UPPER GEYSER BASIN (Old Faithful)

Having taken care of necessary business on our first day off, we could play on our second day off. The Upper Geyser Basin, where Old Faithful is located, is only 17 miles north of Grant Village so we put on our tourist hats and went up there for the day.

The Firehole River rises near the Continental Divide and flows north.  The Kepler Cascades are a few miles upstream of the Upper Geyser Basin.	The land flattens into a broad plain as the Firehole enters the Upper Geyser Basin.  The Old Faithful Inn can be seen in the distance.
The Old Faithful Inn is a magnificent log structure, built in 1903, so when we were there in 2003 it was celeberating its 100th anniversary.	The interior of the Inn displays its rugged, rustic, wooden construction details.

The huge multi-storied lobby of the Old Faithful Inn is worth visiting in its own right.

Old Faithful Geyser erupts roughly every 90 minutes.  A time board in the Inn gives the prediction of the next eruption, estimated from the duration and height of the previous one.	Between eruptions, a wisp of steam emerges from Old Faithful's vent.
During an eruption, crowd pleasing plumes of super-heated water and steam shoot an average of 160 feet into the air. The Park Service maintains an Old Faithful webcam. Click the link below to view it in a separate window: Streaming video image
There is much more to see in the Upper Geyser Basin than Old Faithful, as the Firehole River winds through an area filled with geysers, hot springs, and steam vents known as fumeroles.	Morning Glory Pool is one of the more colorful in the basin.  The greens, yellows, and browns are algae that thrive in the hot mineral rich water.
Geysers come in all sizes, shapes, and activity levels.  Sawmill  Geyser erupts almost constantly to a height of up to six feet.  Sawmill emerges from a pool rather than a vent.	Comet Geyser is another of the smaller geyers in near constant activity.
When Grotto Geyser first formed, it is thought it engulfed trees with travertine deposits, creating the distinctive cone formation you see here.	Chromatic Pool

Daisy geyser is another of the larger predictable geysers in the Upper Basin.  We were lucky enough to come upon it a few minutes before it was due to erupt.