Yellowstone National Park is America's first National Park. It was established in 1872 and draws over three million visitors yearly. It has five entrances and about 370 miles of paved roadway in it's 2.2 million acres of wilderness. It has about 10,000 thermal features, including about 250 active geysers.

There is an entrance fee of per car (good for 7 days), but it's well worth it. We only had 3 days there, so didn't get to do much but hike some of the trails and take lots of pictures. Would have been nice to rent a boat from the marina at Yellowstone Lake, or do some fine dining in the Yellowstone Lake Hotel diner, or fish in the beautiful rivers, or take more hikes, but 3 days just isn't very long in a park like Yellowstone!

Quick Tips:

We spent 2 nights in the beautiful, rustic, historic Old Faithful Inn. There are many other places to stay in Yellowstone, too. Everything from historic hotels to camping. I don't think you'ld be disappointed staying in any of the area. All the lodging areas seem to have their own little grocery store, museums, gift shops, fast and sit down restaurants, different types of lodging (cabins, hotel, camping)at each place, and even gas stations.

Best Way To Get Around:

The lobby is huge with 2 balconies around it. On the 2nd level, there's access to a porch for overlooking the upper basin geysers, including Old Faithful. On the porch are many benches, tables, and chairs. There are also several writing desks and lounging chairs along the walls of the balconies. There's even a catwalk on the top of the lodge, but earthquakes have made that unsafe for visitors to assend to now.

There are several levels of accommodations in the lodge. There are 6 suites available for about $330/night and some semi suite for about $250. The rooms without bathrooms were $69, and there were 1 bed rooms with bathrooms (like we stayed in) for $92 or $123. Plan on reserving any of these accommodations months in advance through the booking company for the whole park---Xanterra Parks & Resorts at 307.344.7311. I reserve our room for the end of June in March. At that time, only 2 other rooms were showing availability.

Construction of the Old Faithful Inn began in late summer 1903 and was completed by opening of the tourist season in June 1904, requiring most work to be done during Yellowstone's severe winter. Architect Robert Reamer supervised nearly everything done and designed nearly everything used. In the end, construction costs have been estimated at between $120,000 and $200,000. You can't miss the 500 ton chimney/fireplace in the center of the lobby. It is actually a central support for the rest of the lobby. It, and the Inn's foundation, was built from rhyolite quarried about five miles from the building site--- on the road to Thumb Geyser Basin. The lobby rises to a height of nearly 80 feet, mostly constructed of lodgepole pine from the area. On one side of the fireplace, Reamer designed a large clock and had it built on site by a blacksmith. There were origanally 140 guest rooms. In 1913 a 100 room east wing (left side as you look at the Inn from the front) was added. In 1922 a back diningroom was added. In 1927-1928, a 150-room west wing was also added by Reamer and the lobby was pushed out 30 feet. Also at that time, a half-moon-shaped room to the side of the old dining room was added. That room is now the Bear Pit Lounge. There have been other changes to the Old Faithful Inn , too, but the overall appearance of the old section of the Old Faithful Inn hasn't changed much.

It's well worth a visit. If you have time, they even give a very interesting and informative free walking tour of the building several times a day.

Not only was the dinner excellent (steak for me, pork loin roast for my Dad, and trout for my husband), but the servers were very friendly and helpful. It was interesting to hear about where these young folks' home towns are and how they're working there for the summer and what life is like for them living there in the park.

In addition to a breakfast menu, they also have a really nice reasonably priced breakfast buffet everyday. We had no problem getting in for breakfast right away. The buffet was about $7.50 including the drink. The buffet included oatmeal, cold cereal, cream of wheat, fresh fruit, bacon, ham, buffet type scrambled eggs (not really sure what they're made of, but you know the type), fried potatoes, waffles, lots of fancy delicious pastries, and probably some things I'm forgetting now. We liked it so much, we got it both mornings we were there.

Lunch offers a selection of fresh salads, sandwiches, house specialties and a western buffet. Dinner includes favorites like--- meatloaf, beef tenderloin and parmesan chicken, and much more. Don't forget the desserts! We had their specialty-- a huckleberry icecream and pie which was delicious.

The dining centerpiece of the historic Inn is a large stone fireplace with a painting of the geyser basin on it. Behind this fireplace, is a newer section to the dining room.

Old Faithful Inn dining room is open May 10 - October 13, for 2002.

It is believed that many years ago, a rhyolite lava flow covered the present canyon area. Under this flow was a thermal area. Steam and gases weakened the rhyolite. Other lava flows blocked rivers until they overflowed and cut through the rhyolite. Then glaciers came and melted, deepening the canyon. The falls were caused by lava flow areas that didn't erode.

The Upper Falls is 109 ft. high. It can be seen from the Brink of the Upper Falls Trail and from Uncle Tom's Trail. The Lower Falls is 308 ft. high and can be seen from Lookout Point, Red Rock Point, Artist Point, Brink of the Lower Falls Trail, and from various points on the South Rim Trail.

Drive both the north and south rims for great views! If you're feeling like taking a tough hike, the trail to the brink of the lower falls is challenging. We didn't do the Uncle Tom's Trail, but got a good view of it from the brink of the upper falls. It consisted of stair going about half way into the canyon. If you have time for a really long hike, there are even trails running along the rims of the canyons on both sides. Many of the lookouts are right along the road, but if you're afraid of heights, you may not want to walk to the railing. The view from Artist Point was my favorite.

The amount of acidity in the ground controls how thick a mudpot will be. The more acidic mud disolves the ground into wet clay mud. Precipitation and groundwater levels cause the mudpots to vary from time to time. Chemicals in the mud give it different colors, too. The area is highly active and at least one geyser is usually erupting here at all times.

