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June 19, 2017 - 8:29 p.m.
"old faithful" or "grand prismatic spring"

Hey Journal!

Today we had a great day in Yellowstone!

We got up this morning at about 7:30 and we went to get breakfast at a place called the Running Bear Pancake House!

I got the Grizzly Bear meal which was a country fried steak, eggs, and has browns. It was very enjoyable. It was a cool little place that had a really old-school feel to it.

After we ate, we headed for the park! Our first stop was supposed to be Old Faithful to catch an early eruption but several factors derailed our original plan.

The first thing was that we saw some elk on the side of the road and pulled off to take some pictures. They were really cool looking and they were directly on the other side of a small river. We weren't there very long and then we got back on the loop.

Next, we got stuck in some traffic because people were slowing down to see a bison. It caused about a 45 minute delay when made us get to Old Faithful just a little later than we had planned.

We missed the first eruption but it all worked out for the best. When we got there, we went to the bathroom and then headed for the Visitor Center. As we were walking down the path, a ranger walked by in the other direction and asked us if we wanted to come see Beehive Geyser. He said it an indicated had started bubbling and it should erupt in just about 5-10 minutes!

We decided to come along and he also added that the visitor center was evacuated for a gas leak. So... I mean, we wouldn't haven't wanted to be there if the VC had erupted!

Anyway, we got to the Beehive Geyser and it was really cool. It erupted and we even got spritzed with some of it's water.

When that was over, we headed back and took a seat to see Old Faithful. We had a little while to wait and Dan asked a ranger where the Castle Geyser was so we could go later on. He told us, and I looked up the eruption times online.

Cell service was really spotty. We had voice service through most of Old Faithful but data was hard to come by. It worked sporadically, and I was able to pull up the estimate for Castle Geyser.

It was set to erupt at 12:15 +/- 45 minutes. The beginning window was about 20 minutes away so we abandoned Old Faithful and went to see Castle!

I'm sure glad we did. When we arrived, nobody was around. We sat and waited and at about 12:10, it went off!! It started slowly and then went wild!

It was my favorite geyser to see so far! It was really neat. The water came rushing down the sides and then at the end, it turned into a steam blast! It was wild.

Once that was over, we walked to see another one which was going off in the distance.

We checked that one out and then walked around the boardwalks and saw the rest!

When we got back, went to the bathroom, and then it was almost time for Old Faithful to erupt again! We got a spot and within minutes it was off to go!

We watched Old Faithful and then went to the Visitor Center. We perished the gift shop and wound up getting some really neat posters we liked. We saved 15% by making a donation to the park non-profit AND we got a free bison stuffed animal!

After that we went to the Yellowstone Inn which is a really great attraction. It was built in 1903/1904 and is made of logs from nearby. It's really something amazing inside. We arrived just 8 minutes before the 2:00 tour began.

The tour guide was great. She gave us a great tour with some great and fun history!

After that, we went upstairs and watched Old Faithful erupt from the observation area! This time we had an ever better view. It was really something.

Dan got something to eat at the Inn and then we went to the Old Faithful Lodge cafeteria to get something for me.

I got a great open face turkey sandwich from someone named Zachary who was working the counter. He was very friendly and we talked to him while he prepared our food.

Then, we headed out and said goodbye to Old Faithful!

We headed back towards to hotel with a few more stops on the plan.

Our next stop was at Grand Prismatic Spring. It was really neat and the colors were cool but it was a little hard to see. It would be great if they could raise the boardwalk a little to get a higher-up view.

After that we went to the Fountain Paint Pots! We saw bubbling mud pits and one area that just shoots out steam! It makes such a loud noise. At one point we were coming around a bend a I saw something move out of the corner of my eye! I looked and it was a huge bison just laying under a tree! We got so close to it, we took some selfies and everything. Then, Dan and I stood off to the side and watched other people come around the same bend. It was great. They had no idea and their reactions when they realized it was there were great!

Next up we went down a drive to see some more springs and then headed back to West Yellowstone.

We had such a fun and exciting day and saw so much cool stuff. Now, we're getting to sleep early to get rested up for tomorrow's adventure. We're going further north tomorrow to Norris and the Upper Geyser Basin!

And one last note before bed -- this afternoon all Pokémon gyms were disabled and so I lost the three gyms i had been holding for days! Ugh! The word is that a new gym system is coming soon! No idea when that is, though!

Until tomorrow...

Goodnight. :)