Jackson to Yellowstone. Mon 28/8

We cruised north through the Grand Tetons National Park. Stopped to photograph a herd of Bison conveniently crowded near a ranch fence. Along with nearly every other car going past. We then stopped into at a lakeside village on Jackson Lake which is a deep glacier carved lake which has had it's size increased by a reservoir wall to allow irrigation water for Idaho which is next door. Stocked up on lunch supplies at the store which was typically quite well stocked and without significant mark up on prices.
When we reached the south entrance to Yellowstone we slowed to a crawl for a while. The entry process took each  car a couple of minutes and then there was quite a delay to get through some road works .They are laying down new hotmix in preparation for winter. The traffic finally sped up and we took the risk to stop off at a waterfall which plunged down a narrow chasm. It was a worthwhile move but we then continued on until we reached  the Old Faithful car park. Because this is the largest geyser "field"  of the Park the car park is huge. Never the less it was pretty full. We slipped into the back because we knew this was where the picnic tables were. After lunch we set off to explore. We aarrived at the boardwalk for Old Faithfull  ( here after   referred to as OF) to find that we had just missed an eruption. There are boardwalks and pathways around and through what is essentially the throat of a volcano. It was a bit unsettling to realise that you are walking over an area which is bubbling and steaming because of what is just below your feet. This was especially brought home when we heard a ranger explaining that the area experiences between 2000 -3000 earthquakes per year. The crowds walking around were as nonchalant as I tried to be,  it really is a most amzing place. We then decided to remove ourselves up to an observation place overlooking the whole of the field. This was supposedly a half mile while ascending 200 feet. However I am sure it was a higher climb than that. When we made it to the top the view was worth while. People nearby gave us various estimates of how

long the gap was between OF's eruptions. We fnally waited 45 minutes by which time i was figetting. We did see two minor geysers perform during the wait. Also Bob was playing around with the camera on his tablet and worked out hoe to use the zoom. Since I hadn't realised my camera could also zoom I regret my photo of the deer and the bison. It does mean I did get some decent shots of OF which was worth waiting for.
We then drove out of the Park to West Yellowstone to our accommodation. West Yellowstone exists for tourists of course and as the oldest National Park and the most popular it has lots of accomodation. When we were looking on the net I found the Maddison Hotel which is on the National Historic register. It is built in the log cabin tradition and is the only building that survived an early fire in the town. The timber is amazing. I will send photos in the next blog when we have taken some. We booked it because it was affordable due to the historic part of the building having shared bathrooms rather than ensuires but we have no regrets. Our room is comfortable and quite unique as is the the rest of the building.
Today we are off to explore more of Yellowstone.