Yellowstone NP Day One

Friday June 22nd: We arrived at West Yellowstone yesterday at the Lionshead Campground outside of town. Drove on into the Yellowstone NP this morning for our first day. A few miles inside we stopped, along with everyone else, at the area set aside for a pair of Bald Eagles and their nest. Old Baldie was sitting on a fallen tree on the other side of the Madison river. Carolyn hopped out with the camera and was able to get a shot of him, although the distance was a little far for our small camera. Moving on into the park we soon came across the Madison river Elk Herd grazing along the river. Of course we all stopped again and walked out to get a clear shot of them. There appeared to be about six in the small herd and they pretty much ignored the dumb humans looking at them and chattering. We drove on and stopped at the Fountain Paint Pot Geyser area and walked the boardwalk around, enjoying the various pools, steamers, and bubbling mud "geysers". On to Old Faithful, where they have the Old Faithful Inn, stores, Visitors Center, and eveything else imaginable. We were able to see Old Faithful blow twice while there and got pictures and movies from two different areas and ate a late lunch while there. Especially after having been to the "Craters of the Moon", a predecessor of Yellowstone, we were more appreciative of being inside a volcanic caldera and the heat and force surging just beneath our feet.