We started our full-day tour of Yellowstone with a trip to Paint Pot Geyser area. It is a hike through some woods, along a path, to a windy area wooden walkways through amazing and beautiful steaming, bubbling cauldrons of mineral laden waters.

Parts of the path involve some steep climbs, with breathtaking views of the area from platforms along the way.

All paths lead visitors back to the parking lot where they started.

I made the climbs. Patti chose not to climb, so she was in the parking lot to capture a fine photo of a male elk with impressive horns. Be sure to check out Patti's photos elsewhere on this site.

Yellowstone's geyser area is FILLED with steaming pools, cauldrons and geysers. All are accessable to the thousands of visitors who visit the area daily.

Geyser beds include Howard Eaton, Lone Star, Divide, Mystic Falls, Mallard Creek, Fairy Falls, and (of course) Old Faith geyser.

Rich blue pools contrasted with muddy, burbing mud pots. Steam rises pool areas large and small. Mineral deposits left by the spurting geysers are as beautiful in their own way as the geysers themselves.

Whereas there are not large groups of people in my photos, people where there in large numbers. The shear scale of the sights/sites allow visitors to spread out and observe nature as individuals.

Most of the trails I walked where less than a mile each, however trails of several miles are groomed for public access.

Geyser areas include plenty of natural views in non-steamy environments: overlooks, falls, mountain streams, and new growth forests are all easily observable.

The park has regular pull-over spots for visitors to stop their travel to observe and interact with the scenic wonders of the park.

Natural wonders in Yellowstone include animals and birds. Whereas we did not capture photos of every bit of wildlife we encountered, we saw (in no particular order or quantities): coyote, elk, black bear, deer, bison, pelicans, hawks, ground squirrel, grizzly bear and moose.

Unfortunately, the bear and moose seem shy. I was pleased to find one grizzly passing near the road where I could captured his/her photo. A doe and her baby were right outside the door at Lake Hotel when I went for ice. Luckily, I took my camera with me that time too.

Old Faithful Inn opened in 1891, with construction added to the site throughout the 1910s and 1920s —and with improvements being made even today.

It's lobby is absolutely amazing and deserves a visit in person. So, go see Old Faithful Inn!

Of course, visitors are not allowed into the upper reaches of its maze-like upper sections, but visitors may lounge around the freestanding fireplace, with hearths on all four sides, or buy themselves drinks in what used to be the dining hall and is now the bar.

On the day we were there long, narrow windows were open around the top of the room and breezes were cool and inviting.

Activities at the hotel's entrance, with a double-wide portico and upper-tier deck, are frenectic... especially at times when Old Faithful, just steps away, is getting ready to blow.

Old Faithful was set to erupt at 3:20 p.m. on the day we were there. The geyser is very near the inn. The public can easily walk there along a terrace. There are rows of bench seating in an arch, well away from geyser spray.

There was a large crowd there to watch. I would estimate 500 people waited. There were numerous non-productive countdowns (10, 9, 8, 7, etc.), but Old Faithful DID blow within five minutes of the expected time.

We'd heard the eruptions were about 90 minutes apart. We were about to leave at 5 p.m., but decided to stick around a while longer to see if we could see Old Faithful blow again. She didn't, but Plume Geyser, across the way in a large field of geysers, did blow—tall and forceful, from a small hole. The National Parks web site says Plume is a relatively young geyser, erupting only since 1922.

Our day was not over at the time we arrived back at our cabin at Lake Hotel. It was about 6:30 p.m. at that point.

We decided to buy sandwiches and chips from the hotel deli (delicious) and take them with us to watch for bison at the stop on the road where we'd had a traffice jam the night before. We arrived about 8:15, a perfect time to watch the sun set and watch the bison move across the the fields north and south of the highway.

One bison stood alone south of the road, with a herd of bison further south, along a rise near an outcropping of forest. The lone beast grazed toward the highway, were we sat with windows open (and an electronic bug repealer working to keep mosquitos out of the Kia). He eventually saundered across the highway into a field to the north, working his way up a rise, facing west into the setting sun.

Eventually it got too dark for watching and we turned on our headlights and headed back to the cabin to rest up for tomorrow's leave-taking of Yellowstone.