Geysers of Yellowstone National Park

Our summer in Yellowstone was very enjoyable and interesting, especially when viewing the geysers. There are many in the Park, and Old Faithful is the most famous geyser. It erupts once approximately every 55 to107 minutes. Everyone enjoys watching the eruption and claps when it is over. The height of the water reaches between 110-185 feet, and may last up five minutes.

This is the Grand Geyser, also is the Upper Geyser Basin, which has many geysers in an area of about two square miles. Grand Geyser does not erupt very frequently, but a sign is posted to let visitors know how long the wait may be. We came to Upper Geyser three times during our stay and waited patiently to see Grand each visit. It blows for 9-16 minutes at a height of 140-200 feet. It is well worth the wait to see it. There are benches to sit on while waiting, and time to chat with other visitors.

Emerald Pool is in the Black Sand Geyser Basin. The Pool has a deep emerald green, and the edges are yellow and orange colors. It is quite beautiful, and about 25 feet deep.

The Beehive Geyser is one that Eric told us would be very interesting to see, but it does not always erupt every day. We saw a large crowd waiting, and joined them hoping it would be our lucky day. It is considered unpredictable, unlike Old Faithful. The name is appropriate because it looks just like a large beehive on the ground. It erupted sending the water at least 150-200 feet. What a sight--it was amazing.

Here are Eric and Marion after Beehive "showing off". It had just begun erupting, when a strong wind started blowing straight at all of us standing on the boardwalk in front of Beehive. We got drenched so quickly, and began running down the boardwalk, but kept hesitating because we wanted to see the whole show from Beehive. All of us standing on the boardwalk were drenched, feeling cold for a few minutes, and laughing, but it was worth the experience. The sun was hot and eventually, the jeans and shirts dried--enough so we had supper in Snow Lodge before we went "home" to our FEMA trailer. No one seemed to notice that we were a bit disheveled.