The pathways here are not tough. You'll be able to walk to and around the huge paintpot---it had gray and pink mud in it while we were there. You'll also come to a couple really pretty deep blue hot pools and a bunch of smaller geysers behind the hill that the huge paintpot is on. Along the path to and from the parking lot is another large bacteria mat.

Outboards and rowboats may be rented (first come, first served) from AmFac Parks & Resorts at Bridge Bay Marina on Yellowstone Lake (a short drive from the West Thumb Basin area). AmFac also provides guided fishing boats which may be reserved in advance by calling (307) 344-7311. Private boats may be launched from the marina, too.

Fishing is allowed. The native fish are on a catch and release basis only. Lake trout are to be killed if caught. Anglers 16 years of age and older are required to purchase either a $10 ten-day or $20 season permit. Anglers 12 to 15 years of age are required to obtain a non-fee permit. Children 11 years of age or younger may fish without a permit when supervised by an adult. Fishing permits are available at all ranger stations, visitor centers, and Hamilton General Stores. Yellowstone National Park has implemented a non-toxic fishing program. Tackle such as leaded split shot sinkers, weighted jigs, and soft weighted ribbon for fly fishing are prohibited. Since we only had 3 days in the park, we didn't spend much time by the lake. But we were able to enjoy a lot of beautiful views of it's northern shore while driving from the West Thumb Basin on to the Canyon area.

The best activity at Mammoth is at Minerva Terrace and at Canary Spring. Both of these must-see attractions are located on the Main Terrace. There are few places where geologic changes occur so quickly since water flows at Mammoth are constantly being redirected.

Coming into the park from the north entrance, this will be the first geological place of interest you'll come to. There is even a museum here in an old fort. Plus there are hotel, cabin, and camping accommodations here as well as the gift shops, restuarants, etc. like in most of the other main tourist areas.

The trails here are quite extensive. You can park below and walk up and around one way, then drive up above and walk around some of the trails up there if you don't have a lot of time. But do spend some time here! The terraces here are not like anything else in the park! Look closely at them as you walk by, many of them have a stream of water running over them constantly---which is how the terraces are created. The areas that are gray, are where the ground is now dry from the water being redirected.

Geyser Hill is in the upper geyser basin and just north of Old Faithful. This is a very easy walk from Old Faithful Inn. There are over 40 geysers on geyser hill. Two of these, Giantess and Beehive are among the largest in the world.

Old Faithful is in the Upper basin. It is one of 5 predictable geysers. It is a cone-type geyser and erupts every 35 to 120 minutes. Its eruptions last from 1 1/2 to 5 minutes and reach a height of 90 to 184 feet.

Geysers are caused when the water is constricted from moving freely underground. The pressure increases until small bubbles of steam actually push heated water out in a forceful manner.

We thought this basin had some of the prettiest hot springs in Yellowstone! Black Sand Basin is actually part of the Upper Geyser Basin, but is somewhat isolated from the rest of the basin. It was originally named the Emerald Group by A.C. Peale in 1878. But turn of the century tourists began calling it Black Sand Basin because of the small fragments of black obsidian sand which cover portions of the basin. We actually spent several minutes trying to find this black sand before we noticed the little bit of it by the parking lot!

Black Sand Basin contains a small collection of geysers, and colorful hot springs. Emerald Pool is the most colorful and famous of these springs. It is a deep emerald green fringed by an outer ring of yellow and orange. My favorite pools were the rather large Caribbean blue Sunset Lake and Rainbow Pool. The walkway between them takes you right up into the steaming mist. Another colorful pool by the entrance is Opalescent Pool. This recently formed pool flooded a stand of lodgepole pine, creating a stand of white skeletons amidst another beautifully multi-colored pool. Near the parking lot, an unusual geyser formed on the bank of Iron Creek. It is Cliff Geyser and it erupts 30 to 40 feet high--several times a day and for quite a while each time.

These basin is easily accesible and there's a lot to see in such a small area. Don't miss it!

West Thumb Geyser Basin consists of a narrow strip of geysers, hot springs and a few mud pots and is located on the west shore of the "West Thumb" portion of Yellowstone Lake. The lake views add to this very beautiful area. West Thumb is actually a caldera within a larger caldera. If you look closely, you'll even be able to see evidence of hot springs coming up along the lakes edge here. One geyser near the edge use to even be used by fisherman to cook their catch right on the line.

The impressive colors of the pools in Yellowstone are dependant on what grows in them. Thermophiles (heat-loving microorganisms) have different colors and grow in different temperatures. Usually, green and brown organisms grow in cooler water; orange and yellow ones live in hotter water. Not many live in near boiling temperatures, so these springs look clear blue. We didn't see any geysers erupting in this area, but the colors in the pools were beautiful.

THis is also one of the few areas that we saw a lot of flowers. There was a carpet of little yellow flowers surrounding many of the pools while we were there in July.

Another do not miss area!

This is one of the most acidic areas in the park. This makes it different from hot springs and geysers. The hydrogen sulfide gas deep in the earth at Mud Volcano is used by microorganisms and the resulting sulfuric acid then breaks down rock into wet clay mud. The steam and gases cause the volcanic action of the mud here. It was a lot more active in the days of the 1871 Hayden Expedition.

There is a very large bacteria matt by the parking lot. Hydrogen sulfide produces the rotten egg like smell which is quite strong here. There were a couple little noisy geysers going off while we were there---only shot up about a foot, but crackled and fizzled like a sparkler.

Dragon's mouth spring was an interesting noise maker, too. It is a hot spring that shoots sideways out of a cave opening. Hot water rising to the surface, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor gases expanding create a pressure explosion in the cavern. The result is sloshing, belching, and steaming.

The walkway around this area is another short easy walk. Along with your sense of sight, this is a great place for your senses of smelling and hearing, too!