I woke up thinking about Dad and how much he would like this trip. I realize that over the years I have not been with him often for Father’s Day. Camp always was in June so most Father’s Days were celebrated with a card. And this year, I didn’t even get a card out. Sorry, Dad! I have thought about him a lot. He loves driving through this great country of ours and he would love this trip! 

Tracks and Trails, the RV travel agency that booked our trip, set up a private tour for us through Yellowstone Guides. Dave, our guide, met us at 9:00 and he was to be with us the whole day, lunch included! It was a nice Father’s Day for Hubert because he got a break from driving and could sit back and really enjoy. Dave was from TN but had been in Yellowstone for 30 years. He was very knowledgeable about the area and the history. He told us everything about the formation of Yellowstone – the volcanic activity, the caldera, the rocks, the topography, the vegetation and the wildlife. In one sense, it was fantastic, I learned so much. In another sense, it was way over my head! And the girls were pretty bored. And when he talked about the future eruption of the Yellowstone volcano and a pending nuclear winter, Caroline was a little scared!

From Madison campground, we went south towards Old Faithful. First we stopped at the lower geyser basin and saw geysers and paint pots. It was really cool and so other worldly! Then we headed to Old Faithful. Along the way, he would pull over and give us extra information about the area and took us to a few geysers that are off the tourist radar. He explained the formation of the geysers and the coloration of the thermal waters.

When we got to Old Faithful, tons of people were gathered so we knew that it was almost time. We hurried over and within 10 minutes, she blew. It was beautiful and very cool. But, it was a little anti-climatic too. I guess something that is so famous and part of our country’s  lure should be spectacular. And it was, it is just everything else we saw was just as spectacular. It felt like seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time – really, all that hype over that small painting!

We went into the Old Faithful Lodge which was really cool. A huge log cabin lodge built in 1902. Dave pointed out that if it had been built in the Appalachians, it would have been long gone to moisture and termites. Then we got back in the van and went over the Continental Divide, twice, towards Yellowstone Lake. We stopped at West Thumb for a picnic lunch. It was cold and very windy, so we had our picnic in the woods instead of on the lake front. We then stopped at the Yellowstone Lake Lodge which is even older than the Old Faithful Lodge. It was very pretty with a gorgeous view. As we left the lake area, we drove up along the Yellowstone river. We stopped at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and hiked a 2 mile hike to see the lower and upper falls. It was truly amazing. The coloration of the canyon and the power of the water. It was breathtaking! 

By this time, it was close to 5:00, so we started heading back to Madison. Along the way, we stopped and saw 2 bull elks, a black bear and some bison. The girls love seeing the animals (more than learning about rock formations!). We made one last stop at Gibbon Falls before being dropped off at our RV door! It was a great day!

The girls and I took a shower (using the generator – woohoo!) and Hubert made a campfire. We made hobo bags with chicken, potatoes and veggies over the fire and finished our dinner with s’mores. After a game or two of Uno, we called it a night and slept well!