards Lake McDonald and Glacier National Park and headed Southeast. The rain stayed with us for a great deal of the journey. We stopped at the scenic Missoula Cracker Barrel for an old fashioned country breakfast and hit the road again. The rain let up as we stopped for supplies in the “city” of Butte. Butte puts the state of Montana in perspective. It’s one of the biggest cities in the state and it barely fits the size of a town. No loss getting out of there quick. Soon enough we were entering Yellowstone National Park. We found our site and set up what we could. Luckily it was very dry and wet stuff dried almost instantly. After establishing our new home for the next few days, we still had daylight to kill. We headed down the road towards Old Faithful to see what all the comotion was about. Low and behold walking down the middle of the road was an enormous Bison. This guy didn’t give a crap about who was in front of him or the half mile line of cars beside him. We pulled over and watched this giant beast walk right past our car. What a badass.

Driving to Old Faithful the geothermic activity was readily apparent. Steam pouring out of every mound. Finally we got to the Old Faithful area and took a stroll around looking at the other features. Geysers and steam vents and hot springs; all so fascinating, unusual and altogether captivating. Soon enough it was time for the big show. We grabbed a seat on the side and just after the sun set for the day, Old Faithful erupted in a stream of super hot ground water and flowing steam. Yes it is hyped. Yes its pretty mainstream. But it really is something to behold and to wonder. It was a great introduction to the park and we reflected on the ride home about the beauty we had seen and what was sure to come.

--jeff