Yellowstone National Park

I wake up and look over to Mark in the single bed next to mine. On his stomach, cocooned in his comforter, he is looking at me. “It’s pretty cold,” he says.

Does he think I haven’t noticed? “It’s FREEZING! How long have you been awake?”

“Just a couple minutes.”

“Why haven’t you turned the heater on?” which would require him getting up.

“I’m fine,” he answers with mock innocence.

Knowing that Mark can wait me out and wanting to start our first full day in Yellowstone early, I throw back the covers, and the coldness steels my breath. I recover, hustle to the heater, turn it on, grab my bag and run to the bathroom, which has its own heater.

Yellowstone is our nation’s first National Park, established in 1872. Its 2.2 million acres holds the world's largest collection of geothermal features, with some 10,000 mudpots, fumaroles and hot springs and more than 200 active geysers.

On this clear, September day we aim north then west, stopping frequently to hike. Our first unique site is a wall of perfectly stacked, gray, stone cubes that we learn is basaltic rock, or cooled lava.

At the Mammoth Hot Springs area, near the entrance from Montana, we see an area of cascading shelves of white, like a frozen fountain only 100 times bigger than any fountain I’ve ever seen. In this area can be deposited up to two tons of limestone a day! Turning south, we get to the Norris Geyser Basin, which smells of sulfur and is the most geyser-active area of the park.

Since the west side of the access road is closed due to a controlled burn, we reverse direction back to the cabin.

We’re hoping for a good vegetable tonight at the village restaurant. Only one a day is offered. Last night was carrots and tonight is squash. We opt for fish and chips.

The next morning Mark and I, with lots of others, go on a ranger-led walk around the Old Faithful area and then take off on our own to see further points. The area around Old Faithful is chock full of geothermal features and many geysers that erupt more frequently. Mudpots bubble and steaming pools beckon for a soak though I never dip my toe in. Visitors are warned never to leave the boardwalks that surround the geothermal areas because the ground may be only a thin crust above boiling hot springs. Also, one may encounter a concentration of toxic gas. That morning, the geysers we see erupt are Anemone-big and little, Plume, Lion and, of course, Old Faithful. Old Faithful Geyser blows up to 184 feet high, every 80 minutes, roughly. Eruptions can last from one to five minutes.

We wait nearly an hour for Bee Hive Geyser, which blows twice a day, before deciding to leave, but as we circle the boardwalk, I notice its indicator gurgles. In 15 minutes we are rewarded with its full eruption, which I find most spectacular. Most geysers erupt out of holes nearly level with the ground so their spray is wide, like through a fire hydrant. Bee Hive’s blow is through a feature that looks like a large bee hive so its stream seems more forceful, like through a firefighter’s hose.

Further west we stop for a picnic lunch and watch buffalo. Through binoculars, Mark sees one limping badly. At our next stop, I inform a ranger of the injured bison.

We see lots of eruptions today and would like to go further west in the park, but smoke is too thick, so we drive back to our cabin and hike to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Yellowstone got its name from the yellow rock walls of this canyon into which the Yellowstone River falls twice—109 feet at the upper falls and 308 feet at the lower.

Our final day we park at different spots on the access road and watch for wildlife. We tour museums and Visitor Centers we hadn’t visited before, and we hike to solitary geothermal attractions.

Back at our cabin, we nap and shower. At 6:50 pm Mark puts our name in at the village restaurant. We wait only 10 minutes, our shortest yet. However, like every other dinner we’ve had, the food lacks flavor.

The eats at Yellowstone stink, but you can’t beat the attractions.