Grand Geyser Erupting

Grand Geyser Eruption, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

It’s hard not to cheer whenever a geyser erupts. You sit or stand and wait, based upon when the schedule says the geyser *might* erupt. And then, when it does, there is this powerful gush of hot, steaming water reaching high up into the sky, or covering a large swath of area around the opening. It’s evidence reminding us of the geologic forces just beneath our feet. Geysers erupting are truly amazing sights and I felt lucky enough to have witnessed three different geysers erupt on the day I visited the Upper Geyser Basin.

And, here’s a little word of advice for you: if you are nuts enough to visit an extremely crowded place like Yellowstone National Park in the summer, then the best time for light and few crowds is the early morning, between 6am – 7:30am. I know, not much of a window there, right? And, you should only pick one spot at which you want to be that morning. Because if you have in mind to concentrate on more than one spot, then you are going to have problems trying to find parking, I kid you not.

Another word of advice: if you want to tour the visitor center in relative peace while you are at Upper Geyser Basin, then do it while the hordes are awaiting the eruption of Old Faithful. If you wait until after the eruption, you will be elbow-to-elbow with all the crowds merging into the visitor center.

I already knew I wanted to experience all that I could around Old Faithful, so I spent the entire day at Upper Geyser Basin (where Old Faithful is located), and had a wonderful day, despite the crowds (and there were thousands of people there).