The Great Family Western Adventure - Day 9 or Where Did All of These Rotten Eggs Come From?

Our third day in Yellowstone was Geyser Basin day. We got up early again and had another great breakfast in the Inn's dining room. We headed north to Norris Geyser Basin. Norris is the home to the world's highest erupting geyser, Steamboat Geyser. Steamboat's major eruptions climb to a height of over 400 feet. Of course, it has been several years since it's last eruption, but it does give a good show while continuously having smaller eruptions. There were so many geysers, mudpots, steam vents, and hot springs at Norris, there is no way to count them all. And it does take a while to visit all of them. We spent a good chunk of the morning here and really had a great time. Of course the sulfur smell was everywhere. And Ian loved every second of that!

Next we traveled to the Firehole area of the park. This is a one way road that travels along a canyon and the Firehole River. It is absolutely beautiful here we saw two mother elks and their babies resting along the side of the river. It was a very peaceful place another one of my favorite places in the park.

We then traveled to the Lower Geyser Basin, Middle Geyser Basin, and The Upper Geyser Basin, which includes Old Faithful. I won't go into much detail about each basin. They all included beautiful geysers and hot springs. Each area is a little different. The great thing about Yellowstone is that the major roads go very near all the major sights. Also, each location has boardwalks that take you right out to the geysers, hot springs, etc. It makes it very easy with those individuals that have disabilities.

This day was very long, and very tiring. But it was awesome as the stars of the park really were on display and didn't disappoint. We spent a lot of time in the Upper Geyser Basin as it is the largest. Granted, it didn't get dark until 9pm so we had plenty of time to see most of it. No, we didn't see all of it. But we did get a very special treat. We were lucky enough to see Beehive Geyser erupt. It was amazing. This geyser shoots up through a very small cone that looks like a beehive. The force behind this eruption was overwhelming. Plus the boardwalk goes right up next to the geyser. Very cool experience.

We grabbed a quick bite at the Old Faithful Lodge and was able to watch Old Faithful erupt again. A perfect ending to a amazing day.