Yellowstone National Park: Old Faithful

On By nationalparkswithtIn Wyoming5 Comments
Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!

Wyoming 2023 Trip➤

In September of 2023, my husband and I set out to explore some National Park units in the state of Wyoming. We visited Yellowstone, Grand Teton National Park, The John D. Rockefeller Parkway, and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. In Yellowstone National Park, we visited Old Faithful.

Yellowstone National Park➤

President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law in 1872. This created America’s (and the world’s) first National Park. The US Army managed the park from the late 1800s through 1916 when the National Park Service was created.

The park sits on top of a massive super volcano. As a result, over half of the worlds geysers and geothermal features reside in Yellowstone. It’s also famous for being home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope. One of our guides compared touring Yellowstone’s Valleys to taking an African Safari.

This park is huge at 3500 square miles in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Divided into two large loops, the park road takes visitors to the main sites. The Lower Loop Road is 96 miles while the Upper Loop is 142 miles.

Old Faithful➤

We arrived at Old Faithful early in the morning, before the visitor center opened. Freezing, we scurried into the Inn to warm up by the huge stone fireplace. Once the visitor center opened, we perused the museum exhibits while we waited for the next eruption.

Out of nearly 500 geysers in Yellowstone, rangers currently predict the eruptions of six. It is uncommon to be able to predict geyser eruptions with regularity. Old Faithful has lived up to its name, only lengthening the time between eruptions by about 30 minutes in the last 30 years. When we visited, there were about 90 minutes between eruptions.

We waited on the boardwalk viewing platform. Predictions for Old Faithful have a 10-minute plus or minus variance. The water started to bubble up just a few minutes before the posted time and lasted long enough for many pictures and videos.

Yellowstone Posts➤

Location: Grand Loop Road, Wyoming
Designation: National Park
Date designated/established: March 1, 1872
Date of my visit: September 23, 2023