A Beautiful Start to a Beautiful Day

One of the last days of June and the dash tells me it’s 38° F at 6 a.m. Awesome! That is exactly what I want on a morning drive to the center of a volcano. Geyser steam hangs thick in the air like cream of mushroom soup and Yellowstone is virtually deserted.

As we drive south into the caldera—the massive, bowl-shaped depression left by an eruption of the Yellowstone Volcano—the air begins to warm. The geyser fog lifts and, as we enter the Lower Geyser Basin, we see a grizzly sow with a couple cubs digging for something to eat. After watching them for a while we head to a nearby geyser basin for a stroll along the boardwalk.

Shortly into our stroll, a violent burst of water thrusts into the air 80 feet: a beautiful, fountain-style geyser erupting. The geyser “plays” (that’s a very technical term for “erupted”) for quite a bit. The sound. The fury. The steam. It’s a beautiful start to a beautiful day.

We see the world’s most famous geyser: Old Faithful. She doesn’t disappoint. While we watch her play, a couple of other geysers decide to play at the same time. From where we stand we can see water bursting into the air all around us.

This is one of those days that really reminds me how special this place is. Yellowstone is home to more geysers than anywhere in the world. Over half the world’s geysers live and die right here. When we hit those geyser basins we have no idea what we are going to see. This day was no different. 

Bear photos and text courtesy of Yellowstone Wild Guide Matt D. Geyser and steam photos courtesy of NPS.

To learn more about Matt and the rest of the Yellowstone Wild team visit our “About Us” webpage.