Thursday 9-10-26 New Campground, Old Faithful & Having Fun

 

Yellowstone Tour Bus at Old Faithful Inn

We had a super day. 

We woke up to a cool 30 degrees at Madison Campground and the high was 68 degrees in Grant Campground. 

I crawled out of bed at 7:15 am and got dressed. I started putting things away. I wasn't sure what I was going to make for breakfast. Larry suggested muffins so that's what I did. I made banana nut muffins using the new cups. Today I buttered one cup and put olive oil in the other five cups. I cooked them like last night. They came out great. They didn't stick to the cup except for a spot on the bottom and they didn't burn on the sides and bottom. The cups were easy to clean. 

After breakfast we slowly put things down and secured. We didn't have far to go about 40 miles to Grant Campground. This will be the first time we have camped in Grant Campground. It's usually closed by the time we get to Yellowstone. 

On the way to Grant we stopped at Old Faithful, which was about 16 miles from Madison. The drive was beautiful. It was a curvy road. As we drove the road we saw geysers. We were a little disappointed we didn't see any bison. We arrived at Old Faithful about 9:15 am. We went to the parking lot by the Yellowstone Post Office. Then we walked over to the Old Faithful Visitor Education Center. It had three different movies showing, which were Fire and Water,  Yellowstone Today and What Bison See. Fire and Water and Yellowstone Today are showed as a loop film. What Bison See was shown just a few times a day. It's a documentary where the rangers put a GPS tracker around a bull bison's neck so they could see where they migrate. It also has a camera on it and they see what happens while the herd migrates. It was very well done and interesting. It was 20 minutes long. We watched this movie and Fire and Water. They stop showing the movies when it's time for Old Faithful to erupts. We got there just in time to watch both movies. Old Faithful was scheduled to erupt at 10:24 give or take 12 minutes. We were there at 9:40. Fire and Water had just started and What Bison See started at 10:00. After the movies we walked over to where Old Faithful was located. We have seen Old Faithful erupt many times and it's still spectacular to watch. People cheer it on.

          

Old Faithful

After watching Old Faithful we sat on a bench and waited for the crowd to thin out before we walked the boardwalk around Old Faithful to see other geysers. The boardwalk had been replaced around Old Faithful from wood to composite planks. They did a super job with it.

 

Chinese Geyser

Another Geyser on the boardwalk at Old Faithful

After walking the boardwalk we walked over to the Old Faithful Inn and did the tour. If the tour is going to start when we're at the inn we do it. The tour is very interesting about the history of the Old Faithful Inn and how it has changed. Our guide today was Clara, we had her back in 2022. She is very good. She doesn't smile much but she does crack jokes. The tour was 45 minutes long. At the end of the tour we gave her a $5 dollar tip.

Clara our tour guide

Second and Third floor of the Old Faithful Inn

The old clock with eight fireplaces around it

Dining Hall

The old Crows Nest where the band played years ago

After the tour we went back to the Minnie and had lunch. After lunch we walked to the gift shop and snack bar. Larry bought us ice cream. We shared two scoops, which were Huckleberry and Moose Tracks. We sat in some cool wooden chairs to eat our ice cream. They were easy to sit in but hard to get out of. But it was getting crowded so we took our ice cream back to the Minnie. After we finished our ice cream we were back on the road. 

Huckleberry and Moose Track Ice Cream

It was about 1:00 and we had another 24 miles to go to get to Grant Campground. It was a beautiful drive to Grant Campground. We didn't see any wildlife but we saw beautiful scenery.

We arrived at Grant Campground about 2:00 and Larry checked in. Then we went to our site, which was site #229 in Loop H. The guy, who checked us in was very friendly and nice. 

Grant Campground is huge. It has 438 sites located in 21 Loops (A to K). They have two restrooms with running water in each loop. When you check in you get a card that allows you a free shower everyday you stay in the campground. This was a pleasant surprise. The sites are very small but they have a picnic table and fire ring. There a lot of trees so solar is going to be a challenge. I won't be doing my games while staying here.

For dinner I boiled potatoes and made gravy. I haven't done this in a long time. After dinner we walked down to the Yellowstone Lake. We saw a bird having a good time playing in the lake and a family was on the dike playing catch. It was a nice view of Yellowstone Lake. Then we went back to the Minnie. Larry went inside to read and I walked around for another 45 minutes for 2.5 miles. I walked Loops F through K. Loops J and K are tents only and Loop L is a group sites tent only. Loops A, B, C and D are also tents only. I had a great walk. When I got home I made apple cinnamon cookies for dessert.

Grant Campground Check-in Office

Yellowstone Lake at Grant Campground

By the end of the day I had done 12,000 steps.