Many of the routes that we have traveled on this journey have run parallel to railroad tracks. The trains out in the west are very active. In many locations there are two parallel tracks, one for eastbound and one for westward. We have really enjoyed seeing the trains and guessing how long they would be based on the number of engines. One of the books we have read on this trip is The Harvey Girls which includes a lot of history about the railroad, particularly the Santa Fe Line. As we drove some miles east before turning to the north, we realized we were soon saying goodbye to this interesting part of western US history.
We left Declo, Idaho early Sunday morning hoping to stay ahead of the snow and winds that were forecast for our route. We had glorious sunshine much of our 225 mile drive. About an hour before arriving in West Yellowstone we began to see heavy clouds on the horizon. Once we passed through Island Park, Idaho we were in the snow. The rest of the drive, while a bit slower, was quite lovely.
Our "home" for three nights is Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park less than a mile from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. This is a fairly new park and very nicely laid out with wide streets and nice, level sites. The downside is the price! It is the most expensive site we have ever had and we only have an electric hook-up. No water or sewer and the site is so tiny our car and Wander barely fit. We are choosing to call it "cozy".
Once we were set up we drove right over to the National Park.
It was snowing like crazy inside the park and truly looked like a winter wonderland. Within just a few minutes we saw a herd of bison. Quite a nice introduction to what we think may be the prettiest place on earth.
We decided to just drive an overview without stopping too many times so that we could get an idea of the layout since neither of us have ever been here before. However, the side roads and pull-outs proved too tempting. We turned down one of the side roads, Firehole Canyon Drive. It was incredibly gorgeous!
From Firehole Canyon we continued on our way toward Old Faithful by way of Biscuit Basin where we had our first look at hot springs and fumaroles (steam vents). Because the temperature is hovering right around freezing, the springs and fumaroles are quite showy. You can actually see the steam from far away.
We arrived at Old Faithful but could not find parking so we decided to drive towards the old geyser. Old Faithful was very cooperative and was erupting as we drove up! It erupts approximately every 94 minutes and eruptions can last up to five minutes. We did get a picture but plan to go back later for another look. The entire area around Old Faithful is lovely and we are looking forward to exploring it more.
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