This morning we “broke camp” at The Old Faithful Inn. But before we headed north to Canyon Lodge we saw Old Faithful erupt one last time. I also took a couple mile walk around Geyser Hill. If the various geysers we saw yesterday were amazing, they paled in comparison to the forty geysers that dot the hill. “Beehive” and “Giantess,” for instance are two of the world’s largest. Unfortunately, many tourists think the main attraction is Old Faithful, and they don’t take time to visit the spooky, eerie, other-world-like area mere steps beyond it.
Earl and I then headed to Canyon Lodge, approximately 54 miles away. It took us two and a half hours, as we stopped to see a great view of the Lower Falls. But it was the bison on the road and the cars on each side of it that really slowed us. Millions of these animals roamed North American at the turn of the nineteenth century; by the turn of the twentieth approximately 24 wild bison remained. It is only through the conservation efforts of the last century that the current Yellowstone herd has climbed to 4700. I don’t think we saw all 4700 of them, but I’d guess we saw a couple hundred.
Our lodging at Canyon Lodge is probably the most rustic that we will stay at. Ever. On any trip.
Perhaps with a description in my guide book of “pioneer cabin,” I should have been forewarned, but I booked it sight unseen last November and thought it would be a contrast to the historic Old Faithful Inn. I was right on that point.
We do have running water and indoor plumbing, but that’s about it. For a city gal, this is roughing it. No TV, no phone, no Internet, no air conditioning, no coffee pot, no microwave, no ice unless you want to walk a quarter mile down the road. Only the opportunity to sight bears up close and personal. I suspect we’ll sleep like babies. Which could mean that we’re up a lot, uncomfortable, and whiney. Or that we’re so exhausted from our travels that we pass out. Report is due tomorrow.
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