Day 12 (7/1/21): Yellowstone National Park

This morning, I woke up at the resort parking lot just outside of Yellowstone. I woke up early to try and beat the crowds. I was entering the park at the south entrance, and my plan was to drive north, along the west side of the park. It's configured as a Figure-8; however, I knew that I would not have time to see the whole park in just one day. After I entered the park, I could already see the bubbling earth around me as I drove. It was fascinating! 

On my way to Old Faithful, I stopped to do a short hike to see a waterfall. 

When I arrived at Old Faithful around 8am, I was surprised that hundreds of other people had too. All of the other National Parks that I had visited had been moderately busy, but not at 8am. I have been spoiled with the all of my trip so far being during off-peak season, which hadn't even occurred to me. But now, I was entering the height of summer.

I checked at the visitors center for an estimated time for it to blow, which would follow shortly. I hung out around the perimeter of Old Faithful and waited for the eruption. I had seen this once before as a child, when my family and I road tripped from Washington to Colorado. But it was exciting to see again as an adult. When it did erupt however, I was sadly underwhelmed - "that's it?" I thought to myself. 

But there was nothing I could do, so I went on my way. I decided to walk the boardwalk around the other geysers, basins, and holes. Hoping to time my way back to Old Faithful for the next eruption. The other areas were impressive with odd formations, boiling pockets, vibrant colors, odd smells, and erupting towers. 

After a lot of walking and a few hours later, I made it back to Old Faithful. (I think halfway through I went back to my camper to get something, a hat, sunscreen, change layers, something like that. Which significantly added time and walking distance as the park is massive.) But I made it back to Old Faithful just in time! This time, I got the "holy-moly-oh-my-gosh-WOW factor show with an impressively large eruption! 

After seeing Old Faithful erupt in full commotion, it was time to continue through the park, as it was around noon by now. I don't remember exactly what I did for lunch this day, I think I packed a picnic and sat out to eat in this area before I left.

I headed west and went to do the hike at the Fountain Paint Pot. Which is a massive and beautiful hole with an overlook that you can hike up to. It was an overcast day, so the reflection of the pool was not as vibrant as some days. But I could get the idea. I bet it was beautiful on a blue sky day. 

From there, I stopped at an overlook of a waterfall.

Last of all, I stopped at the Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces. I had not planned on stopping here, as I was quite over the crowds. Leaving Old Faithful was like leaving a Walmart parking lot and I had been stuck in traffic ever since. At this point, I just wanted to get on the road, back to Washington. But when I saw these, it captivated me. I knew I had to stop. So I did.

By this point, I was exhausted. I had been pushing through my trip with long days of driving 10+ hours or seeing an entire National Park in one day, for over 10 days in a row now. But I was here, and I wanted to see as much as I could, while I could.

I mustered all of my energy, and hiked up to the top to see the terraces. It was some of the most unique formations I had ever seen. It reminded me of the salt flats that I had seen in Peru with my dad. 

By now, I was done. I would have to come back to Yellowstone to see anything else. Now, it was time to plan where I would stay tonight. I had parked outside the visitors center of Mammoth Hot Springs, and hung out there to use the WiFi (once again) as I did not have service. 

I wasn't sure where I would end up, but I decided to get on the road and drive north until I was tired. It was about 4 or 5pm by now. My goal was to make it to Cle Elum by tomorrow afternoon for my cousins birthday. So I headed north, towards Montana.

Around 9pm, I was tired and ready to call it a night. I think I was outside of Missoula, MT when I stopped for gas to have a full tank for the morning. When I got out, I found out that I had lost my fridge cover panel! I had almost made it back in one piece. Thankfully, this time it wasn't a mechanical issue!

I found a rest stop and stayed there for the night. Truck stops aren't my favorite place to stay as they can be noisy due to trucks coming in and out, truckers and RVers using generators, and nearby highways. But they are a great place for a quick overnight when on the road.

It was an incredible day. I definitely want to go back to explore all of Yellowstone. But in off-peak season. But for now, I am so excited to be returning to Washington tomorrow!