See Old Faithful in Yellowstone

“Standing around Old Faithful with all the other tourists was kind of an out of body experience for us. We had seen and heard about “Her” our entire lives and now, we were finally going to see and feel something we had dreamed about since we were kids. All this anticipation boiled down to one moment and then it happened. Just like her namesake, she erupted right on time. Her outburst lasted 4 minutes this time, which seemed a lot shorter than it was.”

“The smell of sulphur in the air, the welcoming heat coming off the thermal features and the sounds of bubbling liquid were transfixing. On this day, we welcomed the heat as it was chilly and windy. The clouds were producing ice crystals that pelted our skin and I could have used windshield wipers for my glasses. What an experience! We could have spent an entire day just walking between geysers in the basin!”

“Geysers are hard things to photograph, water obscured by mist, the closer you get the less you seem to see. I found myself a spot at the end of one of the front benches and waited with the crowd for the anticipated eruption of Old Faithful Geyser. I think if it had adhered precisely to the posted schedule, it might have been less exciting. But it doesn’t, so each small preliminary spout elicits audible excitement until it finally goes off full force and there is no more doubt.”