Grand Tetons and Yellowstone

This will likely be the busiest sightseeing day of our trip.  We are going to drive about 85 miles through Grand Teton National Park into the Southern gate of Yellowstone National Park.  In Yellowstone we'll take in most of the major geyser sites before heading out the West gate to West Yellowstone, another 31 miles.

Grand Teton National Park is one of the most spectacular, awe-inspiring places in America. Occupying a majority of the Jackson Hole valley, the park is home to overwhelming, massive mountains, pristine lakes and rivers, and abundant, teeming wildlife. The Teton Range - with peaks rising as much as 7,000 feet off the valley floor - is the centerpiece of the park. Views from either of the two main roads, which run north-south through the park, are nothing short of spectacular. The highest, most prominent peak is Grand Teton, standing at 13,770 feet. South of the Grand are Middle Teton, South Teton, and Cloudveil Dome, among others. To the north of the Grand are Mt. Owen, Teewinot, and flat-topped Mt. Moran.

Grand Tetons

Jenny Lake

Yellowstone National Park was the world's first national park established in 1872 by U.S. Grant.  It is known for its wildlfe and geothermal features.  It has one of the largest high altitude lakes, Yellowstone Lake and the whole area is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent.  The entire area is an active volcano, but the last eruption occurred 70,000 years ago and the last super eruption occurred 640,000 years ago. There are 1000 to 2000 earthquakes (mostly small) here because of this volcanic activity.  Most of the world's geysers are located in Yellowstone.  There are actually 4 basic types of thermal activity in the park:  geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.  Old Faithful is the most famous geyser, but there are more than 500 in total!  Click here to learn more about these features. (Note when you see text in a different color you can click on it for more info).

Old Faithful erupts on average every 90 minutes, but that range can go from 35 minute to 2 hours so we hope to be lucky.  The water shoots up 90 to 180 ft.  Just a couple of weeks ago they opened a brand new Visitors Center here.  Click here to watch an eruption: 

For geysers to occur there must be heat, water, and a plumbing system. A magma chamber provides the heat, which radiates into surrounding rock. Water from rain and snow works its way underground through fractures in the rock.
As the water reaches hot rock it begins to rise back to the surface, passing through rhyolite, which is former volcanic ash or lava rich in silica. The hot water dissolves the silica and carries it upward to line rock crevices. This forms a constriction that holds in the mounting pressure, creating a geyser's plumbing system.
As superheated water nears the surface, its pressure drops, and the water flashes into steam as a geyser.

Adjacent to Old Faithful  is the Old Faithful Inn, a historic inn built of logs in 1903, that is one of the most historic buildings in America.  Five presidents have stayed at this site.  You have to book well ahead to get in this place even though some of the bathrooms are shared.

The main fire place inside is 85 ft tall and weighs 500 tons!





After a long day, we settle in at the Clubhouse Inn located in West Yellowstone, Montana.