Yellowstone Geyser Road Trip

Geysers, Mud Holes and Steam Vents of the Yellowstone National Park Caldera Region

Today we saw most of the Yellowstone geysers. Thermal activity is largely confined to the western portion of Yellowstone in what is known as the Yellowstone Caldera. Old Faithful is the most notorious and sought-after geyser in the park, but there are literally dozens of active and unique geysers. Most of the geysers accompany various other types of interesting thermal features, including fumaroles, mud pots, and steam vents.

Lower Geyser Basin Yellowstone

Lower Geyser Basin I found the most entertaining of all. Here a boardwalk winds throughout a very active thermal area. Boardwalks are a logistical must to get visitors close to the features. The surrounding ground is covered in mud flats, boiling mud cauldrons and steamy geysers in all shapes and sizes. The attraction features a number of bubbling mud craters and pools and crystal blue steam vents. And the area is anything but quiet--the thermal features here bubble, seethe and hiss with steam and boiling water.

Follow the boardwalk around to a group of various sizes and types of geysers, the most impressive and noisy--Fountain Geyser. Fountain spews powerful plumes of water probably 50 feet in the air and it is shrouded in billowy white and gray steam clouds. The spray is not hot--once it hits the air it is immediately cooled.

Just across the boardwalk is my favorite little geyser--"Jet." If this unimpressive mound of chunky lava rock is doing nothing when you happen on it--wait a few minutes, you won't be disappointed. Jet goes from silent to furiously spewing and spitting hot water out a half-dozen blow holes along its surface--it looks like a spoiled child throwing a hissy fit. The "eruption" lasts about 30 seconds before it goes silent again.

In this same area you'll see also Spasm and Clepsydra geysers.

Midway Geyser Basin Yellowstone

Midway Basin may be the most underrated of all, but the most visually beautiful. Here Excelsior Geyser pours hundreds of gallons of hot water into Firehole River. Excelsior has not erupted since 1985, but it could....The boardwalk in Midway Geyser Basin is long and constructed of indestructible composite boards--very handicap accessible. Follow the boardwalk past Excelsior and it winds around to pretty Prismatic Pool. Here a Caribbean blue and green pond is largely shrouded in gray, white and red steam, its coastline a fractal boundary between water and rust and white bacteria mats. When we arrived at Midway this morning we were just about 20 minutes ahead of the visitor rush. The entire attraction was very quiet and only a few visitors wandered around. Prismatic was so beautiful I could have pulled up a chair and sat their just mesmerized.

The last leg of the boardwalk meanders past Opal and Turquoise Pools.

Old Faithful

Old Faithful was great, but for me highly overrated. We sat waiting for the eruption for almost an hour and Old Faithful was late. I'm not much for crowds, but apparently this site gets many more in the height of the summer. I was much more interested in Old Faithful Inn--this is a huge, old lodgepole inn constructed back in the late 1800s. The construction is amazing, especially dramatic is the high lobby rough-hewn roof and beams.

Finished up the day covering the route from Old Faithful southeast to West Thumb. From there headed northeast to Lake Village and on to Canyon Village before heading back westward to Norris and West Yellowstone.