Best Seat in the House

June 22nd was the transition day from Grand Teton to Yellowstone on the Great American Road Trip.

It was a full day.

Leaving Dornan's to the north, we stopped first at Signal Mountain.

We then paused at Oxbow Bend before heading to Yellowstone.

If it is a very calm day, you can get an amazing reflection of the Tetons off the oxbow bend. We did not have that.

Arriving in Yellowstone, we stopped for the traditional sign picture.

A look across the Snake River at the park sign pullout gave us not only our first bear of the trip, but our first grizzly as well.

There was a long line at the entrance station, but having a national park pass let us move on through. Lunch at the Snake River picnic loop, then on to West Thumb.

West Thumb is interesting. It doesn't have the large geysers of other basins, but has some very pretty pools and paint pots. We also had the added benefit of a brief cold rain shower on us. If you stood downwind of a boiling pot, it wasn't quite as bad.

West Thumb

Big Cone

Black Pool

Paint Pots

We did not hear the mysterious Yellowstone Lake whispers. Interestingly enough, after returning home from Yellowstone, we read the Cubby in Wonderland books with our youngest children. In Cubby Returns to Yellowstone, the whispers are heard by Cubby and Mama Bear.

Then we headed west to our destination for the night, Old Faithful Inn. Look, if you are looking for a room to sleep, this place has that. If you are looking for a nice amenities, good views from the room, WiFi, or even a room you can enjoy, you aren't going to find that at Old Faithful.

Then, out to Old Faithful we went.



This is the highlight of the trip for me. No matter how many times I've seen Old Faithful, I never tire of it.

We got some food scraped together for the kids and headed down on a date night to the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room. The dining room does have good food and service. Afterwards, we hung out in the lobby for a bit.

But the best part of the evening? The bar in the lobby has a balcony that looks out at Old Faithful. A bottle of wine, some plastic glasses, a a wonderful evening was in the making.

Here's to you, Old Faithful